How do you get things done when you have a baby?

[Lulu_Laroo]

I'm struggling! There a piles of laundry to be done, my house is a tip and I'm just really struggling to keep on top of it all. How do you manage? It wasn't so bad when Poppy was a newborn because she slept the majority of the day, but now she's 6 months she requires a lot more of my attention. She's very good, and will generally amuse herself a lot of the time, but she's recently started to be a bit more clingy. And what with her being weaned now, as well as all her milk feeds she still has, and the fact that I don't WANT to just leave her on her mat/in her bouncer/in her highchair, and then having to prepare dinner for me and OH, I'm finding it so hard to find the time to actually do ANYTHING.

I write to-do lists, and then find myself only getting a quarter of the way through them. I'm starting to think the only way I'll get anything done is if I get up at 6am to do it all, or go to bed really late

 

[Minchin]

we just cut corners, did more cleaning and washing at weekend when we were both there and stuff like that. ran around like a mad woman when he was napping etc! when we started blw I didnt always eat with him but sometimes brought the high chair in the kitchen and cooked/washed up while he got on with it.

 

[Hunnie]

Sophie's still newborn but I just clean and get on with chores and light speed while she's asleep lol!

 

[Sarah13]

I don't lol! Everything has just had to slip, I run about mad when Kynons napping to get the essentials done like washing and cooking I try to stay on top of the hovering as we have a dog so I put Kynon in his bouncer to watch if I have to as that don't take too long, he also watched me clean the bathroom the other day as it was minging and I couldn't leave it any longer!

 

[Maria1977]

When Oscar was your LOs age he used to sit in his activity station for ages, used to allow to me to loads done. Sometimes he'd be in there quite happy for up to 45-50 mins, other times he didn't wanna go in, but more often than not it was a winner.

He also had a walker.

this is the activity station (god send!!)

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Babies-R-U...-_-LeapFrog Learn and Groove Activity Station

 

[ChrissieCool]

At the moment I am putting Jacob in his bouncer chair and I carry him to each room as I clean it, he seems to like watching me hoover and dust, just as long as he is in the room with me and can see me doing it all he seems fine.

 

[ISH]

When I noticed I was crying non stop and not coping, I called reinforcements - i.e. my mum to come stay with us and help for a while. I know it's not for everyone, but I was losing the plot after the awful birth, the pain and the problems I had BFing.

 

[Hunnie]

ISH I lost the plot too and my mum was a huge help! I don't know how we would have managed if it wasn't for her. We now have it that one night every week Sophie goes to my mums for the evening.

 

[Belfast girl]

i can't leave emma on her playmat as she can get anywhere in the room now but i do small things with her watching me, like clean her bottles with her in the bumbo, hang out washing with her in her playnest. i did feel bad at the start but we make a game of it, like playing peekaboo with clothes and have long chats over the bottles etc she laughs so i think she enjoys it?. i also let her eat her lunch (blw) while i stack the dishwasher etc.

oh and we also have a cleaner. highly reccommend!!

 

[Belfast girl]

oh and i second the activity station maria suggested, we were given it, its great. i hide biscuits in the flappy bit!

 

[MrsR]

As someone else said, minchin I think, I'd do most of the washing whilst DH was at home on a weekend and ironing then too. Wash up as I went, so Sebastian and dd would have breakfast and I'd wash up immediately after as it was only two minutes extra of him in high chair. Same with lunch and DH would wash up after dinner. If I did some washing during the week I'd put it all in ready the night before with soap and softener, set to the required programme and turned on at the machine but off at the wall do it was ready to be put straight on. Then when Sebastian was napping I'd put it all out. During the day I would play with Sebastian and keep him entertained then the second he was in bed the hoovering, dusting, mopping etc got done before I sat down. Even now I do everything when Sebastian is in bed, during the day my house looks like a toy and book bomb hit it, at night it's spotless! Lol. I rarely if ever left him on his playmat, especially since he was rolling freely and nearly crawling!

 

[MrsR]

Just to add-I also used to talk away incessantly to him about what I was doing and that usually engaged his attention long enough to get little things done.

 

[ChrissieCool]

Would love one of those activity station things but it's a lot of money

 

[MrsR]

If she sits well you could give her a bowl and spoon to entertain her! Sebastian loved things like that! And still does!

 

[Maria1977]

Would love one of those activity station things but it's a lot of money

Shop around hun, and gumtree etc you can get them alot cheaper than the retail price xxx

 

[Maria1977]

If she sits well you could give her a bowl and spoon to entertain her! Sebastian loved things like that! And still does!

Oh god yeah, pans and spoons are winners!

At nursery Oz has a pan he won't let go of til he leaves lol

At his nannas it's a spoon and pans to bang on and honestly the spoon doesn't leave his hand til he's in his car seat lol

 

[MrsR]

Hehe those and boxes! The amount of joy Sebastian gets out of a bloody box!!! Lmao

 

[Squeakz]

At the moment I am putting Jacob in his bouncer chair and I carry him to each room as I clean it, he seems to like watching me hoover and dust, just as long as he is in the room with me and can see me doing it all he seems fine.

Thats what we did as well! x

 

[vickib_1984]

I highly recommend having a low cupboard full of plastic cups and plates etc that she can play with while your busy they are fantastic ESP pots and pans with a wooden spoon!!! Xx

 

[clairebear22]

Jack LOVES to chase the hoover around while i'm hoovering so I do the washing, ironing, cooking etc when he sleeps or when OH has him after work (i'm like a crazy cleaning lady when he has him lol) but I save the hoovering for when he's awake! He also love love loves his activity station, lucky it was his xmas pressie from Nanny because he wouldn't have it otherwise because it cost £120!!! He loves it though! x