what does your day look like w/ 1 year old

[kfillmore]

I have a long time walking active 1 year old. This post is part of a larger one in my head. I think I have a high needs baby. I KNOW I am a high stress mama. I often wonder how reasonable I am. So, I'd like to get an idea of what people do, how long it takes. I know "they" always say you won't get anything done but does that really mean ANYthing. It seems to for me. I think part of my problem is ADD and organization problems. I do wonder if I procractinate. But I am also so tired and it makes me feel foggy headed and slow and heavy.

Does it really take most people 3 hours to get out of the house after waking up in am??


p.s. Anyone have dogs too?

[gagin37]

my ds is 18mns, and I have a really hard time getting anywhere before 10AM. We're usually up by 7:30 or 8, sometimes a little earlier. We get up, ds likes to play for a bit while I get dressed and do a quick clean up of the living room- sweep, pick up toys, maybe empty the dishwasher. We feed our chickens, then I get him dressed for the day. We usually have a light breakfast around 9. If we don't have a play date or appointment, I try to make it to the gym by 10 or 10:30. We stay there for about an hour. Come home and have lunch between 11:30 and 12. then he plays most of the afternoon. If it's nice we go outside for an hour or so. I try to get some knitting and house work in during the afternoon. I alternate between doing dishes and laundry most days, I rarely get both done in one day. about 3 or 4 days a week, if I'm lucky, he takes a nap from 3-5, although he will push it back an hour sometimes so from 4-6. I like to take a nap with him most of the time. Daddy is usually home by 5, he takes over child care while I make dinner. after dinner ds plays until about 9 when we start winding down for bed. I shoot for lights out at 10. he still gets up at least twice, often 3-4 times a night. Sleep deprivation is a huge huge factor in my inability to get going in the morning. On a good day, I start getting us ready to go somewhere about 30 minutes before it's time to leave. We have two dogs and 7 chickens. HTH!

[peaceful_mama]

I'll post about a typical Tuesday at our house, since it is a day where the baby regularly goes out.

Everybody gets up somewhere between 7 and 8. Because it is storytime day EVERYONE gets dressed---get DS out of jammies and into clothes right away.

my mom lives with us, she feeds ds his breakfast, usually while *I* get ready.

We all make it out the door by 8:45 at the latest, drop DS1 at preschool, and hit the library for storytime at 9:15.

SOMETIMES DD has fresh hairstyle, sometimes it is the braids she slept in. Depends on the morning.

I know when I was on my own with two, it was a struggle to get out by 10 AM though.

[Emmery'sMom]

On a normal day I get nothing else done outside of meeting all of my DD's needs and taking basic care of myself.
The dishes pile up in the sink until someone else gets home to load them or watch her while I do it.
Sometimes I can get the floor vacuumed or steam mopped with her in the ergo which she thinks she loves but it only lasts 5 minutes and then I'm left holding her 28lbs on my hip while I finish.
I can't get ready and go anywhere unless I get up before she does and get ready while DH's in bed with her or at least home to play with her. This rarely happens anyway because we can't leave the house just the 2 of us- I have to sit in back with her or she screams the entire trip (not an option), or it takes us 2 hrs to drive 4 miles because I'm constantly pulling over.
I'm also not easily motivated to get up early and even try to go for a walk or *short* drive because I'm always so tired from waking up 6-8-20 times a night.
I don't have ADD and I'm highly organized- when I'm not utterly exhausted.
I think some people manage to get more done because their kids are better sleepers than mine is The few times she has taken a nap off of my body I got dishes AND 30 minutes of exercise done

[BetsyS]

I have 2 children, 19 months and 3.5. I'm pregnant with #3.

I wake up with dh at 5:30 (reluctantly , but it ends up being a good thing). I make dh's lunch, talk to him for a few minutes, and dh makes my coffee. Dh leaves at 6. I then drink coffee, have a few minutes of quiet, and read the internet as well.

My kids wake up at 7 (usually). With the sun coming up earlier, they are up at 6:30--I can't wait for the time change!! That 30-60 minutes of quiet is worth the pain of getting up so early. When my babies are little, little, they get up at 5:30, too, but they outgrow this around the time they get mobile. So, even with a little baby, I can still get some quiet (cause they don't talk, and they don't move around too much!).

My big one sleeps through, and my little one has slept through 2 nights in a row!! But, his night wakings (usually 2-5 times a night) are really easy, cover him back up, tell him it's night-time, quick wakings. Not huge 30minute nursing sessions, you know? This makes a HUGE difference for me. I'm more of a zombie in the early days.

I still can't get out of the house before 9.

My kids both come in the shower with me usually. Then, we all get dressed together.

My kids both nap at the same time usually, in the early afternoon (1-3ish), and I have some down time then.

They are bigger, so I can get some things done (dishes, housework), with them playing by my side. Mine have both loved to empty the dishwasher by the time they are walking (10 and 14 months). You have to work fast, to grab each dish as they hand it to you, but they love to help. They also like to "help" move clothes from the washer to the dryer. And, they LOVE to dust. Crazy kids. Changing sheets is a long chore, because of all the hiding under the blankets/sheets craziness. But, it's another one they like to help with.

I still only get 1-2 chores a day done. I have my 6 basic weekly chores, and I try to fit them in one a day. It helps my brain that way. Mine are: vacuum, mop, clean bathrooms, change sheets, dust, and empty the trash throughout the house. With helpers (and low standards), each chore takes 30 minutes or so a day.

The only chore I save for naptime is cleaning the bathroom (though sometimes I do it with them in the tub in the evening). I like to relax/nap/read during naptime.

[Mal85]

DD just turned one and we really only get out of the house on the weekends since I work at home. But, yes, it takes us quite a while to get out of the house. It was easier when she was littler and not eating any solids. We'd just leave and I could nurse her whenever she needed.

Now, we wake on a Saturday around 8:30. We'll spend some time playing in bed. Then, we get up and I change her diaper and she'll run around with just a diaper on while I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and hair, etc. Then I make breakfast and sit down with her to eat. Then, I get her dressed, comb her hair, get a diaper bag ready, put her shoes on, put her coat on, find my purse, find my coat, find my shoes, etc, etc. Somewhere in there, I'll nurse her in hopes that she'll sleep in the car. By then, I'm just hoping we can get to our destination or be home in time for her to eat lunch.

Now, this is an example of a morning when we have to get out of the house in time for something. I can't imagine if I was working somewhere and had to be there by 8 in the morning. I guess that would involve a lot of prep time the night before and me getting out of bed and getting myself ready before she wakes up.

[Louisep]

Originally Posted by Emmery'sMom

On a normal day I get nothing else done outside of meeting all of my DD's needs and taking basic care of myself.
The dishes pile up in the sink until someone else gets home to load them or watch her while I do it.

exactly this!

DS is high needs and every day is a race to get him fed, dressed, out before the fussing begins. We are outside constantly even throughout winter. Here's our day:

dh gets up with ds around 6am and feeds him breakfast and plays until 8am when they wake me up. I heart dh for this. My son wakes a ton still. I eat breakfast, usually ds again since he starts fussing as soon as I'm up. I then take him in the shower with me and he even has to sit on my lap while I quickly dry my hair. Then we go out - a playdate or to the park. We get out by about 9:30.
Back home by 11am. I give him lunch then by 11:30 he's asleep and I lie next to him on my iPhone or reading. He wakes twice and I get him back down.

He gets up from his nap anywhere between 1-2pm. Then we leave the house again until about 4pm. I always have a back pack full of supplies ready for the day.

At 4pm ds is usually fussing so I put him in the ergo and cook dinner. We eat around 4:30-5. Then it's bath, books and bed by 6-6:30.

Hope that helps!

[JessieBird]

Originally Posted by Emmery'sMom

On a normal day I get nothing else done outside of meeting all of my DD's needs and taking basic care of myself.

Me too. And I'm pretty laid back and have a very easy baby. It can definitely take 3 hrs to get out of the house some days. I have a dog and she doesn't get excited by the word "walkies" anymore because she's learned that now it means "maybe we'll go to the end of the driveway sometime today maybe but it'll probably be four hours from now maybe."

What has helped me is to really think through what worked when we have a particularly good day and then apply that knowledge to future days. For example, I figured out that DS really needs me to interact directly with him at certain times of the day. If I invest in this time, then he will play independently or happily follow me around while I do chores at other times. Making sure he gets snacks when he needs them is critical too. And not going out too much. Spending a whole day at playgroups and shopping guarantees that he'll be climbing my leg all the next day. And I've tried to turn as many "me" things or chores into fun for him too. For example, he loves to sit on the toilet and watch as I dry my hair and get dressed. I can usually tack on a quick wipe-down of the bathroom before he looses interest. Or he can now sit on the open dishwasher door (with a bowl under it so the hinges don't get stressed) and pass me plates so we can unload it together.

Little by little, as I figure out what makes him tick and as he gets older, more gets done. But it's hard, that can't be underestimated.

Oh and I've also had to let my guilt go when it comes to my dog. The guilt I felt about not being able to give her the love and attention I used to just about ruined the first six months of motherhood for me. It ate me alive and eventually I just had to force myself not to care anymore. Sounds awful but I swear she's a lot happier now because she's not picking up on that stress in me anymore.