Mommy Mondays: Getting Things Done - The Early Days

I'm sure we've all heard stories of the frazzled new mom.  Wearing clothes that are days old, because it's been days since her last shower.  There is 3 day old oatmeal in her hair, which is coincidently the last time she remembers having solid food.  She survives on a diet of coffee, anxiety, and new-mom adrenaline.

This was never me.  From the moment I got home from the hospital, life worked much the same as it always had.  There were daily showers and three meals a day.  Until I went back to work, laundry was washed and folded on a regular basis.

I'm not superhuman, so how was I able to accomplish such a feat?  Well, like Batman, I have some pretty useful tools.

1) An amazing partner.  This one is the most important thing, because you can't pick one up from a store, or a garage sale. For the first six weeks, the reason I was able to get so much done was because Thatboy is a rockstar.  He took baby duty so I could shower, and he heated up all our meals so we could eat.  He helped with household chores and made sure we got out daily so neither of us went stir crazy.

Aaaand then Thatboy went back to work and I had to use other tools.

2) Tiny Love Activity Gym. This was great for getting short chores done, chores in the same room, or chores where I could sit on the ground beside the little guy (like folding clothes).  Also essential for bathroom runs.  This works really well up until you have mobility.  Since Thatbaby never rolled, this lasted for us until he just got too long for it.

3) Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker.  This, my friends, is how I was able to shower every day, even after Thatboy went to work and I was home alone with a baby. This puppy sat right in our bathroom, and Thatbaby sat right in it.  With me serenading him from the shower, and the vibrating chair, I was able to get in a shower and blow dry my hair before any fussing set in.  Now he loves climbing in and out of this chair, so it's great for the long term.

4) Bright Starts Comfort and Harmony Swing. My kitchen buddy.  Anytime there was any cooking to be done, Thatbaby got his own front-row seat to "Mommy's Cooking Show!"  Some gentle rocking and constant dialogue allowed me to put dinner on the table every night.  For most babies, the rocker and the swing are godsends because babies sleep so well in them.  But not Thatbaby.  Both the rocker and swing were only do-able until he started to get tired and then he wanted OUT NOW.  Because for the first 3 months of his life, Thatbaby only wanted to sleep while being held.  Which brings me to -

5) The Moby wrap.  I've already written about my love for carriers, the Moby was essential for allowing me to function daily.  Because it meant I wasn't trapped under a sleeping baby.  Instead I was still able to get things done while he slept.  Things like laundry, or cleaning, or going to the bathroom.

Now that Thatbaby is more mobile and suffering from separation anxiety I'm still trying to figure out better ways to get things done at this stage.  But for the first few months, this is the arsenal that allowed life to carry on in Thathouse.