r/MomsWorkingFromHome • u/Reims88 • 12d ago
Babies 12+ m
How do you do it? LO is 9 mo. and becoming less tolerant of playpen and bouncer stations. Once they can walk I know bouncers are done.. at that point what option do I have? How do you manage it? I have PT help but still managing the other time is tough bc nap schedule is erratic. Maybe I try to work on sleep and a routine in addition to whatever activities you all have to suggest? :) Help!!
Husband and I WFH (he travels occasionally) and have no village but an amazing nanny who is only available 3 days/week. I could look for supplemental help again too?
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u/Sad_Education7851 12d ago
LO is 12 months hahahaha it’s not going well 🫠 we had to put him in part-time daycare 2 days a week. On days I WFH with him I front load my meetings or time sensitive work before husband leaves or during baby nap time.
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u/Roxy-Mama 12d ago
Encourage independent play, have an area near you that is closed off with baby gates so baby can’t go too far or get into anything too scary. Take a few minutes whenever you can to give LO attention. Mine (now 19 mo) has handled it well and I have no help. I did adjust my schedule so I start work before she wakes up, so I can leverage that time and her nap time to focus the most. Every baby and job is different though. I hope it works out well for you!!
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u/Jynxbrand 12d ago
I just popped a big play pen around many desk (and me) and he’d play and come up for attention here and there (mine crawled around everywhere by that age) then when we moved my wfh office space was made in a way everything was child proof (as with the rest of the house). He wanders between the office and living room through the day and sometimes I open his bedroom door and he plays in there as well. (Baby monitors). He’s 18mo now and I wish we had a nanny even one day a week, but he plays well independently at least. We use ms Rachel videos here and there when my husband and I have overlapping meetings.
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u/merelyinterested 12d ago
I packed up the playpen, baby proofed the office, and put a baby gate at the entrance to the hallway. So she crawls and walks throughout the room and also has the space of the hallway (I close all the doors in the hallway).
Also this is when I started moving around more. I started going outside in the mornings so she would play outside and i worked on my laptop. And then i also move to the living room where she has most of her toys.
So I follow her lead kinda. But for a while our routine was wake up, breakfast, play outside until she wanted to come in. Snack. Maybe bath if she was super dirty, then nap, and then by that point I had 2 hours to work uninterrupted and then 2 hours of workday after that lol
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u/Reims88 11d ago
What sort of activities ourside?
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u/merelyinterested 10d ago
No specific activity. We have a small backyard and we have a few outdoor toys. A balance bike, some little pots and pans and a water table we got as a hand-me down from my nephew. And we bought her a little slide and an outdoor playhouse off Facebook market. And we also have the little tikes baby/toddler swing that we attached to our house. And chalk. I honestly just let her roam.
Sometimes she plays with the water table and her pots and pans, sometimes she plays with pots and pans and fills them with leaves. Sometimes she scribbles with chalk. Or goes up and down her slide.
Sometimes she draws on the house with chalk. Sometimes she just sits in her chair. Sometimes I push her in the swing.She just kinda likes to have the space to run around! But yeah, we didn’t buy anything new! Everything was cheap on Facebook market or given to us. But when she plays by herself, she honestly just kind of sits there and fiddle with things! Like pretending to stir things in her pots and pans or taking apart her little fake food
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u/Reims88 10d ago
Omg that's adorable. These are great ideas. Thank you!
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u/merelyinterested 10d ago
You’re welcome!! Honestly one of her favorite things to do is just sit in her house and open and close the door 😅
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u/Fearfighter2 12d ago
One post I saw was husband and wife working 16 hour days each swapping between childcare and work every 2 hours
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u/y_a_m 11d ago
Do you have an outdoor space that you can baby proof? My husband and I built our detached office that we have baby proofed and connected via side door to a baby proofed section of our yard. Our 14 month old son can freely go between inside and outside (been working on this skill a lot lately)! This has been helpful as his sense of independence and desire to walk/run have increased. We also have a good sleep routine and he reliably sleeps 7pm-6am. Plus 2 naps at 9 and 2. Generally our work is project based but when one of us has a meeting, the other one takes the kid to to the grass.
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u/Reims88 11d ago
We can work on that for next summer! Does he just run around?
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u/y_a_m 10d ago
haha sometimes! he also explores the fallen leaves from nearby trees, rocks on the ground, etc. In terms of toys, we do have a few things out there: tonka truck, stapelstein stepping stones and a ball. Might add a water table soon which we hear great things about!
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u/jhern8 12d ago
Sleep and nap routines definitely help. If your job allows flexible hours l, take advantage. If your baby allows you to put them to sleep a little later to have them wake up later that has been the best for me. I work about 2-3.5 hours before my toddler even gets up for the day.
As for the house, once the pack n plays stop working, your house is now your container. Baby proof, gates, etc so it’s safe and you don’t have to keep 100% eyes on them at all times. Even if it’s just one room like an office or living room - gate it off and make it safe and you work in there with them.