Baby on the way - questions

jamsandwhich

Well, I will firstly say - Congratulations:) Very happy news indeed. Might be nice for others to follow suit rather than bicker.

Sounds to me like your calcs are correct - am no expert though, just know what we had.

I was lucky enough to be on full, full-time pay for six months after I had our twins (now 3 1/2) - I work for a small business and I did go back to work three days a week instead of full-time as I didn't want to be away from the girls for more than that. We had the girls in a good routine from the start and I had more time to do things in the first 12 months than I have now so if you do manage to get little one into a routine I see no reason why you can't work a day from home - feeding, playtime will give you a break from the computer screen/books anyway!

We were very, very lucky that we didn't have to contend with huge childcare costs (to put two in would have cost £1600 a month anyway) in that my SIL came to ours two days a week to take care of the girls while I worked and we gave her pocket money which she didn't want to take and my mum and sister looked after them the remaining day. If we hadn't had the option of people to look after them I would not have gone back to work and we would have cut down spending on anything so I could SAH - to me that time gone is gone forever, I am not knocking anyone who does go back to work but if you really really want to SAH there are always ways to cut back so you don't look back and regret the time gone!

Good luck - I don't really give other people advice on how to bring there own up but getting ours into a routine from day one has meant that we had full nights sleep from six months (and knew when they would wake up before then;)), girls were in bed and asleep by 7.30pm and still are which gives us our evenings and they go through to 6am:)

One last thing - you really don't need all the carp 'stuff' that are pushed at us - nappy bins stink to high heaven after half a day even though they promise not to, borrow a moses basket if you can as they will grow out of it by about six weeks old, baby gyms were designed for parents to trip over after baby gets bored after about four weeks and learns to turn over so has lost interest anyway, Bumboo seats? WHY??? Cushions on the floor around them work just as well, clothes - it is heartbreaking when someone spends £25 on a Mamas and Papsa outfit and they either grow out of it after the first wear or puke on it and it stains - babygro's all in one colour and then easy to wash and make sure you have millions of bibs!!! - these are just my opinion though - I could ramble on forever but you will have fun finding a lot out yourself, enjoy every minute - even the not so good days as they give you something to look back on and smile about XX

dantheman2010

Firstly thank you Jamsandwhich.

To everyone else - my job is mainly laptop based doing sales and purchase orders and replying to and dealing with emails as and when they arrive. The business is my Dad's business and I have been able to work from home at times before too. Working from home once a week whilst attending to the baby will not be a problem (dont forget it will be his grand-daughter/son being cared for too), not sure what the need of the arguing was??!?

So as I suspected it would be the £80 monthly for the benefit and also about £40 odd for tax credits.

dantheman2010

jamsandwhich wrote: »

If we hadn't had the option of people to look after them I would not have gone back to work and we would have cut down spending on anything so I could SAH - to me that time gone is gone forever, I am not knocking anyone who does go back to work but if you really really want to SAH there are always ways to cut back so you don't look back and regret the time gone!

What is SAH?

anguk

dantheman2010 wrote: »

What is SAH?

Stay at home.

Congratulations on the baby!

iamana1ias

Stay at home

Sixer

Congratulations!

Perhaps your wife could have a look at some of the options on the Up Your Income board? Then she could work around you but still bring a little bit of money in? Mystery shopping or similar?

nannytone_2

koloko wrote: »

How many threads on this board go:

OP Question
Nannytone Answer
Other Counter-answer
Argument
Argument
Argument

don't you just love it!
a positive post, looking at helping themselves ( working from home and looking after his child himself) and i'm full of encouragement.
but some people always look for the negative!

'surely he cant give 100% to his work if he needs to feed/wind/change nappies'

what do you think mothers do every day?
once they have a baby, does everything else stop happening?
do they stop doing housework and looking after other kids?

maybe 'multi tasking' is a foreign concept to a lot of people (men) but the world doesnt stop because a new baby arrives!

people like the OP should be encouraged, rather tyhan saying ' i have a baby so i should be getting benefits'!!

michelle1506

It would depend on the nature of the work. Telephone type jobs with plenty of such work, might not be the best work when there are young children/babies screaming or crying in the background.

That would not go down well with most employers and those on the phone might complain.

I myself have been looking at home type jobs, and a lot of jobs which involve telephone work do state 'a quiet working environment is essential'.

nannytone wrote: »

don't you just love it!
a positive post, looking at helping themselves ( working from home and looking after his child himself) and i'm full of encouragement.
but some people always look for the negative!

'surely he cant give 100% to his work if he needs to feed/wind/change nappies'

what do you think mothers do every day?
once they have a baby, does everything else stop happening?
do they stop doing housework and looking after other kids?

maybe 'multi tasking' is a foreign concept to a lot of people (men) but the world doesnt stop because a new baby arrives!

people like the OP should be encouraged, rather tyhan saying ' i have a baby so i should be getting benefits'!!

AnxiousMum

OP - it is entirely possible to work from home and care for a baby as well I know, I've done it. Even in telephone type jobs, there is always admin work to be done - so you telephone when baby is sleeping, contentedly playing, and do admin at a time when you have quiet time in the home - mine was usually in the evenings. It's hard with a toddler - I started my current job when my youngest was about two years old - preschool in the morning - so was telephone time, and afternoons were as much admin as possible, with phone calls being made while he was playing happily. You can't of course ignore the child or the child's needs - but it sure makes you anticipate their needs if you know you have to get something done. Then again, you can't ignore your job either - but, with the employer being the baby's grandparent - I think you've got the best of both worlds with being able to do a day from home.

Babys/toddlers do not need entertaining every minute of the day - it's important that they also learn how to entertain themselves - just like when there is a baby in the house and dinner has to be made - you make sure the child is safe, happy and content - and then get on with it.

michelle1506

You would need to choose the hours pretty carefully then, and in short blocks. I am just stipulating what employers have stipulated to me thats all. Some customer service roles have a limited admin function, and the work is predominately telephone based. You job is to answer the phone and deal with the calls. Working a large block of hours 3+ in a row will be pretty difficult to manage with a baby or a toddler to care for at the same time, if the work is solely telephone based.

AnxiousMum wrote: »

OP - it is entirely possible to work from home and care for a baby as well I know, I've done it. Even in telephone type jobs, there is always admin work to be done - so you telephone when baby is sleeping, contentedly playing, and do admin at a time when you have quiet time in the home - mine was usually in the evenings. It's hard with a toddler - I started my current job when my youngest was about two years old - preschool in the morning - so was telephone time, and afternoons were as much admin as possible, with phone calls being made while he was playing happily. You can't of course ignore the child or the child's needs - but it sure makes you anticipate their needs if you know you have to get something done. Then again, you can't ignore your job either - but, with the employer being the baby's grandparent - I think you've got the best of both worlds with being able to do a day from home.

Babys/toddlers do not need entertaining every minute of the day - it's important that they also learn how to entertain themselves - just like when there is a baby in the house and dinner has to be made - you make sure the child is safe, happy and content - and then get on with it.