Parents help!! Hosting while having a baby?

[Vanessa533]

Hi everyone!

It's my first time posting and I was scouring the community topics to see what people had to say about their experience with being a host while raising a newborn. I originally wanted to block off three months after the baby was born but we need the money before I start working again.

Has anyone had expereince with such a situation? Is it a bad idea to be hosting with a newborn in the house? My dedicated space is my basement, and the noise is muffled but I worry that super light sleepers may have an issue with a crying newbor/infant (I offer ear plugs).

I have already updated my lisitng to inform the guests of our new arrival in March and to really consider renting our space, and I started renting out our Airbnb when my first born was 11 months old and have never received a complaint about his crying or noise level, but I'm worried about getting a bad review over a tiny human being that naturally will be crying at any given hour of the day or night.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[Inna22]

@Vanessa533

I suggest clicking off "potential for noise" button and adding details there as well as in the body of your listing. I have a train right behind my house and only once someone made a fuss about it and that person made a fuss about everything. And congrats!

[Vanessa533]

Thank you Inna! I had already checked off the "potential for noise" from the very beginning since I have a toddler and three dogs, but I worry and wonder about how many people actually read through our pages. I've yet to encounter the "fusses about everything" guest but that's definitely a nightmare of mine!

[Susan151]

@Vanessa533. My only thought isn't about the guests' response to a crying baby, but how YOU will feel about the baby crying. Will you be constantly worried about the guests being disturbed? Will you be able to breathe? Will you regret spending those first three months worrying about guests instead of focusing on the baby?

So, I think only you can answer your own question. What is best for your family? What is best for building the bond with the baby? What is best for the older kid adjusting to having a baby at home? Will they have the space to regress a bit as they fight for your attention?

All that gets weighed against the money, and then you have your answer.

[Kath9]

@Vanessa533, if you are absolutely transparent on your listing about the potential for a crying baby, then it is up to potential guests to decide if they want to go ahead and book anyway. But I have to agree with @Susan151 - are you going to be (even more) stressed if your baby is crying when you have guests trying to sleep? It sounds like the income is important to you but you may risk getting potential negative reviews (since guests don't seem to mind marking us down for things that we have clearly listed). There are also ways to mitigate the baby crying for long periods - breastfeeding on demand, cosleeping or having the cot right next to your bed so that you can respond immediately to night feeds before the baby has a chance to start crying, etc. Of course, you can never know beforehand what each baby will be like - I would at least give yourself a month to get used to the new baby before deciding whether to open up your bookings.

[Vanessa533]

Thank Susan and Kath. I’ve really been thinking it over for a while. I have made my page completely transparent and have let people know what to expect in the near future. I will be breastfeeding on demand and bedsharing when the baby comes so I’m confident that I will be able to minimize my baby’s cries (hopefully the baby isn’t colicky. First one was a dream!). I did want to shut down our Airbnb for six months but my hisband broke the bad financial news, so until I can get back to work, we need a roof over our heads and such. I’ve been looking for remote locations jobs on the meantime too but no luck there. Thank you so much for your advice and I wish I could’ve done it but we have to do what we have to do 😞 Hoping for the best!

[Susan151]

@Vanessa533. So you do have your answer! I have one tiny caution. It appears that you have added this to your listing: "You may hear the faint crying of a newborn/infant upstairs but it will not be disruptive whatsoever." I would remove this. You have no idea if this baby or your toddler will be disruptive or not yet. As you know, these little things arrive with their own personalities and nothing you can do, including breast-feeding on demand and co-sleeping, will change them if they are a screamer. I think your disclaimer that there will be a baby is sufficient. Don't promise more than you can control.

I hope that Baby Nº 2 pictures will be posted when it chooses to appear.

[Vanessa533]

 I have omitted that. Thank you for your help!!