How do you get it all done?

na24

We are having such a hard time finding time to get anything done.  I'm with the babies all day and can barely find time to do laundry, wash dishes, make myself food, etc.  We've had the girls in daycare part-time just to get used to it this past week, and between the drive to the daycare and the drive back, I'm in the car for 2-3 hours.  And I've only been dropping them off to stay there for three or four hours total anyway.  So that "free time" we thought I'd have to get stuff done has disappeared somehow.  

And I go back to work full-time in January.  I don't know how it's all going to get done.  We just started solids and it takes FOREVER to get them to eat anything.  Will this get faster?  I just can't imagine how early I'm going to have to get up to get myself all ready first, and then to wake them up to nurse them and feed them solids before I leave for work at 7:00 or 7:30.  My husband is going to be doing the dropoffs in the morning and I'm going to be leaving work early (for me ... in my past life, I'd leave the office at 6 or 6:30) at 5:00 to go pick them up.  Then we'll sit in traffic for probably an hour to go 16 miles.  (Gotta love Houston.)  Then it'll be 6:15 or so and I'll want to play with them for a little while, and then it'll be bedtime.  And then at 8:30 or 9:00, I can think about starting to make dinner, do any chores, etc.  And that's not to mention the guilt I'm sure I'll feel for not working my normal hours.  But I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to be able to be the same employee I once was.  Work is just work now.  My babies come first.  

Are there any tricks you've figured out to making things work more smoothly?  Any time-saving tips?  Does it somehow all just get done?   

lgurian

i dont think you can ever "get it all done". but what i wanted to say was your babies are beautiful!!! 

boshi799

I am with you. I go back to work next week and don't know how I will get it all done. I am trying to make things easier - food shopping online, probably hiring a cleaning woman (or just letting things get dirty for awhile!), ordering out for dinner, etc. I want to spend ALL my free time with the babies. Best of luck. I am sure we will figure it out. And my babies are only 4 months old, but I am sure the solids will get much faster.

keg

Yeah, it can be overwhelming.  Luckily, I only work part time, so I have at least one day a week where the girls are in daycare that I can get stuff done. 

This is how our mornings go though.  I get up when the girls get up--we have one morning bird that usually wakes up around 6-6:30.  I change their diapers and then give them their morning bottle (I hold one, so you could substitute BFing here).  I let them play in their "baby jail" aka Superyard while I take a shower.  They generally poop during this time so I change their diapers again and get them dressed and in their car seats.  Put their bottles/food into their bag and then load up the car.  When they were younger, I wouldn't put my clothes on until after they were in their car seats because we had a spit up queen.  However, they are better now so sometimes put on my clothes right after my shower. 

One big timesaving thing I do is have daycare give them breakfast solids.  When we started solids, we started with dinner, then added lunch, and then breakfast.  Daycare now does breakfast and lunch for the girls which makes life soooo much easier.  It also makes it easier that the girls are mainly doing finger food for dinner so it takes a long time for them to eat and it makes it easier to eat with them. 

For our evenings, we get home around 5:15ish, play for a little while, then have dinner for at least the girls around 6.  After dinner is bath, bottles, and then bed by 7 or 7:30 at the latest.  After they are down, I eat if I haven't already, clean up their play space, clean up the kitchen/load the dishwasher, fix their bottles/food for the next day, and whatever else needs to be done.  What I find is helpful is just to have a routine list of things that you do after the girls are down.  Somedays I want to be lazy and just sit, but I try not to do that because it only makes things worse!  

I am fortunate too that my DH cooks.  We never do anything terribly complicated during the week, but he will fix something either while I'm playing with the girls after we get home or while I'm putting them down. We do wind up ordering out fairly frequently and eat a lot of leftovers.  That's the way we manage food during the week. 

Another trick which makes things bearable--we have someone who comes and does the major cleaning every 2 weeks.  That way, all I have to do between those times is try and control the clutter and basic clean-up (wipe counters and such).    

It's definitely tough, but it gets a little easier as they get older because feeding them isn't quite as much work and because they can entertain themselves some or even "help" out with things when you are home.  For example, I can sometimes put them on the floor in the kitchen with some toys/random items and they will play while I put together their bottles.  Stuff like that.  Good luck!

Temp159135562506975

You learn to NOT get it all done- and be OK with that.  Our house is NEVER perfectly clean - we're lucky if it's a little clean   Between the twins, our toddler, our 2 dogs- we're lucky if things are 1/2 done.

I work part time -but that doesn't mean i have time to do anything when i'm home with the kids. I have all 3 of them M/T and the twins only on the Wed's I don't work. I do get more done on Wed's b/c the twins still nap a lot- though, that will end soon.  On M/T I get pretty much nothing done.... and DH and I are both OK with that.

DH is SUPER helpful -he does the dishes each night and puts them away every morning - while i take care of the kids.  he does a ton around the house- probably more than me (bc i watch the kids more). 

If we could afford it we'd have a housekeeper come every 2 weeks - someday that is my dream!!  We have paid for a landscaper a few times when we haven't had time to do spring/fall clean ups outside... but just mowing- DH does that. We might pay my nephew to mow our lawn next year.

 Our philosophy is that when we have free time- we want it to be with our kids - and if our house is a mess b/c of it- that's OK.  Granted- we don't let it get gross or anything-b ut it's certainly not "guest ready" very often... and we don't care- b/c we'd rather have the time with the kids while they are small than worry about cleaning.

your daycare is THAT far from your house??  Yikes... that sucks.  Ours is 8 minutes- which is great so on days i work from home, or i'm sick- we can still easily drop them off. You might find that having daycare close to home would be a better option - what if you can't take them one day? Your DH will have to drive all that way? I assume it's not near his job?  Might need to rethink that if it's a big problem.

nikkol122

Don't beat yourself up over it all. I'm a SAHM and I can't get everything done. Before the babies I was one of those women that was organized, not a procrastinator, everything has a place some would say OCD. Now I have given myself permission to let things wait.  As woman we strive to do EVERYTHING to prove to others and ourselves that we CAN do it all. But when we take a step back esp after twins or more we realize we can't get everything we want done. One word I would suggest for you DELEGATE, if you can. I've had a hard time doing this, asking for help makes us seem like failures but that's not true. If you have family close ask ask ask for help.

Good luck

Nikkol

carissasmom

You'll fall into a routine, my girls are a little younger, but I've been back at work for a while and I also have an older DD so I've done it once before.  I get everything ready the night before, after the girls are in bed.  As much as humanly possible gets done and ready then so the mornings go as quickly as possible.  Solids will get better before you know it they'll be eating finger foods w/ you at dinner.  I also recommend just letting stuff go.  We often don't clean the kitchen or pick up the living room until the kids are all in bed.  My home time is kid time.  They are usually all in bed by 8, 8:30 at the latest, and w/ my husbands help we can have everything cleaned/picked up and packed for the next day in under 30 mins.  That gives us atleast an hour to watch tv, play on the computer, relax and unwind before we go to bed.  Then it starts all over again the next day.

janjag

online grocery shopping has been so great!  totally worth the delivery charge.  the produce they pick out is just fine!  haha, that's the question people always ask.

that commute (with kids in the car) sounds long... of course for you, but also for them. 

we stopped solids for a bit b/c i thought they were just too young, and it was just too much work.  started again at exactly 6mos.  they are taking to it really well.  one girl caught on right away, the other took a few days.  we are doing rice cereal till 6mos appt next week, then might graduate to veggies.  it does get faster... once they start eating rather than playing, and getting excited to see that spoon coming  

i work pt (3 afternoons), and have a nanny come to the house when i work.  is that at all an option?  i don't know the cost of daycare, but it is so nice having the girls stay home.  no getting them ready to go anywhere!  no morning rush, etc.