Stay-at-home mothers transition - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

SophiaB · 06-23-2006, 10:57 AM

Hello
I was wondering if any of the stay-at-home moms would care to share with me what a typical day looks like for them. I have one child, 3 months old and I am having a hard time structuring my days, not just because of his erratic schedule, but mainly because I feel so scattered and unorganized. I have a terrible time getting things accomplished and I'm always afraid I am neglecting something important. To do lists have become a total obsession and I feel like I am constantly anxious. It would be very helpful to know what other moms are doing each day so that I won't obsess about not spending my time wisely or about not doing what i should be doing.
Also, I am planning to do some work from home with my husband. Are any of you working from home and how does that work with all of the other household/infant care responsibilities???
I know this is a huge question, but any input would be greatly appreciated
Thank you!

skeetersquirt · 06-23-2006, 11:07 AM

Ok...my typical day...here it goes. First let me say that my DH and I are real estate investors and we are continually buying and selling, and I take care of the office work. I do my work, normally on Tuesday mornings and Thursday mornings.
DS is also 3 months old.

7:00AM- DH feeds baby before he leaves so I can sleep.
8:00AM- Get up, pump, and play with DS...
10:00- He usually goes down for a nap now so I do my 45 minute workout, shower, and do odds and ends with the business. I also try and prep dinner stuff at this time as well. He takes a long morning nap which is great.
12:00-1:00- DS wakes up and I feed him, change him and we do tummy time, play in his exersaucer, or whatever we want to do.
3:00- He goes down for another nap and I get cleaning done, finish prepping dinner, do laundry...whatever. As you can see I do most of my things when DS is asleep...much easier.
5:00- DS is WIDE awake and and raring to go! Dh is home by now so I finish dinner while he feeds DS, and we all eat at the dinner table. Then DH and I either play with DS, or we give him his bath, or FEED! He eats every 3-4 hours....
7:30- We go for a 2-3 mile walk. DS LOVES this! it makes him sleep like a baby.

After this we come home, he eats again and he is asleep by 9pm..most of the time.

After he goes to be I do a TON of stuff for work, clean the house, mail letters...whatever I need to do.

In my case, I schedule everything around when DS is asleep. It works better for me.

sweetea13 · 06-23-2006, 11:58 AM

I too do most of my "chores" while DS is napping. I work VERY quickly! Anyways for the first 4 months (ds is 5.5 months) I went kind of crazy with trying to get everything done and manage my time wisely. For me having a list added WAY to much stress cause some days you just can;t get everything done and it was way to stressful for me. SO now I try to get things done but if all the laundry is not folded and put away I decided to not stress and knew it would get done. My only advice is to not put time limits on your to do lists. DO what you can on good days and then if you have a bad day you don't have to worry so much about what you didn't do!

Emmabean · 06-24-2006, 03:15 PM

I usually involve DD is whatever I'm doing. I just tote her around and give her toys in each spot and let her watch me. In a typical day, I do the necessities such as preparing meals and cleaning up, following her feeding and napping routine. Then I fit in the extras that I can get to such as laundry, ironing, weeding the garden, getting groceries, etc. At first I had a day for everything such as Groceries on Monday, but now I just fit it in. Like the other posters, I clean while she's napping esp. because I don't like her to be around the cleaning solutions.
For the bigger projects that stress me out or loom over my head, I have an ongoing "to do" list on my computer. When I think of something. I add it to the list and then close the document. That helps me not to be overwhelmed. I just get to it when I can and I realize I can't get as much done as I used to before baby, so I have to lower my expectations of myself. It feels good to delete the jobs I do get done, and if the list is really long, that's ok. I go to bed at night happy that DD got quality time with me and the basics are taken care of.
I'm also thinking of having a babysitter or relative in to play with DD while I do some of the major projects such as painting or heavy cleaning.
I hope you get your schedule worked out!

OrangeCouture · 06-25-2006, 06:47 PM

My daughter is 3 months and I am a stay at home mom. I got out of the military within the last two years and I have been working on my bachelor's degree from on-line. I do my work mostly in the late afternoon, early evening, or whenever I get time or feel like it.

I am an extremely clean and organized person, but I don't plan out my days and we don't get up at a specific time either. We usually wake up between 7 and 9 AM. I do different things each day. I take her to the library often and check her out some books to read to her. The next day we may stay home all day and watch TV and I will bake cookies. The next maybe go to the mall or the bookstore and read for a couple of hours or just clean the house all day or go for a walk around this lake at the park. My days fly by fast!

My daughter goes to bed around the same time each night, but otherwise I don't have her on a schedule. No matter how little or how much she sleeps during the day, she still sleeps all night with getting up once to eat. She usually sleeps when I am out to the stores or for a walk or even at the library.

It is all very worth it to me. I couldn't imagine dropping her off at a baby sitter or a daycare when I am her mother. Just find things that will occupy your time like I do.