Working from home has become a way of life. However, it’s typically not possible with a newborn baby. Here are 24 ways to make working from home with a baby possible by making some easy changes to your schedule.

Being able to work from home and its flexibility is excellent. However, juggling work and family can be challenging at times because often you have to leave your baby for long periods during the day, limiting the types of jobs you’re available for as there isn’t always suitable childcare available.

While some are lucky enough to have family nearby to help out during the day, many don’t have this luxury. This article will present various ways to work from home while caring for your baby so that you and your baby can be happy.

How to work from home with a newborn baby

Let’s get started!

1. Communicate with your Boss

First, we’ll explore how you can apply for a job that offers flexibility or at least puts you in a position where it would be easy to take care of your baby during the day.

Communicating with your boss is the first step; let them know you’re available to work from home and discuss what you can do to make it possible. You might be able to get a job that’s more flexible than your current one or get a job with more flexible hours.

If working from home isn’t an option, then at least ask if there are any positions where you could work 8 hours a day instead of the usual 10-12 hour days. This way, you can rest during the day and take care of the baby during the night.

2. Get a Nanny

While this may seem like a solution, it isn’t for everyone. You’ll need to interview more than once, you’ll have to deal with the fact that someone else is taking care of your baby, and you’ll need to pay a large sum of money for someone to do the job.

This option is good if you’re willing to do the work required and aren’t fazed by another person caring for your child. Also, depending on what kind of hours you want the nanny to take care of the baby, it may mean that you can fit her in around other early morning appointments (for example) or after-school activities.

3. Get a Caregiver

This is similar to having a nanny. However, the caregiver won’t be taking care of your baby full time. A caregiver would come and take care of your baby when you have an appointment or after daycare/school.

This solution may be cheaper than hiring a nanny. However, there’s typically no one to take care of the baby during the day while you’re working. This can be difficult if you’re trying to work from home because you must leave your child alone during the day – not ideal!

4. Hire a House Cleaner

You can hire a house cleaner to come in at night and clean your house while you’re working. This won’t be a cheap option. However, it works! What’s great about this is that you don’t even have to be home at the time. You can work all day and have someone else clean for you. It’s not even necessary for you to meet them!

5. Hire an Assistant or Helper

If you’re into online marketing, this is an excellent solution. You can hire someone from Fiverr or the Warrior Forum (or Craigslist) who will follow your instructions and do whatever small tasks need to be done.

There are many resources and options available on the internet. Try googling.

6. Get a babysitter or nanny to share with others looking for childcare.

Suppose you know any other parents looking for someone to care for their children while at work; try connecting. You can join a nanny share or ask if they’d be interested in a babysitter share.

You could even get together and put ads on craigslist seeking childcare help with your baby, or you could post in an appropriate forum on the subject (childcare), etc. This will typically allow the parents to get free childcare. You should consider giving them free childcare help with their children!

7. Get a family member or friend to give you a hand

If you have a friend or family member who lives close by, you could ask them to come in and help out during the day. This way, you can still go to work, but someone else is taking care of your baby.

This might not be ideal as they won’t be able to watch your baby while you’re at work, but if they can be with your baby during the day, this is another solution that can work for you. Just make sure that it’s not too much for them!

8. Crowdsource childcare on sites like Care.com

Sites like Care.com allow you to search for childcare, find a nanny or babysitter and hire them. This is especially useful if you live in a large city where childcare is more expensive.

9. Hire a House Sitter

If you know anyone willing to help while you’re at work and your baby is at home, you could also ask them to babysit your child (or watch your child in general) while you’re working.

This is typically not a good solution if they are inexperienced with caring for babies (as this can be difficult for both parties). However, it can work well if they have experience caring for children.

10. Hire an in-home caregiver

If you’re living in the U.S, then you can hire a home health aide from the state. For example, you can find a home health aide for around $10/hr in Ohio. This is where healthcare costs are more affordable than in other areas (like New York City). This will be the least expensive option for you.

11. Hire a babysitter or nanny from a daycare center or your community

Every community has numerous daycare centers that allow parents to drop off their children while working. This will typically cost between $25-$40 per child per day/night. However, it depends on where you live. Some daycare centers even have nannies who can come and watch your child while you’re working, leaving you no need to worry about someone to look after your baby while you’re at work!

12. Hire a family member or friend

If you know anyone helping with the baby, you could ask them to be your trusted babysitter or nanny to help during the day. This will typically be free of charge (depending on how much they can do). However, this could also mean they can only babysit during the evening and stay overnight. You may have to give them some money to work this shift, but this is a good compromise if you don’t want to pay for childcare!

13. Buy a sitter app for your phone.

If you don’t want to hire a professional sitter and trust that they are around, you can also get a free smartphone app that allows you to find a babysitter anywhere in the world.

For example, there’s an app called Care.com, which will enable you to find babysitters across the globe and book them directly through your phone. You can even pay them when they arrive (or at a regularly scheduled time).

This is another excellent solution if you need help but don’t want to hire someone extra into your budget!

14. Barter with your babysitter if you have one

If you don’t want to hire a babysitter and already have someone helping out with the baby, then try bartering with them! You can exchange babysitting time for something else (or say that they will have to pay you to watch your baby).

Of course, this won’t always be free of charge, but it will save you some money on childcare while you’re working. This is especially true if they are looking after your child constantly.

15. Use the military family babysitting network for free or low-cost childcare.

If you’re part of the military, you can search for a babysitter through your nearest base and pay them directly from your military paycheck. This is easy to do as you’re not paying them anything! You can also visit the website of Military OneSource to find a local office near you affiliated with Military OneSource (and works with their network).

16. Ask for help from your sister or brother-in-law, or friend.

If you know someone in a similar situation, who might be willing to help with childcare, ask them if they can come and watch your baby during the day/evening or overnight. You can also see if they’d like to do it for free, just as long as they get a chance to spend some time with your baby!

17. Use educational or entertainment apps on your phone instead of Netflix or other TV shows.

If you’re away from home for work but need something for the baby to watch or listen to, try using an educational app. This is one of the best ways to stimulate their minds while not being managed by a professional who knows what he’s doing.

You could also try putting on an educational TV show, but you might find that your baby is more interested in staring at a smartphone screen than the TV.

18. Take advantage of local community centers or churches that offer childcare services.

Not all cities or towns have this, but if they do, you can check out their services and see what they offer. This could be free if it’s a government-sponsored program (depending on how much time your baby spends with them), but it will likely cost around $50-$100 to get additional childcare services like this over a month.

19. Use daycare/nursing home shuttles as part of your commute.

If you have a daycare or nursing home shuttle option in your area, you may want to consider using this as part of your commute. This will cost you less money on gas, and it will save you time from having to spend hours sitting in traffic every day.

20. Move closer to work or reduce travel time if possible.

One important thing that can be done is to move closer to your workplace within the same city or a different city that is still reasonably close to where you live (like 10-20 miles away).

This will reduce your commute as you won’t have to sit in traffic for so long (and it will also be much cheaper). You can also consider moving to a different state like Texas or Nevada if you can drive for $500 or less.

21. Look for housing in the exact location of your job

If you’re working in an urban city, you may want to look into apartment living options instead of renting a house out of state. This will save you money on rent, and it will also save a lot of time since you won’t have to get up and drive an hour each way every day!

22. Use UBER or other services when possible (especially in major cities).

If your city is congested and stressful, consider using a carpool service like UBER if available. This will save you a lot of time to get to and from work. This is especially important if you have young children, as it will help to keep them safe while riding with strangers who may have issues with their driving!

23. Find alternative forms of transportation (bike, walking, public transportation).

If possible, you can try taking an alternative form of transportation instead of driving to work (or at least use the bike or walking option rather than driving). You may find that this will help you to reduce stress and improve your health while also saving you money on gas.

24. Avoid eating at fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Subway, or Dunkin Donuts, which are the most expensive meals.

If you’re looking for healthy and inexpensive meals for yourself and your family, consider eating at a local farmers market instead of a fast food restaurant. This will save you a lot of money on healthier foods instead of buying them at a fast food chain, yet it will also keep your family in good health!

Conclusion

This is just a short list of 24 money-saving tips and tricks that many people with kids often forget when trying to make ends meet. Hopefully, you now know better how to tackle your situation and do the best job possible.