Does anyone get ANY housework done with a 15month old baby?

[may08]

I'm hoping I'm not alone here but my little boy is very demanding and requires alot of attention to keep him amused. He has lots of toys but doesnt play with them (sometimes they might amuse him for a minute or so) and just likes to wander around the house so I follow him everywhere because there are so many hazards - steps, chairs to climb on and fall off, fingers to trap in doors etc.. As a result of this the only time I get anything done in the house is when he is asleep! A small lie actually as I can now hoover (he was scared of the hoover until a couple of weeks ago). What I would really like to do is spend a little time in the kitchen but as soon as I go in there he starts hanging round my leg and crying - I dont think he likes it when I stand up as he has been so used to having me sitting down at his level for so long. I've tried the t.v which he will watch (night garden) for a short while but only if I sit with him!

Any suggestions would be great but I think what I really want to hear is that other mums/dads have the same problem!

yes thank god ds sleeps, he's such a handful in the day, never stops so i think he kind of passes out at night time!!! has he stopped needing carrying around all the time?? my ds only stopped wanting to be walked with when he learned to walk at 11 months! even now he'd rather be carried than in the pushchair . it does get better as they get older though, just in the past few months he has started understanding so much language and seems very happy to do things on command, he just need to be stimulated and can take no amount of bordom or frustration before he screams about it!

ah yes claire, did have the 'my' dropped it a few weeks ago sue to lazyness!!!

due lol

Yes he is getting better, don't have to carry him ALL day anymore, walking has definitely helped as has him being able to play with dd a bit more now. He still isn't really interested in toys though. I'm just grateful he doesn't scream non stop anymore

At that age I used a sling quite a lot - I put DS on my back and did the hoovering which often sent him off to sleep.

Bloody knackering phase (but I lost weight owing to lugging a massive child around with me everywhere so not all bad)

pleased things got better clairey, they did sound scarily alike. have you noticed you ds is extremely head strong or is that just mine?? he seems to need to get his own way and protests constantly when isn't allowed to explore everything, grrrrrr.

Mine are lots older now, but I remember I used to concentrate on one room a day and keep the kids with me.

God yes, take something off him and he throws himself to the ground screaming

Mrsgb, I used a sling constantly for ds before but now he won't go in it unless we are actually walking somewhere (and even then not sometimes). It's a real PITA because I used to know that if he was having a bad day I could at least chuck him in that and get stuff done but now I can't.

ahhh i wonder if it's something that all babies like this have in common?? i know a lot of it is normal but seems very very magnified with my ds, very intense little boy. when he's happy, he laughs like he'll explode and just spill happiness all over the place, when he's mad, my goodness, everyone knows about it! i found the same with the sling btw, life saver til he learned to crawl, then didn't want to know indoors at all. just wanted to be on the floor exploring.

That's a bugger about the sling, clairey. What do you think it is about the sling he doesn't like? (I am a sling obsessive - maybe I can think of a solution??)

Mrsgb I think it is just that he doesn't want to be restricted, he wants to be able to pull everything out of the cupboards etc. And, more than that, he doesn't like my attention not being directed at him so would rather be in my arms so he can be sure I'm not getting on with anything else! He is still usually happy to go in it if we are out and about though

Oh and it is a mei tai and a wrap I have, also a sarong that I use as a kind of improvised pouch to have him on my hip

my 20 month 'helps' with his toy pushalong dog and 3 year old with his hoover when I can be arsed!

Ah, no easy sling solution then. Hipseat is the only thing, but probably not worth the effort of getting hold of one. Sounds like you just need a chronological cure. This too will pass.

I know it's not PC - but playpen? Or barricading him in a safe room with a baby gate. The design of our stairs meant we couldn't have gates at the top and bottom so had them across her bedroom door and the sitting room door, which with hindsight probably made my life a lot easier.

My DD is 4 and still has days when she is constantly demanding help/attention. I put a CD on and tell her to amuse herself until it finishes and race to get my chores done in that time, if I have to (although now I'm at home f/t I have the luxury of 2 mornings when she's at nursery). She loves dusting and will stack her things in the dishwasher after a meal and help me hang up washing on the airers.

She has a little table and chair, which she sometimes pulls into the end of the kitchen and we have the radio on and she sits and draws while I cook/clean.

Now she's old enough to be in the bath on her own for a bit (obviously I'm in the next/opposite room with doors open), I do any upstairs chores (putting clothes away, making beds etc) while she's in there.

Good luck!