Baby Wearing and Routines

[PoetryLover]

Malachi turns 12 weeks on Saturday and I find I haven't established a routine yet. I struggle when it comes to household tasks. I find that he likes to be held a lot and doesn't nap during the day very much. I've tried wearing him in the Moby, both facing out with his arms and legs out and facing me with his arms and legs out. But lately he doesn't seem to like it very much. Also, even when he will allow me to wear him, I find that I still don't get a lot done in the way of household chores. Washing dishes isn't easy, as I'm pushed further away form the sink. Laundry isn't easy because I have to keep bending down.

How do other people clean while they wear their babies?

Is there a way I can wear him that will be more conducive to cleaning?

Is there a more comfortable way to wear him that I haven't tried?

Also, what do your routines look like? How much do you expect to get done in a day and how much do you actually get done?

Thanks so much in advance!

[Gray's Mommy]

Liam is 10 weeks!

How do other people clean while they wear their babies?
I can only do certain chores when babywearing...vacuum, sweep, laundry, things that don't require alot of bending over.


Is there a way I can wear him that will be more conducive to cleaning?
When I am serious cleaning, I do it during his naps. Otherwise he is in my mei tai since that has the most support.

Is there a more comfortable way to wear him that I haven't tried?
you gotta do what works for you & baby M

Also, what do your routines look like?
We are supposed to have a routine

How much do you expect to get done in a day and how much do you actually get done?
I have a list of 5-10 things on it (vacuum, dishes, trash, kitty litter, etc.). If I get half to 3/4 of it done-I'm estactic. Mostly it is just vacuuming, bathrooms & laundry.

[Mawood]

Good question Olivia will be 12 weeks on Saturday as well. I would say the closest thing to a routine -as far as doing it daily- are our walks and naps (sometimes). The mornings are easier than the afternoons. I get most things done when she naps or my husband gets home. He still does a lot of chores. I still nurse a lot and that takes up most of the days. Olivia falls asleep nursing and the transfer isn't always working. I don't stress myself with cleaning though and do whatever needs to be done when I get the opportunity. I am using a MaiTai and the Moby. I find it hard to do cleaning or dishes with both carriers. I always feel like her head isn't supported enough but that might be my still improving wearing skills.

[b_light]

It isn't as easy doing dishes or bending over chores with a baby strapped in front, but I do it anyway. :P With bending stuff, I typically split it up because she doesn't love it when I squat or sit down. So, I'll take out one arm load of laundry from the dryer, go do something else, come back for another arm load, etc.

I also take advantage of naptimes. Here is our basic routine.

7-8 wake up whenever my 3 year old does, nurse the baby back to sleep (if applicable) and get up with 3 year old

8-8:30 make us breakfast and coffee (baby still in bed), unload dishwasher, put dirty ones in as the become dirty

8:30 baby usually gets up about this time, change her diaper and get baby one-on-one time

9:00 nurse baby back to sleep, then shower--start load of laundry as I leave the bathroom/laundry room, then hang out with 3 year old as we both get ready for the day. Pack lunch and snacks. Put baby in ergo when
she wakes up.

11:00 "active time" for 3 year old - go somewhere: park, museum, walk, backyard, etc. usually with his 3 year old cousin and my sister in law. Eat packed lunch while we are out.

1:00 down time. 3 year old doesn't nap anymore but benefits from quiet time at this time of day. Nurse baby to sleep if she is tired, babywear if not. Do one more load of laundry. Fold both loads and put away. Play with the kids.

3:00 Start dinner. Baby is either in ergo, wrap, or mei tai -or- on the boppy pillow or her Montessori play mat (by a mirror with a gobbi mobile). Or some combination of those. 3 year old helps me make dinner or plays with toys.

5:30-6:00 Eat dinner. Load dishwasher. 3 year old gets a bath. Baby sometimes does too. Jammies, bedtime routine, and everyone is asleep by 7.

7:00 My husband is typically out of town Wednesday through Sunday. Friday and Saturday nights I clean from 7-12. That's ten hours. Albeit not always consecutive as when someone wakes up, I go in and lay down with or nurse back to sleep. But that is when I get the bulk of my cleaning done. The other nights I do a quick straighten of everything (usually takes about 15 minutes), then I may spend time with my husband, invite a friend or relative over, read/relax, or work on several different projects I've got going on.

That's my day

[Dea]

i ahve no routine. I do what I can when I can... when Hudson is about 4ish months and can have his legs out of a beco I'll put him on my back and then I can get much more done. It's hard to do much with a little monkey swinging from your chest!

[sunshadow]

I try and clean when I can. I just don't like to wear Max when I am cleaning. I can do it so much faster at other times. Each time I change Max's diaper I pick up the bedroom a little bit. When I shower I clean something in the bathroom. I try and keep the kitchen clean as I go during the day. My daughter helps to pick up her room and playroom before bed. Usually Max is asleep or with dh. Then when the kids are in bed I do as much as I can for about an hour that isn't too noisy. Luckily we have a small house. Both kids go to bed around 7pm. I can't remember the last time I vacuumed the area rug though. I usually save that for when we expect guests. Thank gawd for carpet sweepers.

[marinak1977]

I wear Sasha in a ring sling when I play with the dogs (very important part of routine for us) and vacuum. Or pick up stuff and put it away (or I do it one armed). Dishes get done during naps or when DH has him, other cleaning - sometimes I can get away with setting him next to me so that he can watch me work. He seems to be ok with that for a while if he's in a happy mood.

[chel]

i don't wear lo much inside, mostly for outings.
luckily lo likes the sound of the vacuum so i can lay her down very easily.

[smokeylo]

How do other people clean while they wear their babies?
As others have said, I can only do certain things (straightening up, vacuuming, etc) while wearing Holly. I put her in a travel swing in the kitchen while I do dishes, and on the bed to wiggle when I'm folding laundry.

Is there a way I can wear him that will be more conducive to cleaning?
Back carries seem to be the only way -- I'm going to try and figure this out with Holly. I need a diff carrier, though!

Is there a more comfortable way to wear him that I haven't tried?
I'm a huge fan of the hip carry myself, although it means one arm is restricted.

Also, what do your routines look like? How much do you expect to get done in a day and how much do you actually get done?

I expect to accomplish very little. I like to get either the dishes done or the LR cleaned up, and dinner done. I can usually accomplish that much. We pay our babysitter to clean up 3 days a week and it is a lifesaver. We have worked to create routines like we made a 2 week meal plan, which has really helped. Our house is messy. I'm not getting work done.

Our days are guided mostly by DH's work schedule and DD's daycare. We all get up around 7 am. DH takes DD1 to daycare and I hang with Holly, who usually takes 1 or 2 catnaps in the morning. I pick DD1 up at 12 and she comes home and immediately goes down for a nap. I try to get Holly to nap on her own for quite awhile during that time, too, and she usually takes a pretty long afternoon nap at this time (or pretty close to this time). She takes a few more cat naps in the evening, too, and goes to bed around 8:30/9. She's JUST NOW getting to where she'll sleep on her own for 45 min or more. I expect in another month I can consolidate naps to 3 or 4 a day.

[jillmamma]

Marissa still does not really have a feeding or naptime routine yet...we just go with the flow.

Weekdays, I get up at about 6:30 after nursing Marissa (she stays in our bed then), make coffee, let out/feed dog, make lunch for DS/DD for school if they are not buying that day, go back upstairs get DS up, get myself and him dressed, go back down and get him breakfast/go over spelling words/read books/fix up stuff for his school folder, then get him on the bus, then go get DD up and dressed, downstairs again to feed her and me breakfast/get her folder ready for school, nurse baby again somewhere in between all that and drive DD to preschool.

Most days then I am either running errands with Marissa or go home and take a nap if I need to catch up on sleep. At 1:30ish we leave to go get DD from preschool, then afterwards go home and get DS off the bus, and either go to the park/watch a DVD/play/after school activities (therapy, religion class or gymnastics) for a bit till dinner time, and I make dinner, we eat (with DH if he is home yet), do bedtime routine of baths/pjs/teeth/books, put older kids to bed, get myself a shower, get Marissa her bath if needed, and then sit down on the couch a bit before going to bed.

As far as baby wearing goes, I wear her if we are out and about doing errands or after school activities with older siblings, going for a walk to the park, or if she is fussy/wants to nurse and I have to start dinner/do dishes/whatever. Sometimes I use my ring sling, sometimes my Ergo. Some chores just wait till older kids are in bed and Marissa has been bathed/fed and is happy playing under her little play gym thingy with the toys on arches. Amazing kid will hang out over an hour under there sometimes in the evenings! So I can then clean a bathroom or fold laundry or do dishes or whatever if I need to. She is going to bed about 10:30ish at night, wakes at 2:30 to eat and again at 6:00...just the days where she does not have a distinct eating/napping pattern yet.

[Lillitu]

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

Malachi turns 12 weeks on Saturday

Rowan too!

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

and I find I haven't established a routine yet.

i hear ya, mama. there's very little routine here as well. some days he naps and i get stuff done, other days- forget about it!

and there is no way he can nap unattended in a bassinette or a bed (in the middle, secured, of course!) the only way Ro naps unattended is in his swing. that thing has been a lifesaver at times! do you have a swing?

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

I find that he likes to be held a lot and doesn't nap during the day very much.

Ro likes to be held, too. But he is also going through a "i gotta be free" stage. which for him means no clothes and wanting to kick and flail and exercise very vigorously. which means that he hates snug fitting carriers and wiggles too much for loose ones + housework.

we were given a vibrate-y chair that has water bubbles that make a starfish spin around while it plays music. this thing, he used to hate it. but he has advanced developmentally and now loves the stimulation. and the room to kick and flail in the hammock style chair is just the ticket!

in fact, he is loving stimulation and learning about cause and effect so much, i am taking the plunge and getting him one of those "exersaucers" then he can sit and/or stand with 360 degrees of activity around him. that should keep his brain occupied while i have little jaunts away!

during AMs when we are making breakfast and doing a few dishes, we put him in his bumbo chair for "core building" time and lessons on hand-eye stuff (we put stuff on the tray). he is on the counter, slightly shorter than eye level then and we can interact with him as we accomplish things.

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

I've tried wearing him in the Moby, both facing out with his arms and legs out and facing me with his arms and legs out. But lately he doesn't seem to like it very much.

keep trying- and try other carriers of you can. different babies seem to like to like different kinds. i use an ergo, a moby and an infantino (not a sling). also- as i said, Rowan used to hate certain things, and now loves them. they change so much at this age!

Originally Posted by PoetryLover

Also, what do your routines look like? How much do you expect to get done in a day and how much do you actually get done?

blerg. some days, i can vaccuum, sweep, do dishes and do some school work. on top of feeding Ro, changing him and playing with him during active periods. those are the good days of nice long naps.

[mamakims]

Sophie isn't a fan of being worn very much. I used to wear her brother all thetime when he was little and up until 7 or 8 months ago would wear him on our outings. Sophie is a whole other creature though! She doesn't like the stretchy wrap I think because it's too restrictive. She did like it in the very beginning. She used to like the sling the most but then my husband shrunk it (!!!) and now it's too small so it's not always comfortable but she now only really likes it for forward facing carry but that's only sometimes. I ordered a mei tei and that should be in in the next two weeks or so but I'm not sure if she'll like that. She really likes to explore her surroundings and face out but I worry about spine development when she's facing out in anythign other than a sling. What she does like though is to be carried in arms so I carry her snug in one arm on my hip and I do what I can like that.
But honestly, for cleaning I figure why bother! I'll do a general tidy and dishes and try to vaccuum but I have a soon to be two year old who I dubb "hurricane" so there's no point in doing too much cleaning.
And for a daily rythm... well Sophie hasn't really settled into one yet. We follow ds's rythm for the most part and Sophie goes along with that, napping and eating when she needs to.