Mothers are spending more time in the labor force than in the past. Those moms are spending more time on child care, too. In 2016, moms spent around 25 hours a week on paid work and 14 hours on childcare.

Trying to balance work and childcare can get stressful, though. As a new mom, it could take time to balance the two — along with acting as a caregiver to a family member as well.

You don’t have to go it alone! 

Instead, consider hiring an overnight, live-in caregiver. They can make sure your loved one is taken care of while you juggle motherhood and work.

Eager to get back to work faster? Learn how to make it possible by hiring a caregiver for in-home help!

1. Relieve Responsibilities

As a working mom, you likely have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. You need to get your child to school, make sure they’re bathed and brushed, feed them every day. Then you rinse and repeat.

At the same time, you also have to worry about work projects, meetings, and daily office operations. 

Taking care of an elderly family member adds a new list of responsibilities to your plate. In some cases, this can cause you to stretch yourself too thin.

This is where a live-in caregiver can step in and help. They can take a number of household tasks off your plate. For example, they can help your loved one with:

• Laundry
• Cleaning the bathrooms
• Dusting
• Sweeping the floors
• Washing the dishes

Taking these responsibilities off your plate will free up your time. After work, you can focus your afternoon hours on your children. Meanwhile, your loved one will have the help they need with any night-time rituals.

For example, a live-in caretaker can help your loved one make, eat, and clean up after dinner. Then, the caretaker can help your family member shower, dress, and get ready for bed. 

Personal caregivers will also make sure your loved one takes the right medications at the right time. Seniors who fail to take their medications on time could experience dire consequences.

Hiring an in-home caregiver will give you peace of mind these responsibilities aren’t falling through the cracks. 

2. Get More Sleep

Trying to balance work, parenting, and caretaking can take a toll. Seniors, especially those with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, need around-the-clock care. However, you still need to get sleep. 

Without a proper amount of sleep each night, you’ll start to experience side effects from sleep deprivation, including:

• Moodiness
• Fatigue
• Clumsiness
• Forgetfulness
• Depressed mood
• Impaired learning
• Slower response time
• Cardiovascular system impairment 

You can’t do your job or take care of a family without enough sleep. You’ll also notice your patience is strained, which can make it more difficult to take care of a senior with dementia.

You can’t take care of your loved one at night and head to work during the day. 

Instead, consider hiring an in-home caregiver. They can take care of your senior loved one while you sleep. At night, they’ll make sure the senior doesn’t run off at night.

Elderly people, especially dementia patients, are prone to roaming at night. They could end up wandering outside. They might not know their way back home or get themselves in a dangerous situation.

With an in-home caregiver, you’ll have peace of mind your loved one won’t wander off. Then, you can get the sleep you need to feel energized throughout the day.

3. Have More Energy

With that additional sleep, you’ll have the energy you need to handle work and your kids. 

You’re not the only one who has tried to find a balance in their lives. 

In a single year, seven in every 10 moms with children younger than 18 were in the labor force. In fact, moms were the primary breadwinners for four out of every 10 families in the US.

When you add all of those hours between home, kids, and caretaking up, it can drain your energy. In time, it will cause a physical and mental strain. In fact, many caretakers end up with “compassion fatigue” after trying to take care of everyone on their own. 

Trying to provide overnight care for your elderly loved ones can cause a psychological toll. That toll could slow you down. As a result, you won’t end up returning to work as soon as you’d hoped. 

Hiring a live-in caregiver will ensure you have the energy you need to return to work and take care of your family.

4. Rely on Their Experience

Taking care of an elderly loved one for the first time requires a learning curve. Trying to determine what they need and how to best take care of them will take time. If you want to return to work right away, you might not have that time. 

A qualified live-in caregiver will already have hands-on experience. They can use what they’ve learned in the past to your loved one’s benefit. 

That experience can improve your loved one’s quality of life. 

5. Don’t Stress About Supervision

You can’t stress out about where your loved one is every second of the day. At night, you need to focus on getting your kids to bed. An in-home caregiver will focus on ensuring your loved one is supervised, so you can get sleep.

Otherwise, they might slip and fall or experience another accident if left alone.

With a live-in caregiver, you won’t have to worry about what happens when they’re left unsupervised at night. 

6. Get the Break You Need

Between taking care of your kids and taking care of a senior, you need a break. You can’t return to work if you’re already booked every hour of the day. Hing a caregiver for in-home help will free up your schedule a little.

That way, you can go to work every day, focus on your kids, and still know your loved one is getting the attention they need.

Head Back to Work, Mom: 6 Ways Using a Live-in Caregiver Can Help

Ready to head back to work? As a working mom with an elderly loved one to take care of, it can sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. A live-in caregiver can make sure your elderly loved one is taken care of.

That way, you’ll have the time to get back to work, even as a new mom!Contact us today to get your loved one the round-the-clock care they need.