I remember right after my son was born, my best friend was visiting us and she told me something that really made me stop & think. She said that when she had her first baby, she had a difficult time alone at home with him. She didn't have any extensive personal experience with babies so she really just didn't know what to do sometimes. It wasn't until her LO was a few months old that her mother asked her why she didn't rock him in the rocking chair? ... O_O (face palm) she never even thought of that!!
People tend to assume that you just know certain things because they seem so basic. But, sometimes you just need a friendly reminder. So here a list of "basics" that you probably know, maybe you don't, maybe you've never thought about before! =)
~ Trash can with a foot pedal. You'll find your hands are rarely available after baby is born
~ leave doors unlatched. I park in the garage, so I leave the door from the garage to the family room open so I don't have to fumble with the door knob. With baby, diaper bag, grocery sacks and shopping bags in tow, I just don't have hands free for door knob turning
~ pull out a couple diapers before bedtime and get them opened and ready. Saving yourself 7 seconds at 3 am can make a world of difference.
~ layer the bedsheets for super quick emergency changes at night. I layer T man's mattress with a water proof pad, then sheet, then pad, then sheet, pad, sheet, pad, sheet. I only changed his sheets every other week (excluding accidents) so I only have to do this once every 6-8 weeks. Last night he had a diaper accident. Instead of having to "change" his sheets at 3:30 a.m. I simply pulled off the top sheet and pad and voila! Clean sheet ready to go!
~ rinse your breast pump parts with hot water after pumping and place parts in refrigerator. This is good for 24 hours without washing. Makes night time pumps easier and last minute, run out of the house pumps less stressful.
~ shower at night. The chances of your morning going as planned are slim to none
~ washing your nursing bras and tanks with baby's clothes will insure they get washed more often. (I tend to wash T man's clothes more frequently than our grown up clothes)
~ eat dinner after baby goes to sleep if possible. Otherwise, plan on eating in shifts and make sure your food is good hot or cold
~ load the car first, then feed baby and go. Feeding baby first, then taking the time to load the car, will cut into those precious few hours that you have until baby needs feed again.
~ pack everything the night before. Load the diaper bag, pack you lunch, gather any errands you need for the next day. Load what you can (safely, no wallets, etc.) in the car at night. One less thing to do in the morning
~ keep a few diapers in the car. The diaper bag will be empty when you least expect it.
~ carry deodorant in the diaper bag or car. I promise you, you'll leave the house without it at least twice a week
~ always keep a spare shirt for yourself on hand. Leaky boobs willl happen at the most inconvenient times. Make sure the shirt is dark so you don't have a colored bra conflict.
I'm sure there are a million more things I'm just not thinking of right now. But you get the idea. Plan ahead to make the everyday tasks easier.
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