Creating a Work Schedule Around Your Baby’s Sleep Schedule

Schedule? You think to yourself, as you read the title of our article. I didn’t know the baby was on a schedule. Someone should tell her that. Well, erratic or not, your baby does have their habits, and you as their parent are tasked with organizing your life around them. 

It’s a job in and of itself to figure out how to sleep, work, and take care of your child while still retaining at least a small degree of your sanity. And yet, billions of people all around the world are getting the job done. 

In this article, we take a look at how you can create your work schedule around your baby’s sleep schedule. 

Explore Your Career Flexibility Options

The modern workplace is more of a concept than a physical location. Most employers are more than happy to offer a bit of flexibility— particularly as it often translates into more advantageous retention numbers and affordable lease agreements. 

If you can work from home, it’s a great way to balance taking care of your parenting responsibilities while still getting stuff done. Be warned, it’s not always a walk in the park. What’s one thing a parent consoling a gassy child never thinks? “Boy, I wish this was happening during a Zoom meeting!” 

You can definitely make it work but understand that you may bump up against a pretty steep learning curve now and again. It’s a good idea to buffer your coworkers’ expectations when you need to take a call as well. People have been working from home long enough that they aren’t going to get too taken aback by a crying child. Still, it’s a nice courtesy to loop them in. 

Don’t get too embarrassed. As long as you are getting your job done, no one is going to give you too much trouble for it. 

Learn How to Structure Your Schedule

Obviously, you don’t want to take an important meeting at the same time when you should be burping your baby. There are some tasks you can probably accomplish comfortably while they bounce around on their little seat, or, you know. Think the long thoughts of youth.

And then there are other tasks that you probably should wait until naptime to complete. Things that require sustained periods of focus. Nailing the perfect blend will take time, and your child’s disposition will also make a big difference. If your kid is good at self— soothing, it will be much easier to get things done than if they need to constantly be bounced on your knee. 

Recognize Your Limitations

People all over the country are working from home under the same roof as their children. It’s not an easy gig, but everyone finds their solutions to the issues. Still, it’s a good idea to take stock of your limitations and address them accordingly. 

If you find that it’s usually fine to work around your kids, but that the formula collapses during big projects, look for backup plans. Does your office offer childcare services? Do you have family members living in the area? The more options you have at your disposal, the better your work-from-home experiment will ultimately go. 

Revise as Needed

Do you know what’s fun about kids? They like to keep you on their toes. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, their stool thickens. Their teeth come in. They start talking, and at first, they say sweet stuff, but before you know it there’s one more sassy person living in your house. 

All of this is to say that even the best-laid plans will require revision at some point. Perhaps your child’s nap schedule will change. Maybe when they start walking, it will totally change your ability to work while they are awake. 

Fret not. There are still solutions out there to suit your needs. You just need to be willing to get creative. 

Training Your Baby

Ok, so the extent to which a baby can be trained is questionable at best. You hear talk of people getting their children on sleep schedules— usually by delaying naps and working on their self-soothing skills. It is an imperfect art form, though one that can yield good results with repetition and focus. 

Here’s the thing— you do run a bit of a risk in setting your baby’s internal schedule when you optimize it for your work-from-home lifestyle. You may need them to sleep while you work, but you also need them to sleep while you, you know. Also sleep. 

Even in the best-case scenario, there are limits to how well that will go, but if they are out for five hours a day while you work, you might be shooting yourself in the foot. 

The whole “not sleeping until your child moves out of the house,” thing is kind of real, but you do need rest. You won’t work well, and you won’t even be able to parent on all cylinders if you aren’t sleeping through the night. 

Be careful with how you recalibrate your child’s schedule. As with all things, balance is key. The “work/life” divide complicates somewhat when your career is playing out from the kitchen table, but when you can strike the right combo, it will make your whole life easier. Keep working at it, you’ll get there eventually.