I Honestly could say i don't know where else to turn too.

CrystalJulianna

I Honestly could say i don't know where else to turn too.

I'm a young 22 stay at home mom for about 4 months. I haven't got my son on a schedule. You would think since I'm a stay at home mom to one toddler i will  have this place spot less & be super organized. I wish. My son is 2.5 and i'm pregnant with baby # 2 due in october again. I need to start being a a schedule and get my life organize. I try to do a schedule but i don't stick to it. I need help ladies. I'm so stress & frustrated. Any help will be awesome.

 

• Thank You so much ladies for all the advice.  I will let you know how it goes. Thanks Again.
  

safy

Being SAHM does not equal to always feeding my kids healthy homemade foods, frolicking through daisy covered fields on educational adventures, being the perfect mother, housekeeper, chef, and wife.  I'm human. I have needs. I have resource constraints; time, money, etc. I don't get stuff done, even stuff that desperately needs done. Heck, on some days, if my kids didn't know to beg and nag for food, I wonder how they're still alive.  You're pregnant and juggling a toddler. Cut yourself some slack.  Schedule or not, things aren't going to get done. That's just how it is sometimes. I find it helps if I prioritize but even then not everything on my daily to do list gets done. There's always tomorrow and don't be afraid to ask your DH and others around you for help.  Being a SAHM doesn't mean you have to do everything. There's nothing wrong with delegating and outsourcing some tasks.

susanmosley

Don't be so hard on yourself!

I live by to do lists.  Maybe you could start by writing out a to do list (no matter how giant and detailed it may be) and then knock things off one at a time.  It feels great to scratch an item off of a list.

I think creating a schedule for your son could be really helpful.  Does he have a general bed time and bed time routine?  Maybe start there.  Do you do naps/meals at specific times?  Maybe just writing out a general plan for sleep and eat times, and sticking with it for a week or so, would make things seem less chaotic. 

GL 

babypuplove

safy:

Being SAHM does not equal to always feeding my kids healthy homemade foods, frolicking through daisy covered fields on educational adventures, being the perfect mother, housekeeper, chef, and wife.  I'm human. I have needs. I have resource constraints; time, money, etc. I don't get stuff done, even stuff that desperately needs done. Heck, on some days, if my kids didn't know to beg and nag for food, I wonder how they're still alive.  You're pregnant and juggling a toddler. Cut yourself some slack.  Schedule or not, things aren't going to get done. That's just how it is sometimes. I find it helps if I prioritize but even then not everything on my daily to do list gets done. There's always tomorrow and don't be afraid to ask your DH and others around you for help.  Being a SAHM doesn't mean you have to do everything. There's nothing wrong with delegating and outsourcing some tasks.

I LOVE this response!   SAHM does not equal perfect mommy!  I also agree with SusanMosley that you should get on some sort of schedule.  I always feel better about how things are going when we have one.  

Princess_Lily

I'm not a "miss perfect" mommy either.  I can try, but in all honesty I can't either.

The most important thing though, is to try to get your LO on a schedule.  What helped me to learn a good routine is (1st) pick a time that is good for your LO that is also good for DH and you too.  Then once you picked a time, think Bath Bottle Bed.  Stick to this time & to-do...learn it.  Mentally after a while you and your family will know what to expect.  

6-630 is DS's bedtime.  ON the weekends I try to cook dinner (around) 445 and we eat around 530, so we can start eating as a family when we can.  After dinner, we give him a bath, then offer a bottle of warm milk, and then we place him in the crib.

This is the only to-do that is so important.  The rest of the day, I decide, Okay today is:  CLEAN HOUSE DAY.  and I  try to do the best I can.  

lbaby08

Oh, hun, I am so sorry you are feeling this way!  I think at one point or another we all go through similar emotions.  I have days where we do nothing but play in the pool, my house looks like a tornado hit it and we have Chick-fil-a for dinner (yesterday).  Cur yourself some slack and take a deep breath.  You can only move forward - you can't go back and change the past so you have to let it go.  

IMO, a schedule is the best thing you can do for yourself, your LO and the new baby. It doesn't have to be extremely detailed.  I would start with bedtime, wake up time and meals.  Everything else can happen around those set times.  I also have a magnetic magic erase monthly calendar that I keep on the refrigerator.  Every week I write down what day I am going to clean the bathroom, do laundry, vacuum, grocery shop, etc. I spread them out M-F that way come Saturday we can spend the weekend together as a family and not worry about "chores". 

This is a great place to share ideas, get advice and vent frustration! 

twh2006

Well I don't know about you guys but I am the PERFECT mommy. Just ask my 7.5 month old he seems to think I'm the reason the sun rises and sets But don't ask anyone else...my cover will be blown!

I agree with pp, some days it's all you can do to get a shower, let alone do all the house work, wash cloth diapers, and make homemade baby food. First thing I have found, if you are reading "Mommy" blogs,  not the real ones that admit fault, but the ones who are self righteous and go as far as to say they make their own hummus, etc. Feed their kids only natural foods and all the other "right" things and make most mommies feel guilt. Stop. I don't read most of them and just post here for that reason. I think most of them are bs. That also goes for listening to friends/relatives who think you have no excuse for not being the perfect mom since "all you do is stay home".

On the other hand, there are good blogs our there, great people here and other resources available.  You are not alone!

I get my to-do list together, and it really helps. When I first started staying at home I was clueless and had no schedule and it was a mess. I'm a person who needs structure, or nothing will get done.

I also try to have most done so when my dh gets home we're on family time. He has set hours to work, so I try to do the same that way the evening is ours. This goes for the weekends too.

Good luck!

ashleywebber

First of all, don't beat yourself up.  We aren't perfect just because we SAH.  There are still lots of things to do and it takes a lot of time management to get it all done.  That being said, if you are ready to get yourself more organized, start small.  If you try to fix everything in one day, you will burn out and get frustrated and quit.

I would pick the biggest thing affecting your day.  I would say start with LO's schedule.  Then you can fill in your stuff around it.  Figure out a time to start LO's day (it can vary a bit but have a time to aim for).  Then figure out what time to end LO's day (again it can vary a bit but have a time to aim for).  Make sure it is matching his sleep schedule as some kids sleep longer at night than others.  Then figure out a nap time for him (again this can vary a bit but it is good to have an idea of when you want it to be).  Then map out him meals and snacks around that.  I say have breakfast soon after waking, lunch a little before nap, and dinner when you guys eat (if possible) and then throw snacks in the middle somewhere.  Once you have sleep and meals down, planning activities for LO within the schedule is a lot easier.  You will know when you can cook, run errands, clean, rest, etc when you have the basics mapped out.

Here is what my son's schedule looked like at that age:

8:30am           Wakes Up

                        Eats Breakfast

                        Plays

 

12:30pm         Eats Lunch

                        Plays

 

1:00pm           Goes Down for a Nap

 

5:00pm           Wakes Up     

                        Eats Snack

                        Plays

 

7:00pm           Eats Dinner

                        Plays

 

8:30pm           Has Sippy Cup of Milk

                        Plays

                        Cleans Up Toys

 

9:00pm           Goes Down for the Night

Then I would move onto cleaning, laundry, cooking, and errands.  I personally like to do a little bit each day.  I divided my house into different areas (some organize by type of cleaning - ie vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms) so that I could keep LO in one area while I worked and not be all over the house.  I wrote down what I wanted to do for each area on what days. 

Here is my example based on my house:

Monday - Kitchen (dishes, countertops, floors), Living Room (dust, vacuum), Downstairs Bathroom (sink, toilet, mirror, floors), Laundry - darks

Tuesday - Master Bath (sink, toilet, mirror, tub, shower, floors), Master Bed (dust, vacuum), Laundry - master sheets/other whites, towels

Wednesday - Office (dust, vacuum), Nursery (dust, vacuum), Guest Room (dust, vacuum), Guest Bath (sink, toilet, mirror, floors), Laundry - nice clothes (ironing)

Thursday - DS's Bed (dust, vacuum), Bonus Room (dust, vacuum), DS's Bath (sink, toilet, mirror, tub, floors), Laundry - DS's bedding, darks

I set up a 4 day schedule to give me flexibility to have a day off and not do as much on weekends.  Obviously if I get behind, I just shift stuff.  It's not about perfection, but a nice plan to help.

When it comes to meals, keep your recipes simple.  You don't have to have a fancy dinner each night.  I have a simple list of recipes that we have tried and loved that require no more than an hour of cooking (most 30 minutes).

If you would like to check out my blog, it has a ton of tips on home management/organization/scheduling/recipes/cooking.  Here's the link: https://organizedhomemaking.blogspot.com

Daisy77

safy:

Being SAHM does not equal to always feeding my kids healthy homemade foods, frolicking through daisy covered fields on educational adventures, being the perfect mother, housekeeper, chef, and wife.  I'm human. I have needs. I have resource constraints; time, money, etc. I don't get stuff done, even stuff that desperately needs done. Heck, on some days, if my kids didn't know to beg and nag for food, I wonder how they're still alive.  You're pregnant and juggling a toddler. Cut yourself some slack.  Schedule or not, things aren't going to get done. That's just how it is sometimes. I find it helps if I prioritize but even then not everything on my daily to do list gets done. There's always tomorrow and don't be afraid to ask your DH and others around you for help.  Being a SAHM doesn't mean you have to do everything. There's nothing wrong with delegating and outsourcing some tasks.

This.  Every single word of it.  Although, if we had a daisy field nearby I might give frolicking a whirl....

RJMbim

Daisy77:

safy:

Being SAHM does not equal to always feeding my kids healthy homemade foods, frolicking through daisy covered fields on educational adventures, being the perfect mother, housekeeper, chef, and wife.  I'm human. I have needs. I have resource constraints; time, money, etc. I don't get stuff done, even stuff that desperately needs done. Heck, on some days, if my kids didn't know to beg and nag for food, I wonder how they're still alive.  You're pregnant and juggling a toddler. Cut yourself some slack.  Schedule or not, things aren't going to get done. That's just how it is sometimes. I find it helps if I prioritize but even then not everything on my daily to do list gets done. There's always tomorrow and don't be afraid to ask your DH and others around you for help.  Being a SAHM doesn't mean you have to do everything. There's nothing wrong with delegating and outsourcing some tasks.

This.  Every single word of it.  Although, if we had a daisy field nearby I might give frolicking a whirl....

I agree totally- no daisy feild here...but we do go to the ebach alot so that has to give me some extra points right?

Love nobody is perfect; If you saw my living room right now you'd stop being so hard on yourself in an instant- you'll get it.