Fitting everything in

[Kafri]

So come on mums, how the heck so you do it...?

I'm classed as a ft student tho only in uni 3 days. The other 4 I have DS at home with me (nearly 1). I'm trying desperately to get to the gym a few times a week to lose weight. I can't seem to fit all the housework/uni work/playtime/gym into each week.

I had planned I losing baby weight by getting out with the pram each day but DS put a stop to that by hating every second in his pram.

It can be half 8 before I sit down at night at the min and then I tend to go to bed early doors as DS is still up in the night at the minute.

What's the secret to managing family life with other commitments.

I should add I went to uni instead of going back to my job after may leave. My boss wouldn't allow pt hours and I couldn't afford full time nursery if I went back ft along with the fact that I wasn't ready to leave him ft.

It's got slightly easier now DS is getting abut older. I can sit him in his high chair while I fill the dishwasher which I never used to be able to do. It's only recently he's been able to entertain himself got those few mins while I do a quick job here and there.

There's no secret to doing it. You just do. It gets easier once they are older too.

Oh and it's not just mums - dads are juggling kids and other stuff too!

My secret is to accept that my house looks like it's been burgled most of the time and to not worry too much about it!

My son is 8mo and it's definitely easier now. I make lists of really small tasks that need doing and leave them in each room then I can get on with stuff while still being with him - so if he's in the highchair I can clean the kitchen or put a couple of casseroles on, and in the lounge I can catch up on emails or deal with paperwork.

If things haven't been done by the time he goes to sleep at 7pm, then I'm afraid they wait until the next day - my husband gets home at 7.30pm and I go to bed at 8.30 so that hour is our time, not housework time!

Can you make things a bit easier by batch cooking and freezing easy one-pot dinners? Can you get to the gym during lunchtimes so it doesn't take up extra time at the end of the day?

I wasn't meaning to offend anyone Anotherworld I know dads are juggling too. I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for keeping On top of things.

Make lists of what HAS to happen by a certain time (tonite tomorrow etc.) and prioritise those things in spite of everything else that battles for your attention. Schedule some down time for you too, if you can.

I just don't do it all!

It's hard I'm not a student but I have2 kids. I go by some weeks I excel and 1 thing more than the other. On weeks I get to the gym the house looks worse and vice versa. If I don't play with the kids so much or don't take them out as much so I can keep on top of house I spend evenings guilt stricken. They'll be at school in 2/3 years everything will calm down then :-)

I always make sure DS gets his playtime with me. That's non negotiable. It's usually the gym that slides cos it's the only thing that I realistically can let slide. I have to keep on top of uni work so that I don't end up behind or on the last minute. It's Sod's law, if I was on the last minute DS would have a bad run and I'd end up late for deadlines.
The house varies in states of tidy ness but I do try to keep on top of the cleaning side

I'm just so aware of how much weight I've put on and how difficult I'm finding it to shift.

I need extra hours in the day! (As I'm sure many of us do)!

I don't do it all and decided early on I wouldnt feel guilty about it either. My priorities are playing with DD, making the house look as tidy as I can and spending a couple of hours of quality time with DP in the evening. Everything else can go to buggery. Haven't been to the gym since I had her, can't remember the last time I watched an entire film and the only time I get a chance to sit and read in quiet is just before I go to sleep. And that's with a baby who sleeps well until the recent sleep regression anyway

Routine is my saviour. We get up do breakfast, sometimes prep lunch and or dinner (depending on time) and then take dog out (length of time depends on mornings activity). We do each of these once per week in the morning - Bookbug, swimming and softplay. After this we do lunch and 2 hour nap. During naptime I prep dinner, hoover where possible, clean bathrooms, dust etc. When DS wakes up we play with toys, go to swing park or to the shops. Dinner is prepared in advance so whilst I help DS eat his mine and DH's is cooking, we give DS some finger foods whilst we eat, DH plays with him whilst I clear up and then we all play together before he has a bath and bed. On the morning we do swimming DS goes into the creche at leisure centre and I get to swim first then we go in together. I sometimes swim again at the weekend when DH is around to supervise naptime. I work two days per week and am lucky to have family childcare. I sometimes get stressed out about all I have to do in a day but I always manage somehow and usually get to sit down when DS goes to bed at 7.30/8pm.

Your doing too much. I did the FT Uni with a baby/housework/sahm thing and it's hard but possible.

Firstly study on a night. You can't have as much sleep as you want to. Put washing in machine overnight. Use a slow cooker to batch cook as often as possible then freeze your dinners. Accept your housework won't get done and the place will be untidy. You will catch up eventually just not now. Drop the gym. Do little and often. 20-30 mins of good hard cardio everyday with two weekly trips to the gym should do it along with watching what your eating. (I've been sat on my arse all day eating the odd homemade biscuit so I can't talk).

Get your dh to do out the bathroom/kitchen each week. I Hoover in a morning while doing breakfasts. The rest do when ever you can.

You get used to it and it's not forever.

If your ds is anything like my 2 little ones, when he starts getting more mobile he will be able to keep you fit! Running after, carrying just when you thought you didn't need the buggy any more, joining in with physical games etc!