So, you are expecting a baby. Congratulations! Becoming a parent is a rewarding experience on so many levels. Along with the excitement of becoming a parent, it is entirely possible that you could be feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the things that you need to think about during your pregnancy regarding not only the pregnancy but also what life after the baby’s birth will be like for you. There is information to gather, and many discussions to be had and decisions to be made with your spouse or significant other.
One major topic of discussion and decision making for people who are expecting a baby is work. Specifically, whether one or both parents will be making any career changes once the baby arrives. For some parents, the decision will be that both parents will remain in their current positions and once maternity leave is over, the baby will be cared for by relatives, at a home day care, or at a day care center. For other parents, the decision will be that one parent will stay at home to care for the baby. If a decision is made that someone will stay at home to care for the baby, a discussion of the family finances is in order. For some families, the loss of the stay-at-home parent’s income is not an issue and the income of the working parent can provide comfortably for the family for as long as they need it to. For most families though, the decision to have a parent stay home to care for the children does make for a precarious (but not impossible) financial situation.
Working from home, even on a part time basis, is a great way for parents that have taken on the responsibility of staying home to care for their children to still earn an income. The demands of parenthood certainly affect the amount of time that stay-at-home parents are available to work, but this is where creativity comes into play. Many home-based professional parents look for and choose home-based work that they can do at any time of day or night. Freelance work of all kinds fills this need nicely, but there are other types of work that can be done at odd hours as well. For example, some companies offer 24 hour customer service and hire call center representatives to work from home taking calls at all different times of day. If you are expecting a baby and you are thinking about your family’s career and financial paths, consider having a discussion about working from home. You may just find that having one parent stay home with the baby and work part time from home is something that will meet the needs of your family.