How To Optimize Your Day At Home With A Baby….

After having the wonderful opportunity of spending the first year of my daughter’s life at home, I have become pretty good at optimizing the amount of work I am able to get done in a day.  Obviously, having a tiny baby, who’s entire existence depends on you 24 hours a day, will DEFINITELY slow your productivity down.  🙂  However, with a little thoughtful planning, I have found that you really can get quite a bit of stuff done, even with a little mini-me.

Here are some tips that I have come up with:

The biggest advice I can give you is to GET UP BEFORE YOUR BABY DOES!!!!  Even if it is just fifteen to thirty minutes, you have the opportunity to start your morning in peace and spend a little quiet time alone.  Take a shower, do some stretches, have a cup of coffee, catch up on some reading – whatever you are into, this is the PERFECT time to do it.  🙂  It really starts you day off right and can make you feel much happier.  🙂  I love to read and drink coffee, so this is what I typically do at the start of the day.

It is also the perfect time to spend a little “one-on-one” time with any pets that you may have.  Below is Lucy lounging on our sofa, which is one of her favorite activities!  This is a picture of the two of us snuggling on the sofa together, prior to Maddie waking up.  SIDE NOTE – If you are wondering, I have to keep tons of blankets on this sofa at all times, because she is an extreme shedder.  Although it is an inconvenience, it is totally worth it!  🙂

I know that a lot of people will tell new mothers to “sleep when baby sleeps.”  While I did find this to be true in the very early days, I actually found myself more tired throughout the day if I did take a few naps.  I have never been able to take a short “power nap” and instantly feel refreshed.  Anytime I laid down, I either wanted to keep sleeping for hours, or I felt worse than I did before I ever went to sleep.  I completely envy those who can take a quick power nap, but I am just not one of them.  Since napping wasn’t in my future, I found that nap time was a great opportunity to get stuff done around the house.  🙂  When I first had my little munchkin, I tried to quietly scurry around the house while she was sleeping, because I do enjoy a tidy home.  However, I realized that a lot of this stuff could be done while she was awake, freeing up this time for something else.  🙂

Confession – I am one of those crazy people who enjoys folding laundry – LOL!  I know that this is really strange, but I actually enjoy washing and folding laundry.  To me, it is sort of like instant gratification.  You have this big pile of stuff, you quickly fold it, and poof – it is gone.  I also enjoy vacuuming (which many of you think is also sick – lol), but that is for a different post.  🙂  Our laundry room is right off of our kitchen, which is in front of Miss Madeline’s high chair.  She is to the point where she prefers to feed herself off of her tray during snack time, versus me giving her the food (HELLO, Little Miss Independent).  This is fantastic, because it means mommy has about twenty minutes to be productive – woot, woot!  I have started washing and drying the laundry early in the morning, so it is ready to be folded during breakfast and snack time.  Madeline thoroughly enjoys watching me fold the laundry while eating her snack (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree), so it is a win-win for both of us!   Even if your house has a different configuration, find something you could get done while you child is eating (unless they need help).  You will be amazed at how much you can get done in just a few short minutes!

Below is a picture of my little munchkin while I was working (p.s. she LOVES to stare at her mommy):

If I don’t have any laundry to do, snack time is also the perfect opportunity for mommy to wash the dishes, and load and unload the dishwasher.  Rather than doing these activities while your baby is sleeping, you can do them during feeding to optimize your productivity (you can probably tell that I am an engineer by trade – lol).  I am right there with her and often talk to her while doing my chores, which she seems to really enjoy (odd, but very helpful 🙂  ).  I have found that this has helped free up quite a bit of time for me to do other stuff, since my laundry and dishes are already done.  Success!!!

P.S. Lucy HIGHLY enjoys snack time too, because she is often the recipient of the snacks that fall to the floor – LOL!  You will notice that Lucy parks it right under Madeline’s chair, in hopes of having a snack herself!  🙂

With all of that being said, I really think it is important to have a balance between having a clean home and actually spending time with your child.  I choose to do my chores while Madeline is doing something by herself (like eating, which she absolutely wants no help with – LOL),  so I can be completely present with her when she is not.  When we are in her room playing, I am actually on the ground with her playing.  I do not want to be a parent who is technically with their child, but their attention is somewhere else.  Children are only little for such a short time, and many people do not have the opportunity to stay home, so I try to fully take advantage of our time together.  We read stories, sing songs from her music class and play with her toys.  We will occasionally go out, but we are oftentimes at home.  I will be going back to work soon, so I want to take advantage of as much playtime as possible.  🙂

That is all I can think of for now, but I am sure I will come up with more stuff as the years go by.  How do you plan out your day?  Please let us know, because we would love to hear from you!

 

 

P.S. Please visit my Instagram and Pinterest pages for more fun ideas from One Cheerful Mom!