How to Entertain 6 Month Old While Working from Home?

Hi A.,

I worked/work from home, not with a six month old, but with a 4 and 6-16 yrs. and it is something else. Our children want us, and we want to earn a living. I worked from home so that I could be there with my kids, but it didn't work. It didn't work, because I am working!

I found a company that showed me how to be free from the desk and ball and chain of the 9-5 at home as well. I quit my job and now I do my own business so that I work a few hours each day, but as I am living my life. I could be doing laundry and no one was going to be angry with me because they here me doing laudry or running after my child, because now I am going to teach them how to do the same thing. Be FREE. It has literally saved me. My children not only wanted me but needed me. I am much happier now and so are they. I had to remember that they are just kids and they like it when mom is not cranky with them because they spilled on my work. It has worked out for all of us. Maybe it is something that you can look into. www.ucanreachyourpotential.com

Have a great one!

I got this contraption called "Merry Muscles". It is a jumper that babies as small as 3 months can go in.. it is quite expensive- and I could only buy it through canada- but my son loves it (he's 7 mo), and he spends up to 1/2 hour to 45 minutes in it.

Hello A.,
Yes....it does become a challege as infants become toddlers and start to move around. I have been working from home for 2-1/2 years...my little one's age. I take my child to a drop and play for a couple of hours. After getting out all of her energy we come home, have lunch and I work a couple hours while she watches a movie. 8 hours of work seem too many...have you thought about decreasing your work hours? I invite you to look into www.shaklee.net/natural_family_products/getclean
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Good Luck!

Hey There! You posted this a few years ago so I am sure you figured it out but if anyone else is searching for answers, I figured I would share my experience.
I have been working from home once a week since my baby was born, 6 months ago. She's semi-crawling now too so I am curious how it will be when she really gets moving. I'll tell you what I do. I tend to do a couple of hours of work the night before while "watching" TV with the hubby. I wake up with the baby for her early morning feeding and then when she goes back to sleep for an hour or 2 I stay up and get more concentrated work done....then I get more done while she is napping and I rotate entertaining things for her during the day...I just end up leaking my day into evening again when my husband is around to take the baby...I also find it's necessary to have a to-do list, without it I would be lost. It's not easy nor is it ideal but with the cost of daycare we all do what we have to do and it's worth it to spend the day with my little munchkin! I also make sure I am always on email ready to answer questions so I def get my 8 hours in (prob more than when in the office with all of the impromptu meetings that go on in an office)! Granted I only work from home once or twice a week, I'm not sure how exhausting it would be 5 days a week. I'm also a night owl so that helps. Best of luck to all you moms trying to figure out the working from home thing...it can be done!!

Oh boy, good luck!! I never could get ANYTHING done at home with babies, toddlers or preschoolers, let alone a job! Sounds like the job for a babysitter or nanny to me!

Once your daughter is crawling you will not be able to get anything done. My daughter is now one years old and she was a piece of cake at 6 months old. I can't even watch TV now, because she is in to everything and will no longer be confined in a play pen or high chair for any length of time. You will need to hire help if you need to get 8 hours worth of work done or part-time daycare. She will probably have more fun if she has more attention.

My husband worked from home for half days until our son was about 7 months old.

It will only get harder!!! Once the baby is mobile, you will need to keep your eyes on them all the time, no matter how well you've baby proofed. It became more difficult to keep up with my son once he was crawling, cruising, walking, running, climbing!! Can you afford a mother's helper? It'll be hard to get the work done while trying to keep an eye on the baby. My husband said he really only got work done when it was naptime. Otherwise, he didn't really get his "half day" in.

Unless you can do your 8 hours on your schedule then you will need to get some help. You have pretty much named all the activities they can do at 6 mo on their own. You could add highchair time. I use to put our baby in her highchair once in a while for exploring things like Jell-O and washable markers. She may make a big mess that you will have to then find time to clean up, but it will keep her busy for about 30 minutes or more <grin>. It is also great for their sensory and fine motor development.

I knew a gal that worked from home and had a nanny, a college student, twice a week for the middle part of the day...after the morning nap, before the afternoon nap. She would take the baby for a walk or to the kiddy pool, or something out side the home that was local and take care of feeding lunch for about three hours. This insured a couple hours of uninterrupted work as well as a good long afternoon nap.

Hope it all works out for you!

~J.