My maternity leave ended April 7th. As that day approached I kept checking my work email to see what my office was doing in response to COVID-19. At first I truly didn’t understand the impact the pandemic would have on the world, I assumed it wouldn’t be too long before life would resume as normal. Oh, how wrong I was.
No two days working from home with a baby are the same.
How difficult JJ was to put to bed and how often he woke up during the night to feed dictates when I get out of bed in the morning. A few weeks into working from home I realized when JJ wakes up in the morning if I need a little more sleep or if I have a lot to do in the morning I can feed him and he will go right back to sleep. This has probably been my best discovery the last few weeks other than our Neato robot vacuum(I will probably be doing a blog post/review about this but I did a bunch of research into robot vacuums and we LOVE this one. Feel free to message me for details!).
While JJ feeds I usually tend to my email inbox and respond to messages/comments on our social media pages. It’s hard to get a lot done when there are so many distractions around the house, a baby, my sister and our zoo but finding small, easy tasks to do during times like feeding JJ help me maximize my time.
Most days I get started by getting ready. For some people making their bed first thing in the morning gives them a sense of accomplishment, for me it’s putting myself together. Don’t get me wrong- I’m not getting completely dressed in every day with my hair and makeup done but I try to do at least do one of the above. Let’s be honest, I spend most of my days now wearing nursing friendly tanks or tees!
I used to be a morning person but haven’t been in quite some time. I need caffeine to get me moving in the morning and I’ve always been a breakfast person so that’s how I start my days. While JJ is taking his first nap/going back to sleep in the morning I try to get some “deep work” done. For my job as a social media specialist this consists of writing copy, creating marketing plans and some other bigger picture tasks. These are things when I really need peace and quiet to focus.
Once JJ wakes up for the day between 8-9am I pull his high chair up to my desk (aka the dining room table) and he sits next to me playing while I continue to work. He is usually pretty calm and the morning and is content to play by himself either in the high chair or activity gym(sometimes we will work on the couch or I’ll move this to the table).
Working from home means a lot of meetings. I usually try to schedule my meetings in the morning since JJ is most calm during this time. My sister, Nina, is staying with us to help nanny and she also usually wakes up around 10:30am to play with JJ so my mornings are the most similar day-to-day.
Lunchtime gets switched up every day. Nina and I try to take JJ on a walk during lunch on nice days to get out of the house. Sometimes we have leftovers, sometimes Nina makes lunch and sometimes I use my kitchen island as a standing desk and multi-task cooking and working. I’ve always been curious about standing desks but since I like to wear heels to work I’ve never used one. The desks at UNCW are motorized and can elevate to standing height.
I didn’t anticipate spending 8 hours a day sitting on my dining room table chairs so I didn’t realize how uncomfortable they were. I try to switch up my work location a few times a day. Wether it’s sitting on the couch with JJ while he’s on the activity mat, sitting on the front or back porch or working from my “standing desk” at the kitchen island. During this experience I have come to truly value my office chair and miss it terribly! I don’t think I’ll ever take a second screen and wireless keyboard for granted again either.
My afternoons are usually more hectic. Sometimes Jett gets home form work early, sometimes JJ won’t go down for a nap, sometimes Nina keeps talking to me while I work and distracting me. I’m definitely plugged in longer at nights, often working beyond 5pm.
Overall, working from home with a baby is tough. Not only is he so darn cute and distracting but he’s pretty needy. Yes, we’re lucky to have my sister here helping nanny but I don’t have a dedicated office space. I work in the middle of the house so I’m often getting interrupted.
I’ve been working from home for 10 weeks. It’s crazy to stop and think about it, but it’s ever crazier how it’s become my “new normal.” UNCW is making plans for faculty and staff to return to work, however, my department is taking this situation as an opportunity to re-evaluate our work schedules meaning we planning to continue teleworking for the foreseeable future. So here’s to another who know show many weeks of working from my dining room table, smiling at my cute little baby across the room.
