Time Management for Busy Moms 2: First Baby

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When our first baby was born, I had no plan. I had read and agreed with the principles outlined in Baby Wise, but I had no idea how I would manage household tasks as well as infant care. And I think that this is normal and appropriate for a rookie mom!!!! 

Although my baby soon settled into a comfortable eat-wake-sleep routine, we had nursing issues which meant that a lot of naptime was spent in pumping milk for the baby. So to handle the housework, I sacrificed sleep. This is not a strategy I would recommend to anyone!

Having learned from my experience, this is what I would advise a first-time mom, assuming that there are no medical issues with mom or baby:

• work on developing a flexible nursing routine first
• put self-care at the top of your other daily priorities - eating well and drinking water frequently; showering; time outside in sun; rest; prayer.
• once the baby is napping and feeding reasonably predictably, and if you feel you are caring for yourself well in addition to the baby, start thinking about and discussing with your partner how to manage the housework. Try to come up with some sort of list of who does what which seems reasonably fair to both of you. A cleaner may be one option to discuss at this point.
• think about and list other priorities for you and the family. Work? Volunteering? Socialising? Church? Exercise? Hobbies? Think carefully about what you are able to commit to.

Now comes the interesting part for the nerds amongst us (and yes, I am one). Open an Excel spreadsheet (or piece of blank paper if you must), and put half-hour timeslots down the side, and columns for each member of the family across the top. Copy those 3 columns seven times, for each day of the week. The result should look something like this:

• Put in the baby’s feeding times and naps
• Put in meal times
• put in times for self-care
• put in any other commitments which need to be done at set times - church, mom’s group, work, etc
• Now, you can start adding the slots for housework and your other priorities. Hopefully, like any good budget, you will find that you have time to spare. If not, and you are struggling to fit everything in, then you need to re-examine your commitments and your expectations.

DO tweak your schedule, or start again from scratch, if it is not helping you, or if circumstances change (such as the baby’s feeding times or naps).

Did you have a plan to manage your time when your baby was an infant? What process did you use to fit everything into your week?