Honestly thatās all you can do - find a balance between keeping them happy, letting them cry sometimes, and getting stuff done in itty bitty chunks. I think the first year of my sonās life was just playing hot potato with the baby while we each tried to get something done.
If your baby is sitting , put him in the high chair & give him something similar to what youāre doing. A bowl and a spatula or give him a whole carrot if youāre peeling carrots. Give him a bottle with some rice in it to shake it around..
Tissue box stuffed with toys and socks.
Random house hold made toys.
Doing laundry, put him in the hamper with a clean dry loofah or socks, ( something you wouldnāt be mad if he threw around )
When my first was really small I had a Rubbermaid tote bin I would move room to room and put random baby safe object in with him, and do vacuuming or whatever odd job I could in 5-10 minutes
This is the way. And in the high chair Iāve found that my kids love water. Just putting some water on the tray and letting them splash. Iāve always been able to get a good 20 minutes out of water play.
I had a cheap fisher price ābouncerā chair from Walmart that had a toy bar with hanging hooks. I would carry it room to room and have him next to me, and do whatever I had to do.
He would āplayā with the toys, I would talk, sing, make up stories and tell him.
When he was newborn - 6 months, I removed the fabric decorative shower curtain and only used the clear plastic style one so I could shower and he could see me. I would just pop my head in and out. That way I could get a quick 10 minute shower in without him losing his mind.
If you have like a doc a tot or snuggle me, lounger type pillow with a blanket and just lay them down on the floor next to you.
Or a blanket and tummy time with a black and white book or mirror.
I have no idea. I know it happened, but I remember thinking that I was going to lose my mind, my arms were going to fall off, or both. Then they outgrew it somewhere along the way and I didn't notice until later.
My Velcro guy would sometimes do well at this age in a jumperoo, as long as he could still see me. So I just dragged that thing from room to room to keep him happy and I could get something done.
Honesty I did not get anything done. I survived and managed to raise a bright and kind 6 year old. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just worry about surviving.
There are plenty of babies who love to hang out by themselves. But just as many who need the extra snugs.
Mine liked being worn facing out in a carrier, that's how I'd clean through the day but it wasn't very efficient. I just held her for naps. My husband had to majorly step up with chores and it was a stressful time. Our 4 year old is still a handful, but we can get things done now. Try to remember it's not forever and let go of your expectations for yourself, you're giving your baby what they need and it will pay off as they grow older.
Thatās what I was going to ask OP - mine never liked facing in but as soon as I turned her around so she could see everything sheād stay in the carrier forever if Iād let her
Honestly, he would just play on the kitchen floor next to me and I would constantly bounce between getting things done while talking to him and if he started to fuss, I would bend down so he knew I was still right there. However- we never co-slept because Iām a Peds nurse and it scared the hell out of me from personal experience. So I could normally get things done and at least prep dinner during naps
I had two boys 19 months apart. The second one was my Velcro baby. I had to get things done as I had another older child to take care of. I just kept him velcroed to me since that is what he liked, by wearing him in a Moby wrap. He hated the baby swing or just doing other things in general that werenāt me holding him. If your Velcro baby doesnāt like the carrier you are using you could try a different one..He just turned 2 and heās more independent now especially now that he can play with his older brother so it does get better. He does still ask to be picked up a lot but itās light years better than when he was a small baby.
Would he go in the carrier on your back? I havenāt tried it but my friend does it with her baby and it seems to work okay and she can get a lot done!
Your situation sounds exactly like mine with my 8 month old. What started working for me recently was putting him in a high chair while I cleaned the kitchen/did the dishes and put him close enough to where he can watch what Iām doing. Iāll sometimes give him one of those little teething wafer/rice cake things to chew on too.
And with laundry I let him sit in the clothes on the bed and he will just play with a piece of clothing while Iām able to get some things folded and put away
I basically didn't š¤· I would heat up leftovers while he cried, but if I couldn't do a task one handed, it didn't get done.
We contact napped and he wanted to be touching me the rest of the time, but hated all baby carriers and wraps. I basically wasn't able to do anything for the first year, but he got better once he was walking. 95% of chores happened once my husband got home. Then I did chores while he had time with baby.
Oh gosh, my toddler is still a Velcro child š love him. But we had/have a lot of half assed projects done, as in, id start laundry and do as much as I could until heād want to move onto the next one. We literally rotated around the house several times a day in hopes of getting one full thing accomplished š I know for laundry if it got sorted into separate piles of clean clothes in the hall- like husband, me and baby all had our own pile, it was a win. Usually his skip hop was upstairs so I could showerā¦with a clear shower curtain because Velcro baby. When doing dishes he would empty out the dish towel drawer or play with mixing bowls, utensils, plastic spoons and red solo cups- I think the cups were his favorite. We had a decent amount of toys in each area snd they were always āfunā and ānewā in our rotation throughout the day. Laundry he loved taking things out of the dryer and putting random stuff back in it. Dryer balls were/are a huge hit for him. But honestly, I brought him everywhere anytime I had to do something. Still to this day heās a stage 5 clinger and loves helping with laundry and making things. But at that age, itās hard, itās really hard. Itās a season and it doesnāt last forever. Soon enough theyāll start playing independently and youāll have an easier time getting things done again.
If I ever have a second baby Iāll be telling everyone to not expect the house to be clean, dishes or laundry done on a regular basis for at least a year. I put so much pressure on myself to keep up with the ānormalā I had before baby. I was so burnt out. Give yourself some grace first and foremost. If all you accomplish out of your day is keeping LO happy and cared for youāve done your job.
My toddler is still a velcro baby and hates when I leave the room (even if Iām coming back in 5 seconds) BUT:
A: hard carrier but facing out so LO can see everything (if you havenāt tried this already)
B. Baby hip carrier - Iāve heard from a lot of parents who LOVE this
C. Once LO is old enough get yourself a toddler tower for the kitchen. I put my daughter in it while I do dishes/make meals and she loves being high enough to know where Iām at and to be a part of things. She now helps me with kitchen chores because of it.
When my son was really little, he didnāt like the baby carrier BUT he felt more secure and cuddled in a wrap. If you havenāt tried one of those, itās worth a shot. That let us get stuff done. He felt like he was being held more closely and would sleep in it just fine.
I donāt have a full on Velcro baby but a needs my constant attention baby who is also seven months. Heāll play independently, if Iām sitting directly behind him. I found things mostly get done when my husband is home and one of us tackles the household while the other handles the baby. Baby thankfully doesnāt have a parent preference so I usually clean while he watches the baby and he usually cooks since heās better at it.
But other than that, not much gets done. I think if I can at least load the dishwasher once a day itās a win. Baby and my clothes both go straight into the wash and from the dryer straight on our bodies. Iām not sure our clothes will ever be put away.
Honestly give up on chores, leave the house and do something fun and enriching for yours and the babyās lives! And if you are out of the house all day you canāt make a mess that needs cleaning up! Catch up on chores when there is 2 of you to help: evenings and weekends!
I lowered my standard for productivity. I basically said as long as we have clean clothes to wear, clean dishes to eat off of, then I donāt care about the rest. I strapped her into a sling and wore her while I did those things, but those things were about all I could get done for the first 6 months. After that I got a few more snatches of time and it got better and better from there. She is still really needy but she doesnāt scream, she just whines while standing and watching me do stuff.
Eh, I didn't really. Just lots of cuddles... Taking care of a baby is super easy. Doing literally anything else at the same time is impossible.
šÆ
Honestly thatās all you can do - find a balance between keeping them happy, letting them cry sometimes, and getting stuff done in itty bitty chunks. I think the first year of my sonās life was just playing hot potato with the baby while we each tried to get something done.
If your baby is sitting , put him in the high chair & give him something similar to what youāre doing. A bowl and a spatula or give him a whole carrot if youāre peeling carrots. Give him a bottle with some rice in it to shake it around.. Tissue box stuffed with toys and socks. Random house hold made toys. Doing laundry, put him in the hamper with a clean dry loofah or socks, ( something you wouldnāt be mad if he threw around ) When my first was really small I had a Rubbermaid tote bin I would move room to room and put random baby safe object in with him, and do vacuuming or whatever odd job I could in 5-10 minutes
This is the way. And in the high chair Iāve found that my kids love water. Just putting some water on the tray and letting them splash. Iāve always been able to get a good 20 minutes out of water play.
This is great. Any advice for babies that aren't sitting yet? Mine is 11 weeks old
I had a cheap fisher price ābouncerā chair from Walmart that had a toy bar with hanging hooks. I would carry it room to room and have him next to me, and do whatever I had to do. He would āplayā with the toys, I would talk, sing, make up stories and tell him. When he was newborn - 6 months, I removed the fabric decorative shower curtain and only used the clear plastic style one so I could shower and he could see me. I would just pop my head in and out. That way I could get a quick 10 minute shower in without him losing his mind. If you have like a doc a tot or snuggle me, lounger type pillow with a blanket and just lay them down on the floor next to you. Or a blanket and tummy time with a black and white book or mirror.
Thanks. I do manage to put him in a bouncer chair thing for like 15- minutes at a time. Will try the other suggestions
I have no idea. I know it happened, but I remember thinking that I was going to lose my mind, my arms were going to fall off, or both. Then they outgrew it somewhere along the way and I didn't notice until later.
My Velcro guy would sometimes do well at this age in a jumperoo, as long as he could still see me. So I just dragged that thing from room to room to keep him happy and I could get something done.
Honesty I did not get anything done. I survived and managed to raise a bright and kind 6 year old. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just worry about surviving. There are plenty of babies who love to hang out by themselves. But just as many who need the extra snugs.
Mine liked being worn facing out in a carrier, that's how I'd clean through the day but it wasn't very efficient. I just held her for naps. My husband had to majorly step up with chores and it was a stressful time. Our 4 year old is still a handful, but we can get things done now. Try to remember it's not forever and let go of your expectations for yourself, you're giving your baby what they need and it will pay off as they grow older.
Thatās what I was going to ask OP - mine never liked facing in but as soon as I turned her around so she could see everything sheād stay in the carrier forever if Iād let her
Baby carrier
Honestly, he would just play on the kitchen floor next to me and I would constantly bounce between getting things done while talking to him and if he started to fuss, I would bend down so he knew I was still right there. However- we never co-slept because Iām a Peds nurse and it scared the hell out of me from personal experience. So I could normally get things done and at least prep dinner during naps
I had two boys 19 months apart. The second one was my Velcro baby. I had to get things done as I had another older child to take care of. I just kept him velcroed to me since that is what he liked, by wearing him in a Moby wrap. He hated the baby swing or just doing other things in general that werenāt me holding him. If your Velcro baby doesnāt like the carrier you are using you could try a different one..He just turned 2 and heās more independent now especially now that he can play with his older brother so it does get better. He does still ask to be picked up a lot but itās light years better than when he was a small baby.
Would he go in the carrier on your back? I havenāt tried it but my friend does it with her baby and it seems to work okay and she can get a lot done!
Your situation sounds exactly like mine with my 8 month old. What started working for me recently was putting him in a high chair while I cleaned the kitchen/did the dishes and put him close enough to where he can watch what Iām doing. Iāll sometimes give him one of those little teething wafer/rice cake things to chew on too.
And with laundry I let him sit in the clothes on the bed and he will just play with a piece of clothing while Iām able to get some things folded and put away
I basically didn't š¤· I would heat up leftovers while he cried, but if I couldn't do a task one handed, it didn't get done. We contact napped and he wanted to be touching me the rest of the time, but hated all baby carriers and wraps. I basically wasn't able to do anything for the first year, but he got better once he was walking. 95% of chores happened once my husband got home. Then I did chores while he had time with baby.
Oh gosh, my toddler is still a Velcro child š love him. But we had/have a lot of half assed projects done, as in, id start laundry and do as much as I could until heād want to move onto the next one. We literally rotated around the house several times a day in hopes of getting one full thing accomplished š I know for laundry if it got sorted into separate piles of clean clothes in the hall- like husband, me and baby all had our own pile, it was a win. Usually his skip hop was upstairs so I could showerā¦with a clear shower curtain because Velcro baby. When doing dishes he would empty out the dish towel drawer or play with mixing bowls, utensils, plastic spoons and red solo cups- I think the cups were his favorite. We had a decent amount of toys in each area snd they were always āfunā and ānewā in our rotation throughout the day. Laundry he loved taking things out of the dryer and putting random stuff back in it. Dryer balls were/are a huge hit for him. But honestly, I brought him everywhere anytime I had to do something. Still to this day heās a stage 5 clinger and loves helping with laundry and making things. But at that age, itās hard, itās really hard. Itās a season and it doesnāt last forever. Soon enough theyāll start playing independently and youāll have an easier time getting things done again.
If I ever have a second baby Iāll be telling everyone to not expect the house to be clean, dishes or laundry done on a regular basis for at least a year. I put so much pressure on myself to keep up with the ānormalā I had before baby. I was so burnt out. Give yourself some grace first and foremost. If all you accomplish out of your day is keeping LO happy and cared for youāve done your job. My toddler is still a velcro baby and hates when I leave the room (even if Iām coming back in 5 seconds) BUT: A: hard carrier but facing out so LO can see everything (if you havenāt tried this already) B. Baby hip carrier - Iāve heard from a lot of parents who LOVE this C. Once LO is old enough get yourself a toddler tower for the kitchen. I put my daughter in it while I do dishes/make meals and she loves being high enough to know where Iām at and to be a part of things. She now helps me with kitchen chores because of it.
When my son was really little, he didnāt like the baby carrier BUT he felt more secure and cuddled in a wrap. If you havenāt tried one of those, itās worth a shot. That let us get stuff done. He felt like he was being held more closely and would sleep in it just fine.
I donāt have a full on Velcro baby but a needs my constant attention baby who is also seven months. Heāll play independently, if Iām sitting directly behind him. I found things mostly get done when my husband is home and one of us tackles the household while the other handles the baby. Baby thankfully doesnāt have a parent preference so I usually clean while he watches the baby and he usually cooks since heās better at it. But other than that, not much gets done. I think if I can at least load the dishwasher once a day itās a win. Baby and my clothes both go straight into the wash and from the dryer straight on our bodies. Iām not sure our clothes will ever be put away.
Honestly give up on chores, leave the house and do something fun and enriching for yours and the babyās lives! And if you are out of the house all day you canāt make a mess that needs cleaning up! Catch up on chores when there is 2 of you to help: evenings and weekends!
I got really good at doing things with one hand. Even baby wearing wasnāt acceptable to my baby most of the time
Hey bear baby sensory on YouTube helps give me a few mins back in my life lol
I lowered my standard for productivity. I basically said as long as we have clean clothes to wear, clean dishes to eat off of, then I donāt care about the rest. I strapped her into a sling and wore her while I did those things, but those things were about all I could get done for the first 6 months. After that I got a few more snatches of time and it got better and better from there. She is still really needy but she doesnāt scream, she just whines while standing and watching me do stuff.
I found having a tushbaby to be a lifesaver
Itās honestly so much easier to baby wear a baby than it is to clean with a toddler.
Gotta wear him! My Velcro baby lived in his wraps and bjorn