When my first daughter was 14 weeks old a friend dropped by to visit. She found an impecible house, dinner already made and me out gardening wearing an apron and gloves.
I think that she was worried.
I was quite bored. I'd feed the baby, put on the washing, do the dishes then put her down for her morning nap. While napping I'd exercise, shower then prepare dinner. I'd nap in the afternoon, my husband would come home and then it would all start again the following day.
It is so different with two. The morning trip to creche can be a thirty minute round trip (going well). There is a lot more washing and dishes to do. The house is no longer tidy as we have a four year old! The baby does not sleep half as well as her big sister did. The day is a lot busier, with a lot less time to maintain the house.
I've had to let go a little bit. A lot actually. If things are hygienic I'm mostly happy. I still cringe when visitors drop by and see crap everywhere. But it is a reality of parenthood and there isn't much I can do about it. When I can't stand looking at a sea of toys I find that it is time to get out the pram and take the kids for a walk.
Showing posts with label Getting it all done. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting it all done. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Dinner - the biggest challenge for the stay at home parent of two!
My Mum gave me some great advice. It went like this:
'The day will not get any better. Cook dinner after breakfast while the baby is napping. You then have all day to tidy up.' It was the best bit of advice I received, hands down.
I make meals when I have the energy then freeze them/ pop them in the fridge. Surprisingly, Sunday nights can be my high energy point of the week, and it is not uncommon for me to make three meals all at once.
'The day will not get any better. Cook dinner after breakfast while the baby is napping. You then have all day to tidy up.' It was the best bit of advice I received, hands down.
I make meals when I have the energy then freeze them/ pop them in the fridge. Surprisingly, Sunday nights can be my high energy point of the week, and it is not uncommon for me to make three meals all at once.
Routine
Before number two we had a fairly good routine - it all revolved around number one. Our daughter started day care about eight months before our second daughter was born - she went three times a week and really enjoyed it. On home days we would fill in the time with library/park/zoo trips and on creche days we would come home and ease into dinner time/bath time/bed time.
After my caesaraen my husband wasn't able to take much time off work. So my eldest daughter was bumped up to full time creche. She didn't mind, and frankly, she was having a better time there than being at home.
It was so hard. I would go back to sleep after the morning feed and my husband took our daughter to creche. In the afternoon pick up would be whenever the baby had been fed. One afternoon I fell asleep and woke up 15mins before the creche closed - I called my husband in a panic and he was able to go and pick her up. I felt awful.
It took much longer to recover from the operation than I thought. It probably took at least three months before I could push the baby in the pram without having to stop for a rest. I had visions of walking both girls down to creche in the pram - by the time that I was up to do this my eldest daughter was outgrowing the pram.
It took ages to get back into a routine. It probably took until the baby was about eight months old, and had dropped her late afternoon sleep before it started coming together again. It can still fall to bits, but not as often as it used to.
I confess that my eldest daughter had a McDonald's Happy Meal about once a week for about five months. Some days it was just easier to get her dinner through a drive through on the way home rather than pull something together. I learnt that I needed to have a meal prepared prior to the creche pick up or else dinner wouldn't come together.
Bathtime was horrid. I didn't think that it was safe to bathe both babies together until the baby was sitting well. My oldest daughter is very gentle and considerate, but still a four year old who finds it hard to sit still. The longest that they went without a bath was five days. (I should perhaps explain that my husband rarely gets home until after bedtime). We learnt to quickly shower them in the morning while sneaking in a shower for ourselves!
Now the girls have dinner at the same time, can share a bath and their bedtimes are nearly identical. It is starting to get easier - thirteen months along!!!
After my caesaraen my husband wasn't able to take much time off work. So my eldest daughter was bumped up to full time creche. She didn't mind, and frankly, she was having a better time there than being at home.
It was so hard. I would go back to sleep after the morning feed and my husband took our daughter to creche. In the afternoon pick up would be whenever the baby had been fed. One afternoon I fell asleep and woke up 15mins before the creche closed - I called my husband in a panic and he was able to go and pick her up. I felt awful.
It took much longer to recover from the operation than I thought. It probably took at least three months before I could push the baby in the pram without having to stop for a rest. I had visions of walking both girls down to creche in the pram - by the time that I was up to do this my eldest daughter was outgrowing the pram.
It took ages to get back into a routine. It probably took until the baby was about eight months old, and had dropped her late afternoon sleep before it started coming together again. It can still fall to bits, but not as often as it used to.
I confess that my eldest daughter had a McDonald's Happy Meal about once a week for about five months. Some days it was just easier to get her dinner through a drive through on the way home rather than pull something together. I learnt that I needed to have a meal prepared prior to the creche pick up or else dinner wouldn't come together.
Bathtime was horrid. I didn't think that it was safe to bathe both babies together until the baby was sitting well. My oldest daughter is very gentle and considerate, but still a four year old who finds it hard to sit still. The longest that they went without a bath was five days. (I should perhaps explain that my husband rarely gets home until after bedtime). We learnt to quickly shower them in the morning while sneaking in a shower for ourselves!
Now the girls have dinner at the same time, can share a bath and their bedtimes are nearly identical. It is starting to get easier - thirteen months along!!!
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