Staying at home to raise a child is one of the most important jobs you can do. But it’s not just one job. Apart from being a short-order cook, nurse, personal shopper, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, photographer, family website blogger, and activity director, I also continue to freelance design for various businesses. I’m not the only one that does this either. In fact, there are many moms working AND raising their kids from home. It takes a lot of creativity, time management, and flexibility.

When I was layed off as a designer, I decided to try freelancing. It did not happen as quickly as getting pregnant did. We were thrilled and excited. My husband and I had agreed before that whoever was making more money at the time would be the Stay-At-Home parent. Luckily, we had the flexibility to do this. And fortunately, I won the job opportunity. This was more important than my career. Family came first, job came second. When I began picking up freelance work, I had to manage my time creatively to keep my son’s needs number one, without turning down work or getting jobs done late. This was tricky. Clients don’t care why they are not getting their proofs back within an hour. They want results and no excuses. So, here’s how I manage to get things accomplished without pulling all my prematurely gray hair out.

In the morning, I feed my son, RJ, his breakfast at the kitchen table. I have a webcam on my computer, so I turn it on, get online, and let any family that’s online, too, watch him eat. They love it. This is a great time to check email, too, because I can actually keep him in one spot and I don’t have to use one eye to watch him and the other to read the computer. It is very important to read email with your full attention. Otherwise, it is easy to miss the one that needed handling right away. In the world of deadlines, if something goes out late and you were the last one holding the ball, you look like a world-class idiot. I avoid this situation at all costs by staying on top of email. From 8-10 am, it’s time to play; we hang out with other moms or go to different activities such as Finger Babble (a baby signing class), Stroller Strides (a fitness class for moms), or MotherSong (a music group for babies and parents). There are tons of other activities and groups to get into. I met a bunch of other moms at a support group hosted by Sutter Maternity. This class was one of our weekly rituals for the first 8 months of RJ’s life. It was my life-line, too. Through our sleepless nights, bouts of colickiness, and overall tests of sanity we bonded through our experiences. We kept each other posted through a Yahoo group on different activities and get-togethers and supported each other through whatever difficult stage we were going through. We talked about going back to work and finding good daycares. I could reach out to this network of other women and hear someone reverberate being up every two hours during the night and trying to work the next day. It was motivating and inspiring. So many moms are doing exactly what I’m doing.

After our morning play, comes nap #1. From about 5 months – 13 months, naptime happens twice a day. I am lucky to have a good napper. He goes down at 10am and stays down until 12pm and again from 3:30-5pm. This is when I get my real work done. If there was something important to deal with first thing that day, I crank it out. I get through as much as I can before RJ wakes up, and then we do the same routine again: eat, check email, play, nap. My little one likes to be outside. I think it’s all the distraction and newness of the world. I’ve been working really hard to get him to learn signs, such as more, food, dog, bird, cat, and ball. Dog is his favorite thing in the world and that sign is used universally. Luckily, I’ve heard many other babies do this too. I’ve learned from having a child that I can’t always fix things or solve the problem, as I do with work. Sometimes, things just need time, and they work themselves out. It’s a whole new concept for me, but I’m learning as I go. I had tried all the theories about getting your baby to sleep through the night. None of them worked. Everyone had a different opinion. It was really hard to figure out why they didn’t work for me. I had to finally let go of all these ideas and just be flexible with my strategy. I was most successful by going with what felt right and not trying to live by what others said was right. I did learn one thing from all the books and doctors’ theories: create routine. RJ really responded to it and, for me, I can plan my schedule and still be flexible with it because I always know what is next. My advice to others who want to be the best mom and owner of her own business is to create routines, flexible schedules, and stay connected with other moms.

After our last round of playtime, we hit the bath and then off to bed, where we listen to lullabies, read a book, and rock to sleep. By 8 o’clock, RJ’s asleep. If I have anything left to work on, I try to get it done, so that I can spend the rest of the night with my husband. I tell him about RJ taking his first steps and how I was there to see it. How RJ tries to sing or dance to music. It’s one of the best times of the day, sharing all the good things that happened. And as the fog slowly lifts from our daze of being new parents we start to see how much we’ve grown too. And then, we start to think….should we have another?