Life changes when you have a baby, but you won’t appreciate how much until you’ve got one of your own. You may have made plans in which you worked out how much time you’d have available between caring for the baby, but most people who already have kids will smile and shake their head at your naivety.
Babies don’t operate to a schedule, and although you can get them into a routine over time, it’ll never be hard and fast. Also, you won’t know if your baby is going to sleep a lot or be awake for what seems like weeks at a time, while you struggle to function on the odd snatches of sleep you get in between trying to get the baby off!
How can you manage time when babies are so unpredictable?
In some respects, time management goes out the window when the baby arrives, but there are responsibilities you have that do need to stay on track. For example, doctor’s or hospital visits, shopping for groceries, cleaning, looking after your pets if you have any, or making time for friends and family. The best way to timetable these activities is to add the baby to the mix, rather than trying to work around when they’re going to be asleep or awake.
If you need to walk the dog, take the baby with you in the pram, or a pushchair when they’re old enough. If they’re asleep, you can relax and enjoy being out in the fresh air with your pooch. If the baby’s awake, the sights, smells, and sounds around them will help capture their interest and keep them entertained.
Some babies and parents like to use baby carriers or slings, and there’s not much you can’t do if your baby’s securely attached to your body and you have your hands free! You can get out in the yard and do some gardening, do your shopping, clean up around the house, whatever you need to do without worrying about the baby because they’re right there with you.
Obviously, you’d need to stop if it was time for a feed, and there’s a limit to the time a baby should spend in a pushchair or convertible car seat because of the compressive effect on their little lungs. But a few hours here and there through the day should be perfectly achievable. Involving your baby in everyday activities and getting out and about is far better for their development than staying in the home all day as well, so carrying out essential tasks with them in tow is actually doing them good!
How can you manage working and babies?
Work and babies are an age-old problem. On the one hand, you want to spend as much time with your child as possible, and not miss a minute of their development. On the other, you either have a fulfilling, rewarding career that’s very important to you, or you need to work to bring in enough money; or sometimes a combination of the two. Improvements in provisions for women taking maternity leave have helped somewhat, but the US lags behind countries in Europe and elsewhere when it comes to leave allowances, parental leave, and pay.
If you don’t want to return to work and can afford not to, no problem. If you love your job too much to leave, you could consider asking for extended time off or a sabbatical, or see if there’s an opportunity to work from home or reduce your hours. This applies to both moms and dads, as either parent may be the one who takes on the role of primary caregiver, depending on each family’s individual circumstances. Alternatively, you go back to work and baby goes into daycare, or you make alternative arrangements. If you have an occupational daycare center where you work, that’s ideal because the baby is close to you.
What if you don’t really like your job, but you have to work to bring in enough money? Plenty of people are in this situation, and although it can be a wrench leaving your little one at daycare when you love your work, it’s far worse to have to do so when you either don’t enjoy or actively dislike your job. One alternative you could consider is working for yourself or working for home, both of which give you far more flexibility.
Have a look at the skills you possess and think about how you could use them to earn money for yourself or apply for homeworking jobs. If you have a car that meets their specifications and you are a sociable person who enjoys driving, then something like being an Uber driver might be ideal. You can work flexible hours to suit you, at times that fit in around your partner’s schedule, giving you more time to be with your child and the satisfaction of being your own boss. You can even get Uber driver loans to help you get started.
Maybe your skills are more academic or computer-based. If you’ve never investigated the world of homeworking before, you’ll be surprised at how many genuine opportunities there are to work as a writer, remote personal assistant, programmer, advertising executive, and many other roles that you can carry out using the internet to connect you with your employer or client. There are also some excellent freelancing platforms that advertise work and get you linked up with new clients.
It takes a bit of effort to get going, but the rewards of being able to work at home are immense when you have a new baby. You don’t have to travel, you can work whatever hours suit you, and you can pick and choose what jobs you do to suit your preferences and fit in with your routine. It’s perfectly possible that you may end up earning far more as well!
Having a baby is never going to be a walk in the park (although hopefully, you’ll be taking lots of walks in the park with your family); kids are hard work, but totally worth it if you can manage your time and achieve a balance in your life.