Man. You cover your bicycles? You are more organized than I could ever hope to be. More about these covers please.
With both of my kids, I found I could never hold them enough as babies. When I get to the end of my life, I will never say "I held my babies too much". I let everything else slide for my babies. So enjoy that baby now - they grow up so fast.

Bicycle cover, huh? What does it look like?
I have never covered my bike, but it's a good idea.
Bianchi

Maria, I know quite a bit about getting stuff done with babies in tow.. and I carried/slung them all for quite long. I found that the benifits of a well attached child have lasted way past childhood. But I also know the challanges of getting anything done with babe in arms.

Have you tried a sling? they make it very easy to hold and nurse baby while still getting stuff done..like dishes, general tidy stuff etc.. Try this link.
http://www.nurturedfamily.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=78

I have had many of them but like the Slingezee style the best... if you can sew you can make one .but given the time issue is sounds like a snazzy late holiday gift to me :)

maddiemom

Here is a link that might be useful: slings make is easier

Maria,

How old is your baby? Nursing/changing/holding/cooing is a full time job when they are newborns. So put that #1 on your list! Getting some rest is an excellent #2. If getting those bicycle covers finished is truly important to your happiness and peace-of-mind, then do that, too.

Are the bicycles out in the weather?

Susan,
My baby girl is almost 4 months old. The thing is I'm off work for 1 year, so we (DH and I) both believe I should be able to keep up with the house.

I do keep it picked up, bed "made", take trash out everyday, do laundry regularly (ironing is another subject), shop for groceries, cook 5-6 nights a week, keep the kitchen clean (DH helps with loading the DW after dinner), and wipe bathroom sink/counter/mirror and dustmop/vacuum floors every 2-3 days, so it's not bad, but I have a problem with a bit more of a regular cleaning (like dusting, mopping floors - we have hardwood, terrazio and tile - and scrubbing the bathtub), and having more than one of DH shirts ironed at any given time and the extra projects, like those bicycle covers.

Last night I went to bed at 1.00 but didn't sleep until DH came too, half an hour later or so. He's a night owl even on work days and I stay up to be with him, either watching tv, or reading, or talking in bed. Then the baby wakes me at 6.00 to nurse. I sleep again afterwards and get up at about 10.30, when is time for the second feeding and by that time the morning is over.

About the bicycle covers, they are important to my peace of mind, as they are important to DH. The bicycles hung on the wall outside on the balcony, whitch(spelling?) is about 1 meter (a little over 3 feet) deep and now, because of the baby, we keep the awnings up all of the time (a baby needs sunshine-right?) so, yes they are out in the weather and they also get very dirty. DH likes the awnings down all the time for privacy (we live on a narrow street with apartment buildings right accross and right on it - not much of a sidewalk - so privacy is a issue) and having the bicycles uncoverd is an added aggravation. See my point?

Maddiemom,

A sling looks great! I haven't seen them around here (Greece, remember?)though... I have a front baby carrier by Chicco, but you have to really extend your arms out front to do anything and you can't see well either (it's difficult even to wash your hands!). I mostly use it to grocery shop.

Bianchi,

The covers are made of a cheap, solid color (like the wall), easy to wash and dry synthetic cloth not too thin though to keep the dirt out, sewn like a fitted bed sheet, only it lacks the sides (made to accomodate mattress thickness) and goes more around to the back (about 1 foot) and shirrs in(is that a word?) with an elastic band not sewn on but used like a cord. Does this make any sense? I'll post pics when I'm done. I have also cut material off the corners in a zig zag pattern and sewn diagonaly to have a little better fit around the wheels.

datadon,

I really love cuddling my baby and talking and smiling to her, but I get a bit stressed if I have chores undone.

Ok, It is 1.30 pm and no progress yet on anything listed here. Now I must make my list and go to the grocery store with baby and cook before DH comes, cause at 6 I have to go to my singing lesson (I still take lessons every 2 weeks to keep in shape) Thanks for all your responses.

Maria

P.S. Next on my list is deep cleaning the inside of the fridge, also important to DH.

Maria,

Check out www.flylady.net. She has all the answers for you!

Thanks Julie, I know Flylady and I do shine my sink everyday because of that. I'm pretty much decluttered and remain so by not keeping anything that I don't relly need or like. Not ready to do zones yet though, or I don't think zones will work for me anyway.

Maria

PS are you the same Julie who posted the daily challenges a year and a half or so ago? Remember we sent each other monthly calendars for work in the zones?

Maria,

Yes, that was me!

And zones WILL work, especially with the baby.

Oh, hi Julie! nice seeing you again, you were missed!

mmm... do you think so? What happens with me is that concerning home projects and cleaning I tend to give #1 priority to what would make DH happy. Why exactly zones would ESPECIALLY work with the baby?

Maria

Zone cleaning makes sure that every area in your house is touched during the month. Otherwise, for example, I would tend to keep cleaning only the living room, kitchen, and main bathroom, and miss the bedrooms, dining room, and laundry room, etc. After a month of this (trust me, I KNOW!) the missed rooms take on a whole new personality (and it's not pretty).

Babies tend to distract mothers. Zone cleaning gives you specific plans, then you just have to work those plans into your daily/weekly schedule.

If you know which areas your husband appreciates most, incorporate those into your morning or afternoon routine each day. Other than that, you'll use zone cleaning to get through the rest of the house. None of the flylady zone jobs take very long, so you only have to keep the baby occupied a short while. It's a GOOD thing to let babies roll around on their own for a while in a safe environment; builds strong muscles, etc.

If you have routines and a system in place now, it will be SO much easier when you go back to work.

By the way, I would have just thrown a tarp over the bikes, and "baby years" were THE LONGEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!! LOL

"baby years" were THE LONGEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!!

What do you mean by that? (english is not my first language)

Well, I guess I really need to rethink the whole routine thing... routines are good and right now I have virtually none. just go with the flow (meaning do according to how I feel) and just keep things bearable... thanks!

Maria

Oh, and "Spring Cleaning" - for me it is actually Fall Cleaning - is good for me. I hire a cleaning lady to help me and we work together and in 2 half days (4-5 hours each) we deep clean EVERYTHING. Usually do it in late November so I can decorate for Christmas afterwards.

How do you tell a cleaning lady that you want to help her? Do you work along side each other or in different parts of the house? How do you decide who does what?

This sounds like a great idea, one that I might try.

When I ask her to come over, I say that I want her to help me clean the house. When she comes I give her the first task and tell her how to do it/what to use (my stuff) and in the mean time I do something else. When she is finished with that i give her another task and so on.

I may help her with something with lifting or moving etc. the only thing that we do together is spot washing the walls. I generally see better what needs to be cleaned so I go first scrubbing and she follows me rinsing.

It works well for me this way. I generally have them do all the outside jobs and what i absolutely hate doing inside (like vacuuming the couches). We only stop for 10-15 mins for lunch. I have immigrant women from the church we attend and as we work we talk and get to know each other and share ideas about the home etc...it is actually nice

Maria

Maria,

Most people say the years pass by quickly when your children are babies. In my case, the years were difficult and passed by slowly.

Datadon said above: "they grow up so fast." In my mind, those years were long and slow!

and "baby years" were THE LONGEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!!

Oh, me too. I am just not a baby person. People are always suprised to find I have four kids because I just don't come off as the "mama" type.

The nursing, the constantly being hung on, the lack of sleep. It was a real effort of love for me. I tried the slings and just could not get us comfortable. Don't know why.

My DH would like to have a dozen more, but I tell him he should have married a younger woman. Four is enough for me.

Gloria

"I do keep it picked up, bed "made", take trash out everyday, do laundry regularly (ironing is another subject), shop for groceries, cook 5-6 nights a week, keep the kitchen clean (DH helps with loading the DW after dinner), and wipe bathroom sink/counter/mirror and dustmop/vacuum floors every 2-3 days, so it's not bad, but I have a problem with a bit more of a regular cleaning (like dusting, mopping floors - we have hardwood, terrazio and tile - and scrubbing the bathtub), and having more than one of DH shirts ironed at any given time and the extra projects, like those bicycle covers."

Maria, you are doing WAY more than I did when I had babies. Heck, you are doing more than I do NOW, with older kids! LOL

Sheryl

Thank you Sheryl, it feels really good to hear something like that from time to time.

About going to bed earlier, I think I'll give up on that thought for a couple of weeks, since DH is having time off from work, so we'll all wake up later than usual...

Maria

Seems like DH could be pitching in.....or have I missed something. Babies are babies for such a short time. It sounds like Maria is trying to be a mom and overly trying to please (demanding?)DH at the same time.

I've been down this road. Babies are now in their 40s. It happens before you know it.

Wantoretire, so true! Everyone told me this when my kids were babies but I didn't believe it. Now I sure do!

Sheryl

Maria, you are doing a lot! A lot of the things you mentioned that you do daily or every couple of days have to wait until the weekend here. I'm usually tired after working all day & don't always get around to these things in the evenings. I try, though. DH frequently cooks dinner (if he's home in time) & mostly cleans the kitchen.

Taking care of your baby & spending time with her is a big part of your day & something that takes a lot of your time. Perhaps DH doesn't realize how much of your time is spent on baby-related things.

Could you simplify some things like your ironing? DH prefers all-cotton shirts. I told him if he wanted them he could iron them. I don't buy cotton for myself for that reason. We buy the blended shirts for him. I take them out of the dryer immediately so they don't have to be ironed. I've also seen cotton that is treated so it doesn't have to be ironed. We haven't tried those yet.

You mentioned running to the grocery store when DH gets home. Is this something you're doing because you want to get out, take a break & let DH spend some time with the baby? If so, great. If you're doing it because it's the only time DH is available to watch the baby & you don't really care about going, perhaps you could delegate that task to DH. Could he get groceries on his way home from work?

Ok, I have cut up the material for cover #2 and will drop it off at the sewing place tomorrow morning. It feels great!

And, can I add a silly brag? The last time I had the cleaning lady over for the annual ("fall") deep cleaning, she commended on how clean our apartment was. That was a "pick me up"!

Maddiemom,

could you please elaborate a bit on what you wrote above? "I found that the benifits of a well attached child have lasted way past childhood." Thanks.

Carol,

you are right up to a point: DH does pitch in, but he could surely do more. I am trying to please him, but not "overly" and he is a tiny bit demanding, but not as much as it may come across.

Yes Greta,

I think he doesn't fully realise what it means to take care of a baby all day long and I don't really like to ask him to take some things on as his responsibilities, as he's working full time and is under constant pressure at his work. I prefer to ask him to help occasionally with different things.

I wish I could simplify ironing. It is worse because we don't have a dryer or the space for it, so we spin to take the water off and hung to air dry. DH can't wear non cotton shirts, as he gets hot easily and even if he could, we can't afford to replace his shirts. As it is now, I iron 3-5 shirts a week, one every morning

About the grocery store... I like to go with the baby when I can (nice weather etc) but it's a bit stressful going when DH comes home and cooking afterwards, especially if the baby didn't nurse right before I go and/or didn't nurse sufficiently. I'd love it if he would do that, but feel it is too much to ask of him. He does drive to a bigger grocery store further away a couple of Saturdays or Fridays every month to get a few special things we don't get near home, or things like cleaning products in bigger amounts/lower prices.

Thank you all for your responses!

Maria

Maria,

You do sound like you already accomplish a lot already.

As far as groceries/cooking, a few different thoughts:

--If your husband is already driving out to a bigger grocery store every couple of weeks, can you get the bulk of your groceries then to reduce the number of days you have to go to the store?

--Do you have a few meals that can be made *very* quickly on days you have to spend extra time nursing or have to run to the store?

--Could your husband cook on those days, or even just get things started & the table set?

As far as ironing, could you teach/convince your husband to do it? That way it would always be to his liking, and it would be one thing off your plate.

Overall, have you considered just keeping the house afloat through the week and then taking all day one day of the weekend to do: Piles of laundry, piles of ironing, wipedown/mop/vacuum ? And conscripting your husband to either assist or watch the baby?

Congratulations on getting the bike covers out of the way!

I know you have little food-storage space (heck, you have little space, period!), but I do like the idea of keeping at least one meal's worth of stuff as a back-up. Something that won't go bad (canned fish for tuna casserole, or something). Just in case.

And at about this time (4 months), it's about right for you to be eyeing something other than getting through the day. Good luck w/ those bike covers

(think about whether asking DH to make a grocery run on his way home is "too much"--maybe it could become something he does more often, at least? it sounds like that's the most stressful part of the day for all of you)

Maria,

You are doing a fabulous job! I know that feeling of "I'm home all day, so why isn't everything done?" Babies take a huge amount of time. I don't know if your dh actually says anything about what you don't get done, but you could point out how much time the baby takes up on his days off. The other days are no different, except you have no help then.

On deep cleaning the refrigerator - wipe down one shelf per day or so. It will be done eventually. If it is really important to dh, ask him to do it. You are under a lot of pressure, too.

As for the perceived length of those baby years, I felt that the years went by very quickly, but the minutes, hours, and days seemed very loooooooong. Caring for babies can be physically and mentally exhausting.

Good for you to keep up on your singing lessons!