Anyone with an infant who works at home...

[dboo]

Hi, I have a 9 month old son. I work outside the home 8hrs a week and he goes into daycare then. I also do freelance work from home which amounts to around 2hrs a day. When I work from home, bub just plays by himself while I work on the computer (I can always keep my eye on him). I don't do it all at once - maybe 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there and some after he goes to sleep at night. He doesn't nap more than half an hour the whole day and has been like that since 3months old. I feel bad that he is playing by himself but if he gets whingy I stop working and play with him. He is going to be an only child so I don't feel bad about the time in daycare which is good for him, but is it bad to be just letting him muck around by himself at home while I work? He also plays by himself when I cook/clean etc... I spend every chance I get playing with him, but wondering how much time others spend on focused play....

[Lore]

Hi Dboo, sounds like a scene from my life a few years ago with my first child. DS now 7 was very happy playing on his own until he wanted the attention, they do need to play on their own. I would work like you for most of the day, just squeezing in work when I could. But I would always have a set time of focused play about twice a day after each nap and feed - how much time... I can't answer that but realistically as much as you can give them ;)

[made2bAmummy]

Absolutely dboo, what you are doing sounds just fine, please don't feel guilty or beat yourself up. Isn't it better that you work to keep your DS in a good home with good food and warm clothing, and he learns to amuse himself a little, than you don't work and you are struggling to give him what he needs?
I have a 3 year old and 14 month old who also amuse themselves when I am working from home. They are getting better at it as they age, and they are learning to do things for themselves and be creative about the way they play i.e. using chess pieces as little people.
Please keep going, what you are doing is a good thing and you don't need to be amusing or entertaining your son the whole time. He needs time to explore and imagine too.