Ask the Expert Sandi Esptein coaches clients on home life and work. She also coaches on business issues and has over 15 years experience in marketing and business management with an MBA from Columbia University. Ask her all your work and family balance questions. Restless after staying at home Q: Dear Sandi, I'm going crazy after 10 years of independence and working because I married a man with a 5 year old. To further complicate things, but joyously, we had a surprise baby that is now 10 months old. I love the family dearly, but feel totally nuts just staying at home! Are there work environments where children can be there or nearby? I am willing to change career paths, just to have something to do outside this house...does it sound familiar? Many older women come home to raise kids after careers, don't they? Danielle A: Feeling a little crazy staying at home with the kids, and perhaps feeling you need to stretch different muscles in your brain, is not uncommon! Yes you can find ways to work and have children to. First, define what you want. Do you want to take the step of having some form of child care to work a set amount of time in or out of home? Do you want to switch off with your husband and work on his off hours? As yet I don’t know of anyone who can work with a 10 month old at home. To work through your initial thoughts on this a personal coach would be helpful (look up coachu.com, a referral site). Also, look for role models in your community. Here are some working moms I know of: a woman who is a virtual assistant through a web-based assistant referral service, a woman who job shares with a friend and shares a baby sitter too, a woman who works part-time out of the home and shares a baby sitter, a woman who makes $100,000 a year selling Avon products while her kids are at school, a woman who works from home as a consultant and has an in home sitter. The sky is the limit, it is about defining what you want. Also see: • Ask Sandi a question • More information on coaching from Sandi