5 Reasons to Hire a Babysitter Even If You’re a Work at Home Mom
You’re living the working-from-home-in-your-PJs dream. No more hour-long commute or ripping yourself away from your new sweet baby to head into the office. Now that you’re a work-at-home mom (WAHM), you can do it all (in yoga pants) and don’t have to pay for daycare, right? We know that you have those extra bucks slated for a family vacay, but working and watching your kiddo may not exactly mix. Here are five reasons you probably still need some extra help (i.e., a babysitter). After all, it takes a village, right?
1. Baby’s not invited to your Skype calls. Even though you no longer have the traditional face-to-face weekly group strategy sessions, you may still have meetings while working at home. Technology has given you the gift of telecommuting. But it’s also raised the bar from calling into meetings on your speakerphone to video conferencing with your coworkers. You wouldn’t bring your baby into an in-office meeting, and you shouldn’t bring them to the video version either. Sure, you can wear sweatpants with your cute work top (they’ll only see the top half of you), but you’ll need a sitter to hang with your little one while you’re on camera.
2. You end up with two full-time jobs… and burned out. Being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) is a full-time job (you know it). Staying home with your newborn is much more than changing a few diapers and breastfeeding every so often. And, it’s way more than a 40-hour work week. Add on a second full-time job (the one that actually pays you), and now you’re working two jobs. Unless you have a partner who’s completely comfortable with pulling night duty and you’re all in for staying up 24/7, you need a sitter to shoulder some of the load.
3. To be the best mom and coworker, you need a break. Remember those long Friday lunches that you took with coworkers that felt luxurious but actually boosted your productivity? Instead of the usual yogurt and granola bar at your desk, a few of you went to an actual sit-down restaurant — or at least the lunch room — and ate a real meal. If you hire a sitter (even part-time), you can sneak out for a lunch with friends (one that doesn’t involve formula, spit-up or toting a garage-sized baby bag along), or even treat yourself to working from your fave coffee shop. You’re a working mom who is trying to be everything to everyone — and you totally deserve a break.
4. You’re available for important in-person meetings. Sometimes a video call just won’t cut it. If there’s a majorly mega-important client coming into town, your boss could think it’s best for you to meet with them IRL. Oh yeah, and it’s all set up for 2:30pm — today! If you don’t have a sitter already lined up, you’re left scrambling to find child care at the last moment. Even if you’ve got a meeting scheduled a week or a month in advance, having a babysitter who’s already part of your routine and baby’s life makes scheduling out-of-home meetings that much easier.
5. You’ll be able to be present for work and baby — separately. You’re changing diapers, answering emails, writing reports and spoon feeding first solid foods — all at the same time. It’s oh-so-tempting to start a story-time session with your little love, and put your work calls on hold. At the same time, it can be awfully easy to turn your head away from baby’s playtime and quickly respond to your boss’s constant texts. Your work-life lines are seriously blurred. With a sitter, you’ll have some separation between your two worlds. That means getting your work done, and then devoting the rest of your day to baby!