Shower & get dressed at the start of the day
This may seem like a really obvious one, but there are too many times where it gets to 12pm and i'm still in my dressing gown, the laundry isn't done and i've realised that i've been snacking all morning. Just doing small things like using Mila's first nap of the day to sort myself out are things that make me feel a little more together and less like a tired & stressy mum.
Set yourself 3 tasks that you want to get done by the end of the day and that's it!
Sometimes I find that it's too easy to set myself a never ending list of things to do that ends up being so overwhelming I practically do none of it. I then get to the end of the day and feel deflated that i've not 'achieved' any of it. By giving myself 3 tasks I end up prioritizing the really important things and ignoring the things that can wait till later in the week. Normally I end up getting more done because I feel more positive about getting those 3 tasks done.
Limit your social media time
I'm really bad at this one. There are too many times that Mila goes down for a nap and i'm like 'right lets get this cleaning done' and then I realise that 30 minutes has passed and all i've done is browse instagram. It's probably one of my worst habits, so I'm still working on this one myself. On my good days I catch up with social media at feed times as it's when I have to be sat down and can't get much else done or in my 'chill time nap' which leads me on nicely to my next point...
Give yourself down time
I sometimes give myself too much down time because I don't plan my down time into my day if that makes any sense. For me it makes sense to try and get things done when Mila is asleep and take things slow when Mila is awake. However most the time Mila goes down for a nap I feel like I must congratulate myself with a cup of tea and take a little break myself. That's totally fine but if it happens at every nap I get nothing done and then I find myself trying to catch up whilst she's awake and find myself trying to split my time which means I don't end up doing either task very well. At the moment Mila takes around 3-4 naps a day so I normally prioritize one of her afternoon naps as one of my 'chill time' naps where I just take a break myself. Also the more that I get done in the day the more I can relax once she goes to bed.
Break up the cleaning
I struggled with this one so much at first. There I was with a 2 week old Mila, Joe had just gone back to work and I thought I'd try and tackle the cleaning in one of her naps. She woke up 30 minutes in and I hadn't even finished the kitchen. I'm the kind of person that once I get into a task I find it hard to stop until it's complete so having a crying baby interrupting all the time was really throwing me off. It took me a couple of weeks to realise that I was never going to have a full cleaning session without Mila waking up, so now I have two main cleaning days in the week that I try and stick to and I whiz round and do the most important things and forget about the rest.
Tidy before you go to bed
This ties into the point above. If I know I want to get a good cleaning session in the next day I try and make sure that the flat is as tidy as it can be before I go to bed so all I need to do is get stuck into the cleaning as soon as possible. I also find that it's great for my mind sight waking up to tidy surroundings.
Get things done when there's two of you
Being the one that is staying at home with Mila I often give myself too much to do. Having a baby is time consuming, tiring and definitely constitutes as a job in itself in my eyes, but because I'm at home all the time I think that by the time that Joe gets home I must have all of this house stuff done. Spending Sunday morning sorting drawers out might not be fun but you can get it done so much quicker if it's both of you. Sometimes it's my sister or mum that come over and just watch Mila for a while whilst I potter around and get some things done that I need to do, I find that works really well as well.
Ask for and accept any help from anyone
There is no shame in asking for help or accepting help. One of the best things I did last month was ask Joe to take Mila out for the day without me. I got things done around the house, washed my hair, did my nails, I even went for a swim and that was all without having to wonder if Mila was going to wake up from her nap or what time she'd need her next feed.
If all else fails resort to TV/Youtube
Yes I am one of those mum's who said that she would never place her child in front of the TV. I'm laughing to myself about that one now and how unrealistic that was. Sometimes you just HAVE to get things done and I know that if I let Mila watch '5 Little Ducklings' on Youtube for a little while I'll be able to get on with a couple of bits without interruption. That's my mum confession over for today.
So those are my top tips for trying to make time with a baby. Overall I think the most important thing is trying to do things that save time so that you ultimately make time for yourself and have quality time with your family.
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