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Austin Babies
Mom tricks?
What do u do to make your life easier? I just realized that I'm having another baby, um.. Yeah I'm starting to freak out. So what do y'all do? I try and lay out clothes at night, fil up dog bowls, and clean our kitchen at night but what else can I do? I'm just trying to prepare for feb! I'm scared!!!!!!
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Re: Mom tricks?
A biggie is to be easy on yourself. You can't do everything. Your house might be messier, dinner may not be the best but at the end of the day as long as you have two happy babies you did well.
If you can afford it and if you don't have one yet, hire a housekeeper. You'll be busy enough to worry about scrubbing toilets.
Definitely this. You can't do everything and its not worth killing yourself trying. Prioritize.
Hmmm. What do I do? Well. At about 5-6mo pregnant, I completely flipped my sh!t, and had a monumental meltdown that left DH looking a little like this:
I was freaked about our messy, dirty, disorganized house that I couldn't keep clean, all the stuff we had to do to get ready for baby, our extreme lack of routine and planning (like meals, etc). So after my meltdown, DH hired a housekeeper for my bday present, who I get to keep for a year (!!) and then re-evaluate if we still need her (before I got pregnant I worked shift work and had days off during the week when I could get stuff done. Since pg, I've been 8-5 M-F and have no time to do it all).
We have also started menu planning fairly religiously, eat dinner no later than 7 but usually by 630 (before we would just be starting to think about what to have for dinner at 7), DS in bed by 830. Sometimes if I'm feeling up to it I'll make DS's lunch for school the night before.
Other than that, I'm a list-making fool. Oh, and I also started using these printables for making my lists and organizing my days/weeks/menus, they really seem to help.
ETA: DEFINITELY ditto the pp's - you can't, and do NOT have to, do it all! This is a big lesson I've had to make myself learn over the past few months. Find some little tricks that help to plan your time, but don't sweat it if you can't fit everything in. Just keep those babies fed and loved and you're doing great!
When 3 Became 4
1. Remember the next 2-3 years of your life don't need to be anywhere near ideal. As long as you and the kids are fed and happy, life is good. All the rest comes later.
2. Hire a maid. Once a month, once every couple a months - but get some help when you can.
3. Divide tasks and get DH to help. You aren't super woman - don't expect to be. Get in a regular rhythm so you both know what you each are responsible for
4. Meal plan and don't worry if you eat spaghetti and tacos every week. It works (especially if you're working). Refer to #1.
5. Take care of yourself. Go to dinner w/ girlfriends. See a movie. Get a pedi. Do something now and again to make yourself feel good so you can be good for everyone else.
6. Prep what you can the night before so mornings are as easy as possible.
7. Grocery shop after the kids are asleep. This has been so much nicer for me - easier than trying to shop on weekends.
I only have 1 kid, but I'll still throw in my 2 cents.
I prepare meals throughout the morning (cutting veggies, marinating meat, making a sauce, etc..) and dump it all in my crock pot or dutch oven so I don't have to deal with it in the evening when DH is off of work. It also gives us more flexibility for what time we can eat and still have a warm meal. I also always make enough to have leftovers for at least 1 more meal, usually 2.
Accept offers of help, especially at the beginning. You don't have to be supermom or a martyr, take all they help you can get while you have a newborn. People genuinely -want- to help.
Babywearing! I wouldn't have been able to get anything done for the first year if I didn't use a carrier.
Get a Roomba if you can afford one. The post the other day made me realize how helpful it's been to have a freshly vacuumed floor every day without having to do it myself!
1. Lower standards. Do what you absolutely have to in order to keep everyone alive and clean enough that you won't get "looks." The rest can happen when it happens.
2. I ordered those prepared meals from Studio Kitchen in RR for a few months after Charlie was born. If I didn't do that it would have been pizza every night and we all would have felt like crap. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it for us.
3. I have said this before and I'll say it again - do whatever you possibly can to get them to nap at the same time. I dedicated my life to this in the beginning and now I still get at least an hour every afternoon 100% to myself. I need it. I cannot function without that break.