That’s my silly little acronym for Work From Home Mom 😉

A month in, how’s it going?  By and large I think it’s going well.  It took me some time to get used to it and get into my groove but this past week was great.  I was extremely productive both at home and work.  Work has, of course, been absolutely crazy but I do see an end in sight!

What does being a WFHM look like?

• I have a dedicated office space at home where I go to work everyday from around 8 to 5. It’s downstairs and when the sitter is here, she is upstairs or outside with Lucy.
• I have a sitter that comes on Mondays from 7:30 am – 9:30 am, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 7:30 am – 1:30 pm.  On Tuesdays, the sitter goes to my sister’s house so Lucy goes there during that time.
• I have a webcam set up so that all of my colleagues can see me at meetings that guarantees that I get out of my PJs!

As you can see, I have help 20 hours a week and the other 20 hours Lucy is here.  Around 8 of those hours, however, Lucy is napping.  But there are 12 hours a week (it feels like longer than that!) where I have to work and take care of Lucy.  This largely works out fine.  The only issues arise when I have a conference call scheduled for times that Lucy is here.  That makes it a bit more challenging!  I’m quickly becoming a master of the mute button.

I have blocked Wednesdays out as a “No Meeting Day” but will occasionally have to have a meeting that day.  I’ve also blocked 30 minutes for naptime everyday.  That allows me to get Lu down without worrying about a meeting getting in the way. It’s nice that Lucy is at my sister’s on Tuesdays since that is my heavy meeting day and I don’t have to worry about her squeals of delight (she REALLY likes the sitter) interrupting the call.

When I’m working and Lucy is here I make sure to have a lot of fun activities for her to do.  She plays Legos, colors, practices her ABC’s, uses sidewalk chalk, and generally plays with her toys.  The backyard is right outside my office through a sliding glass door so she can play outside while I’m in the office-I keep a close eye on her though and she stays close. On Wednesdays, when I have her all day, I move the operations upstairs to the dining room table so that Lucy has full access to her toys, food, and whatever else she needs.  This past Wednesday, I needed to really concentrate for about 30 minutes and I put on Super Why!.  I sort of felt bad but then I realized that 30 minutes of educational tv a week is not going to hurt her.

The pros?

• I get to see Lucy so.much.more.
• I can get MUCH more done at home in a shorter amount of time.  I’m able to concentrate here as my old office space was an “Open” plan (no walls or cubicles, just desks in a big room). I get things done much quicker at home.
• I can throw a load of laundry in or take a break and do some cleaning.  On Friday I needed a break so I steam mopped the floors-it was awesome. I can also go for a walk with Lucy or take her to the park on my “lunch break”.
• I have NO commute-that frees up 2 hours in the day for me!
• I’m here for deliveries or service people-easy scheduling.

The cons?

• I don’t really get a break.  When I worked in the office, I got a sort of mental break from Lucy.  I don’t really get that now-with the exception of Tuesdays.
• The house gets messy!  While I can take a break and clean up, on the days when I’m really busy I just don’t have time to add another task to the day- Lucy’s toys are everywhere and I don’t have time to really clean the kitchen. I hate a messy house and I DESPISE a messy kitchen.  No worries, it’s clean by the time I go to bed!
• It’s hard to turn off.  It feels like people have access to me at all times and I need to be better at setting boundaries.  It’s not odd for me to send an email now before my morning run at 6 am.
• Traveling is much more difficult now.  I have to arrange care for Lucy during the times that I normally have her.  In my old world, she just went to daycare.
• I have to figure out every.single.thing she puts in her mouth.  I miss daycare breakfast, lunch, and snacks!  The sitter does feed her but I have to have easy and nutritious options available at all times.
• I forget to eat.  I’m so busy with both work and Lucy that eating completely falls off the radar until I’m starving.

Being a WFHM is like a strange mix of working Mom and SAHM.  It’s the best and worst of both worlds.  I’m loving it so far but I am having some growing pains. 

I hate that the house gets so messy but I’m trying to learn to chill. I also just joined The Y (which is AMAZING BTW) and they have childcare there.  I pay $18/month and I can take Lucy for 2 hours a day as long as I’m in the building.  What I foresee happening is dropping her off, working out, and then sitting in their cafe and working for about an hour.  I won’t do this everyday but I think it will be a sanity saver on Wednesdays.

So, there you have it.  It IS working out!  I think I’m a much happier Mom now that this is my set-up.  I worked out everyday this past week (something that hasn’t happened since I got pregnant with Lu) and we got to go to the pool twice at the end of the day.  Plus I get to snuggle, play, and giggle with my most favorite little girl in the whole world!