To Work or Stay Home With Baby? The Pros and Cons

Posted by Gina Romero

Posted: June 1, 2009 - 1:53 pm

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Grappling with the decision to stay at work or stay at home with the kids? It’s a tough one. I’ve done both. I worked full time with my first baby. She was either in the office with me or in daycare for the first 12 months. It was a great arrangement and I was very fortunate to have a flexible work schedule. Below are some pros and cons based on my experience:

Pros: I took four months of maternity leave before going back to work. Was I sad when I took her to daycare for the first time? No! I was relieved and really looking forward to going back to work. Caring for an infant can be intense and consuming. Going to work provided a much needed break. It was rewarding and fulfilling to have responsibilities that were not related to motherhood. It is also nice to interact with other adults and in my case, the community at large. I really enjoyed watching co-workers interact with my daughter (a baby in the office tends to keep things in perspective). Two incomes are also a major bonus and in many cases, a necessity.

Cons: Initially, I was very relieved to drop my daughter off at daycare; however, I started missing her after a few months. I brought her to the office and worked from home, but it was not quality time. She was always in the saucer, bouncy seat or swing because I was tied up with work. I felt as though I was being pulled in both directions and management of both was extremely challenging at times.

Knowing we wanted a second child, I resigned from my full-time job to be with my daughter and baby. Now, I do freelance projects while managing a 2-year-old and 3-month-old. The situation is very different from a conventional job and daycare. Next week I’ll line out the pros and cons of working from home while managing young children.

There are tons of resources out there for working parents. I highly recommend Aliza Sherman's Blog: Entrepreneur Mom

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