How do you get ready for the day with breastfed baby?

[Ambn1]

My baby is 6 weeks old and I’m just wondering how others manage to get up showered, have breakfast, makeup and hair done when looking after your baby on your own.

At the moment I’m trying to find windows where she will sleep but she often wakes up and I feel so guilty that she isn’t having my full attention while I’m getting myself ready.

how do you manage this with your babies?

I mostly shower the night before. Am fairly crap at breakfast. I feed my newborn on my lap whilst I put my make up on as I refuse to go out without it on!

Shower the night before..

6 weeks is still early, be kind to yourself

Baby in bouncer, keep the door open and get yourself a nice hot shower

No harm will come to the baby 🙂

Oh I remember those days! Ds is 8 mo now and it's getting a bit easier.

I showered at night when dh could be with ds and tied my hair up so it would have a slight curl and need no styling the next day. I rarely wore makeup, if i did it was the minimum (concealer blush brows and mascara 5 min job). I found having food ready to go in the fridge helped, so I would have had overnight oats premade or I'd make toast because its quick to make and eat. I found wearing ds in a sling helped, especially if I needed to do proper makeup or prepare food. If ds was super unsettled sometimes I'd bring him into the shower with me, he liked the warm water and skin to skin I just wrapped him in a towel because they get so slippy.

You're a new mum, you're not supposed to have it all together right now it's a huge learning curve and some babies are happier to lie down than others. I found ds really loved watching black and white boards at that point or lying in his playmat on his back so I'd set him up with that and play him music and sing to him while getting ready beside him. Be gentle with yourself, the early weeks are super intense even when they're going well!

A sling.
This gave me two free hands and everything became possible again.
Perfect for breastfeeding too: if baby is on your front, just pop a nipple in their mouth if they start to grizzle. I would pretty much carry on as normal much of the time once I became confident with the sling. If your baby will ride on your back in a cloth, that gives you even greater freedom. Both of mine were lulled into quiet states of just watching the world go by as I moved around the house, pottering and getting on with stuff.

Baby wakes up, gets fed, changed etc, pop it in bouncy chair or floor mat or cot or whatever, leave door open have shower. Get dressed while chatting to baby, didn't use much makeup and hair is wash and go - though it died that matter as long as you can see the baby just carry on. Then pick baby up and go downstairs for my breakfast. Once mobile need to keep keener eye if likely to try and head for the stairs - stair gate and locks needed! I had an en suite but if not I might put my toddler in the bathroom with me and chat to him while he played on the floor.

Put baby in the bouncer and have a shower, sit on the floor and chat to them while putting your make up on, if they’re happy to lie under a play gym for 5 minutes while you make toast and a cuppa then do that. Seriously they will be fine without your attention for a while and you will feel so so much better!

This is one of those things that I never ever understood on MN

at 6 weeks, they still spend so much time sleeping or being happy just looking around that it’s really easy to pop them down in a bouncer with door open / when they’re asleep / move playmat to floor next to bathroom and have the door open etc etc etc

Baby is absolutely fine like that and most babies will happily just watch the water running down the shower screen

your baby does not need to be glued to your hip 24/7, its absolutely fine to take some time for yourself!

Make up on? At six weeks post partum??

Thank you everyone! I think I’m beating myself up about leaving her for any time without me trying to entertain her. But realistically I think it doesn’t do her any harm if it’s only for short periods of time. I might have to start washing my hair the night before to cut down on the time as well.

I feel so guilty that she isn’t having my full attention

It's fine. If she's happy to be put down then she's fine to stare at the window, or watch you wander around. She doesn't need your full attention all the time. Chatter away to her as you go, and that's all she needs.

6 week old babies don't need entertaining! Looking around is an activity for them. I always popped mine in the baby bouncer while I got ready in the morning, after they had fed.

Bouncer in the bathroom. My eldest cried a lot, but I could see him and I knew he was safe.

My youngest would sleep 5am - 7am most mornings so I’d get up and get dressed in that time. Meant I was ready to get them both up for nursery etc at 7.

What’s the allowed timeline of women wanting to do things for themselves?

Get up. Feed baby and change their nappy & babygro.
Lie baby on towel / baby gym / put in bouncy chair in the bathroom while you take a shower (5mins max). If they cry, it's fine. They're clean and not hungry.
Lie baby in cot with a mobile / activity frieze whilst you dry your hair. Chances are while baby is this young, the white noise from the hairdryer will make them nod off. Which then give you the chance to do make up / get dressed and maybe even have breakfast / a coffee in peace.

She doesn’t need your full attention 24/7. I would put DT’s in their cots whilst I had a shower and got ready. They were safe and if they cried it wouldn’t be for long before I’d finished my shower etc

I used to pop mine on a changing mat on the floor or bouncy chair in the bathroom whilst having a shower

And I never wear make up so save loads of time on that.

Baby doesn't need full attention 24/7. They just need to be safe.

You are allowed to wash, dress, pee, eat, drink coffee.

I realised I had curly hair rather than a horrible frizzy mess- when has DC1. I never seemed to have time to dry my hair! I'm now on DC3 and realise the newborn is probably the easiest ( I know every baby is different, but this is just my experience). It is all new and sems all consuming. Now i am so much more relaxed with DC3 and make sure i have some time to myself. I am so much more relaxed and that helps the children in the long run.
I tend to shower in his morning nap, at night when DH is home, or after swimming which we tend to do a couple of times per week. I keep my make-up bag in the car and do it in a couple of minutes when we pull up at our destination as DC usually falls asleep in the car anyway.

With DC1 DH had him for a bit in the morning whilst I showered. DC2 went into one of those bouncy chairs in the bathroom when she was that age, so in the same room but not undivided attention. Babies don't need your full attention during every waking moment anyway. If she's content to be on a bouncy chair for a bit whist you get ready, that's absolutely fine

Always showered in the morning. He'd be in the bathroom with me, in his bouncer/rocker chair. Sometimes he'd be crying, so I'd just have a quick one.