how to adjust to working from home as a recent mother.

After months on end of dealing with the hormonal highs and lows of pregnancy, the day finally comes when you give birth to your pride and joy – a beautiful baby boy or girl.

In an instant, your life becomes a rollercoaster, suddenly making you prioritise Pampers over parties and take every available opportunity to catch up on sleep.

Below, we’ll cover the top 4 tips for working from home with a baby;

1. Take a break
2. Think about your mental health
3. Set up a schedule
4. Take advantage of naptime

The days following the birth turn into weeks, and then weeks turn into months and before you know it, your work-approved maternity leave is suddenly coming to an end.

At this point, caught up in all the drama of caring for a newborn baby, you start to worry how you’re going to cope with returning to work while still making time for your baby.

While, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, your job may now be on a work from home basis, you start to question how you’re going to balance your two commitments – looking after your newborn child while remaining engaged and focused on your work.

If this situation sounds familiar to your own, we have some good news.

baby steps…

While adjusting to working from home as a recent mother may appear difficult on the face of it, by utilising the hints and tips we’ve listed for you below, you will help ease your worries in no time.

From setting up a schedule to making the most of nap times, finding the balance between spending time with your baby and completing your work can be easy. 

So, without any further ado, let’s dive right in – here’s how to do it.

give yourself a break.

OK, first things first, you need to give yourself a break.

You’ve only just had a baby, after all, so it’s perfectly natural to feel stressed or exhausted at the thought of returning to the world of work. As such, you mustn’t put too much pressure on yourself or over-promise what you’ll be able to get done.

While you may have been able to get through work at the speed of light before your maternity leave, try not to put pressure on yourself to get the same level done. Be realistic about your targets and be proud when you manage to hit them.

think about your mental health.

Regardless of having had a new baby, the transition to working from home has shone a light on mental health like never before, highlighting just how important it is to look after yourself. Therefore, it’s important to take appropriate steps to protect your mental wellbeing.

Being cooped up at home all day can promote feelings of cabin fever, insecurity and anxiety, after all, so try to get out of the house when you can or allocate yourself enough time during the workday to take regular breaks.

Whether it be a quick cuddle with your little one or a lunchtime walk around the park, small changes like this can make a big difference to both your level of productivity and mental state.

Likewise, if there were any sort of issues during the birthing process – such as negligence or a birth-related injury to either you or your baby – it’s important to think about your psychological state going back into it.

At the end of the day, if you’re not ready to go back to work, you won’t be doing yourself, your baby or your employer any favours by going back too early. As such, there’s no shame in asking for more time off if you need it. 

set up a schedule.

If you are working from home with a partner, nanny, friend or loved one, why not ask for their assistance during the workday?

You could, for example, take it in turns looking after the baby, setting up a schedule to balance your time fairly between work, life admin duties and break times.

What’s more, by setting up a rota, this will provide you with some extra peace of mind that your baby is being well cared for while you’re working away in your home office environment. This, in turn, should allow you to simply shut the door and focus on your work without needing to worry about your little one.

take advantage of naptime. 

Talking of schedules, babies tend to work on a bit of one too, often needing plenty of time for napping and sleeping the day away. Therefore, try and use this to your advantage.

Whether they’re down for one hour or three, once you’ve got them settled, make the most of this opportunity to get as much work done as possible before they wake up again.

While it may be slightly more difficult to arrange work-related phone calls, your employer should understand the difficulties of working from home with a baby and be happy to adjust their work calls around your new workday lifestyle.

final thoughts.

Working from home can be difficult at the best of times but, with a new baby in the mix, it can be even tougher. However, with a little bit of organisation and adjustment around your little one’s schedule, it doesn’t have to be.

The key thing is to be upfront with your employer as the chances are that they’ll be fairly understanding of your sudden change in circumstances. As such, don’t be afraid to ask for support when you need it, or allow yourself to get overly stressed.

Having a baby is one of the most life-changing things you can do, after all, so don’t forget that. While it may feel like a strange transition initially, over time, you’ll grow comfortable with it and eventually get used to the routine. In fact, you may even learn to like it.

For more advice on returning to work after maternity leave, see https://www.randstad.co.uk/career-advice/returning-to-work/maternity/ to listen to the stories of four new mothers who share some valuable advice.