The Challenges of Being a Work-From-Home Mom

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Abstract

o this that I earn only a small fraction of his salary, and it’s easy to see why I’m the default option to care for our son during the day. My husband would gladly take on this responsibility, but we’d have a lot of unpaid bills on just my earnings.Therefore, after our son was born, I shifted from working traditional hours to being the parent on duty during the day. Since my clients don’t care when I work — as long as deadlines are met — I was able to re-shape my workday.Essentially, this means I now get up hours before a standard workday begins, with a start time that varies by my current workload. If I don’t get everything done in the morning, I turn my laptop back on for round two in the evening, when my husband is finished working — not an easy feat, when you’re exhausted from caring for an infant all day.As non-traditional — and exhausting — as this schedule is, it somehow works. I’m grateful to have the ability to maintain a career I love, while also staying home with my little son.In our society, parents are divided into two categories — working and stay-at-home. My situation is technically both, so I’m not exactly sure where I fit in.Traditionally, w

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orking moms aren’t able to take their kids to storytime at the library or cuddle with them for their two-hour afternoon nap. On the other hand, stay-at-home moms aren’t frantically turning on YouTube, desperately hoping it entertains their kids long enough for them to make quick edits on an assignment.Mixing these two worlds definitely comes with it’s benefits — I get to spend every day with my son, while maintaining my career — but it’s also really hard. Serving essentially as both a working and stay-at-home mom means I have two jobs.Instead of relaxing with my husband and son at the end of the day, I often have to open my laptop and get back to work. And, forget about sleeping until the baby wakes up in the morning — we’re blessed with a gloriously late sleeper — because those morning hours are my workday.When I tell people I’m a work-from-home mom, they’re often confused. I don’t blame them, because I’m often not really sure how this works either, but somehow it does.Hopefully, advances in technology and the growing freelance workforce, allows more parents to join my club in the future. It’s not for everyone, but personally, I wouldn’t change a thing.</article></body>

The Challenges of Being a Work-From-Home Mom

Working from home means I get to do fun things with my son, like take him to storytime.

My eyes burned with tears when my husband left for work today. Tack a morning and evening commute onto his workday, and I’d be on my own with our eight-month-old son and sassy little Chihuahua mix for the next 11 hours.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore my kids — both human and canine — but going all day without a smidge of adult conversation is rough.

I haven’t always been this way. I used to enjoy having time to myself when my husband was at the office — only twice per week — but that all changed with the arrival of our little boy.

My husband and I have both had home-based jobs for several years. That’s where the similarities in our professional lives end.

I’m a freelance writer — a job with the ability to work whenever and wherever I want — and he’s a full-time as a software engineer — which has a much more rigid and defined daily structure.

Add to this that I earn only a small fraction of his salary, and it’s easy to see why I’m the default option to care for our son during the day. My husband would gladly take on this responsibility, but we’d have a lot of unpaid bills on just my earnings.

Therefore, after our son was born, I shifted from working traditional hours to being the parent on duty during the day. Since my clients don’t care when I work — as long as deadlines are met — I was able to re-shape my workday.

Essentially, this means I now get up hours before a standard workday begins, with a start time that varies by my current workload. If I don’t get everything done in the morning, I turn my laptop back on for round two in the evening, when my husband is finished working — not an easy feat, when you’re exhausted from caring for an infant all day.

As non-traditional — and exhausting — as this schedule is, it somehow works. I’m grateful to have the ability to maintain a career I love, while also staying home with my little son.

In our society, parents are divided into two categories — working and stay-at-home. My situation is technically both, so I’m not exactly sure where I fit in.

Traditionally, working moms aren’t able to take their kids to storytime at the library or cuddle with them for their two-hour afternoon nap. On the other hand, stay-at-home moms aren’t frantically turning on YouTube, desperately hoping it entertains their kids long enough for them to make quick edits on an assignment.

Mixing these two worlds definitely comes with it’s benefits — I get to spend every day with my son, while maintaining my career — but it’s also really hard. Serving essentially as both a working and stay-at-home mom means I have two jobs.

Instead of relaxing with my husband and son at the end of the day, I often have to open my laptop and get back to work. And, forget about sleeping until the baby wakes up in the morning — we’re blessed with a gloriously late sleeper — because those morning hours are my workday.

When I tell people I’m a work-from-home mom, they’re often confused. I don’t blame them, because I’m often not really sure how this works either, but somehow it does.

Hopefully, advances in technology and the growing freelance workforce, allows more parents to join my club in the future. It’s not for everyone, but personally, I wouldn’t change a thing.