How do u cope?

[3boys1girl]

Just wondering how some of u guys cope with working from home. Im just starting my own business and already I dont get time to do anything. I have to stay up till 3am to get anything done. My DD wont sleep during the day anymore so there goes my 2 hours of free time I used to get ( Oh how I miss it!) My office backs on to our rumpus room and a baby gate seperates the two rooms but she stands at the gate screaming if I dont have her attention 100% of the time. I have tried putting her table in the office with playdoh on it so she can do something but if im not playing with her then she cracks it. Is anyone else in my position. The only way Ill get anything done is if I put her in childcare one or 2 days a week and Im trying to work from home so I dont have to do that
Thanks

[RaryGirl]

I too work from home, but I have a carer come in for the times when I have a client, otherwise I try to work around DD and DS.

It's more expensive than daycare, but it suits me to have DS at home while I work.

[pebilz]

I'm in a very similar position. I have a 2yr DD and a 7mth DS. I do have a MacBook which has made it easier so that when DS is asleep I can have DD sit next to me on the lounge watching Elmo or a Baby Eistein DVD whilst I do some work, check emails etc for about 10mins or so. Most of my work though is actually manual labour so that will only really get done when my DS is napping on the two days that DD goes to my mum's or once they have gone to bed at night.

Is your mum or MIL able to come around to help with your DD so you can get some work done? Is there anything that you can get her involved in so she can pretend to be like mummy?

Trust me I know it's hard. It's taken me a year to launch my business! PM me if you want to chat! :)

[3boys1girl]

Thanks for your replys girls. My mum and MIL cant help as my Mum works full time and my MIL is hours away in VIC and we are in QLD so we are a bit stuck there. Im only starting at the moment, so there isnt a great deal of pressure to get things going yet as im doing freebies to get my portfolio up and going. But im starting to think when I do get going I may have to put DD in daycare 1 or 2 days a week to get things done, which the main point of starting my home business is to spend more time with her as working at the hospital takes me away from the house to much. Being a mum is tough, its hard to know what to do!:banghead:

[gypsy72]

Hi

I know how you feel. DH and I are working from home. We'd try to discuss work matters and DS wants to come in and have a chat/ play and then we have to explain that we are doing work etc... Then we feel guilty ..vicious circle.
I have decided on putting him in two days to childcare. DH and I need to meet with prospective customers etc...dragging your 3 yr old around with you doesn't look professional. SO those two days we try to get as much as we can done. The other days we do tasks where DS can either come with us or one of us can look after him. Having just moved from SA we have no one to look after him either.

Anyway DS is really enjoying childcare. He is always so excited he asks how many sleeps till kindy.

We can chat more about it at next weeks meet if you like @ our secret location;)

[motherhoodlmb]

I work from home and my 3 year old goes to creche 2 days a week, otherwise I could not get much done during the daylight hours. I also work probably about 4 evenings a week and there are times where I could go into complete meltdown.

The reason I don't is because I have a partner who is home reasonably early and is happy to contribute to the domestic duties. It's tiring, but for me it's about keeping my skills up and earning a bit of extra cash until my 3 year old joins his brother in primary school and then I'll work school hours.

Working from home provides me with the flexibility to be around for school holidays (as I can knock back work) and pick up my oldest from school and be around if they're sick but it can also mean you're never away from work.

One point I will make is that I don't think I could work from home if I had my 3 year old around 5 days a week - I'd be too distracted which causes errors (my brain has seriously shrunk since I had kids!!)

[outdoormummy]

Thanks for this thread! I thought I was the only one who had to put my son in daycare to work from home!

I hear of all these people who get to spend extra time with their kids by having home based business, hopefully once it's up and running??

Anyway he's loving daycare and it's only 1 and a 1/2 days so we worked it out in the end!

[creativewarrior]

yea im in a similar situation - amber just does not like me being on the laptop and in the end i put her in daycare 2 days a week so that i can focus on certain things on those days.

at some stage in your business it just has to be done - but at least you are in charge of your time - which is what i love about working from home - the flexibility!