Getting things done.

MommyMelRN

My DS is a 10.5 mo old 23lb guy who is getting into everything these days. I'm starting to have a really hard time keeping up with the housework. I do wear him often, but it's getting more and more difficult since he is so big, wants to explore more, and is grabby. He is getting better at independent play, but the second I do anything other than watch him, he gets upset.

I'm working on letting some things go, I know I can't AP and have an absolutely perfect house unless we hired a maid, lol but I just can't seem to get to a level of clean that I'm comfortable with, one that I feel is safe and healthy for LO. Don't get me wrong, my house won't be showing up on hoarders anytime soon, nor am I a germaphobe living in a museum, but things need to be cleaner than they are in order for me to be content. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Currently I SAH. We have no family nearby to help, and DH and I are having a very tough time sorting out household duties and he's not very helpful. He needs to do more to help, but he needs direction, and I suck at delegating.

Emerald27

Happy 4th!

Since I had DS, I've changed my schedule for cleaning a bit to make it easier on me. It isn't the cleanest home, but it functions well and works for us.

I do all laundry on Tuesdays. We don't cloth diaper so this works for us. I wash it all and then bring the dry laundry and plop it in a pile in the living room. DS plays with/lays in it while I fold it and put it high up where he can't reach.

Floors are vacuumed every day after dinner but before bed, and I wear DS while I vacuum. I also have all of his toys to night night then as part of our bedtime routine...now if only I could get him to put his toys away himself. ;D

Once DS is asleep for the night, I get back up and put the dishes in the dishwasher so that the sink is empty, and if I need to I'll wipe down the counters.

Kitchen and bathrooms get mopped just once a week, and I'm really bad about cleaning the bathrooms.

All of this is to say that I don't do much every day, but the little that I do does let me stay on top of things enough that I can take 15 mins if company is headed over to spruce up.

Our babies are small for such a short time, so enjoy LO and try not to worry about the house. There's a great poem in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding that says:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow;
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs,
Dust to to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

tokenhoser

AP is about meeting your child's needs, not about providing attention 100% of the waking day. You're moving closer to toddlerhood, where your child will move from strictly having needs to also having wants and testing limits. That means he's going to get upset, and that your job isn't always to prevent that any more.

I would try to set up things for him to do in the area that you need to work - playing with clean laundry, banging pots and pans, tupperware to stack and unstack  and play with, etc. You can get a lot done in 5 minutes if you can get him playing alongside you rather than demanding that you play with him. 

Having a schedule or goals for the day is also really helpful to me - this website has a good plan if you need somewhere to start: https://www.justmommies.com/articles/home-organization-plan.php

cpmich

It will get easier when your son is a little older, but a couple quick tips if you don't already do them...

Everyone take off shoes at the entry door. Amazing how much dirt this cutsdown. I will never go back to having a shoe household.

Simplify. Think of it like you do babysafing. Fewer toys accessible means fewer toys to clean up. Fewer things on the kitchen counter means it is faster to wipe it down. Knicnacks are not worth having out for dusting when you would rather play with your kid. Consider having only socks that match each other unless you really need to make an exception. Things like this really do save time.

cpmich

If you can have a small area of things he can play with or a task to do in the area where you will work, that will help too. Kitchen... Gladware containers are great. Laundry... He will have a ball matching socks. Bedroom... Make a tent out of a sheet and chair or dresser.Bathroom... Toys in the dry tub. Cars roll well and the noise echoes.

RhodeIslandRed

I had this  EXACT issue, so I hear you. I mean, the kiddo is on the floor, right! I have a cat and no one like the idea of cat fur on the baby! Ugh! My solution was to hire a mother's helper. Stay with me on this one...they are CHEAPER than anything. It is a perfect job for an 8th grader or a 9th grader who knows what they are doing. This may be one of their first jobs, but all it takes is a few bucks an hour a couple times a week to make sure the dusting, sweeping and mopping and changing the bedsheets is done. I dropped cable TV to be able to have it and you know what? I don't miss it one bit. Ok, well maybe a little but this girl is worth her weight in gold. When my husband travels for work, she comes over and flips the laundry or plays with the baby long enough for me to take a shower or make myself a sandwich. Good luck mama!

RhodeIslandRed

Oh! One more thing...

About the husband. I have found that mine is terribly unhelpful as well. So I give him a checklist on a small whiteboard and it works wonders. he knows he can't go to bed unless he "does the three"

Consolidate and take out all trash and recycling (including diaper genie)

Empty and load the dishwasher

Fill up my water bottle and put next to bed (I breastfeed and am constantly thirsty in the middle of the night)

He is sooooo weird! he like to tick off the items on the list so he feels accomplished when he comes to bed