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Parenting

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Original poster

Tips on occupying 10mo while cooking tea

27 replies

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 16:45

How do you manage to get meals cooked when you're on your own with baby?

My 10mo has always been quite "high needs"; when she was small she hated to be put down and I wore her in a stretchy wrap to get jobs done around the house. Now she's bigger I do have an ergo but it isn't really practical when cooking- reaching round her to chop things, hot oven/hobs etc.

My DH is usually around at tea time as he either works nights (so we have tea together before he goes) or days (home in time), so one of us will cook while the other plays with DD in the living room. She is a lot more independent these days, and will sit on the floor playing with her toys and is attempting to crawl.

However, today DH is at a meeting this afternoon then on nights tonight so is going to have a quick turn around so I thought I'd get started on tea. DD had just woken up from a nap and had a little breast feed so not tired or hungry and seemed in good spirits.

First I put her in Jumperoo in kitchen, and continued chatting to her, singing and dancing to radio etc, but she just cried and put her arms up to be picked up. Next I tried the high chair with the tray on, then with the tray off, tried giving her a few toys, gave her a rice cake, stroked her back and sang, gave her dummy. But she just cried and cried until she worked herself up to screaming, and threw toys, dummy and rice cake on the floor!

I've abanded tea and brought her into living room where she's happily playing with blocks on the floor! I only managed to chop a pepper and put some rice in a pan!!

The floor in the kitchen is hard cold tile plus the oven is on and I have a cat litter tray in far corner so don't really feel comfortable putting her on the floor in there to play. I can sort of nip through to kitchen to stir pans or pop things in oven while she's playing in here but can't be gone too long.

I feel a bit pathetic really!! What do people do- just get on with it?! How on earth do single parents make tea

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FinnJuhl · 19/03/2015 16:49

Sounds like you've tried everything I was going to suggest. It's just not fun is it? I hated that time of day. But as ever, it won't last long and she'll start being able to occupy herself better soon(ish).

Original poster

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 16:54

Thanks for your reply FinnJuhl! To make matters worse the tea isn't even for me as I'm a veggie and its a chicken thing for DH and DD!

OP posts:

AnythingNotEverything · 19/03/2015 16:56

Can you put her on your back in the sling?

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Original poster

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 16:59

The ergo does go on my back but I can't confidently get her into my back on my own, need someone to lift her on really, but will practise practise practise to try and get it on by myself!

OP posts:

TwinkleThis · 19/03/2015 17:02

I know this might not be a popular option, but small playpen (with telly on, if necessary).

Unless you're doing three-course meals it should be about 30 minutes, max, and a bit of Ceebeebies every now and then won't hurt her. (I don't think.)

Original poster

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 17:10

My mum has got her an ELC pop up ball pool thing for her 1st birthday, maybe that would do the trick in the living room with toys in it and CBeebies on and I could nip back and forth. She is bum shuffling and trying very hard to crawl but not quite there yet, not sure if it would contain her? Worth a try!

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FinnJuhl · 19/03/2015 17:11

My DS would gladly have watched Cbeebies all day apart from the half hour when I needed to cook dinner. It doesn't help that they're tired and grouchy by then.

I think I used to mainly stick him in highchair next to me, and he'd grab and eat most of the ingredients so that he wasn't actually hungry once the meal was cooked. Is that what they call BLW?

Queenofknickers · 19/03/2015 17:12

Cbeebies all the way

hideandseekpig · 19/03/2015 17:19

We have a ball pool and it worked wonders at that age! Not anymore because she walks now and just gets straight out! I do let her walk around in the kitchen but she tends to just grab my leg and not let me move it's bloody hard work cooking with a small person around, I feel your pain!

Could you put a duvet or blanket down in the kitchen with some different things to usual to keep her entertained? I sometimes get all the pots and pans and spoons out for her and that occupies her while I chop a few things!

Sometimes I abandon my planned dinner and make something much, much simpler -like toast-

hideandseekpig · 19/03/2015 17:20

Strike through fail sorry but you get my jist

Bunbaker · 19/03/2015 17:20

I used a playpen for DD. I used to put her in it from about 6 months and she got used to it and never saw it as a "prison". We were fortunate enough to have a large kitchen so I kept the playpen in there because it was when I was cooking that I needed it.

KeturahLee · 19/03/2015 17:21

I put DS on my back. It's mostly confidence getting them on there! Practice over a bed or sofa.

WeSailTonightForSingapore · 19/03/2015 17:28

I want to know this too! My DS is 15 months and he can play on his own for a bit but maybe 10 mins max. He's always been bored with toys (no matter how supposedly amazing and age appropriate they are!) and prefers to explore the house, open cupboards, pull books off the table etc. So leaving him on his own has never been an option. He also hated play pens, slings etc.

The only way to get things done is to let him watch something on the iPad. Haven't tried cbbeebies but there is an illustrated nursery rhyme medley on YouTube and that will keep him still for 30 mins.

I honestly don't know how people do it otherwise. Although some babies are just happy to be left on their own to play and some are not.

Original poster

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 17:31

Reassured to hear others are in the same position! I am currently running back and forth to kitchen adding things to pan, visions of coming back into living room to find DD has pulled bookshelf down onto herself and I've just opened a tin of chopped tomatoes and tipped it in to find it was actually a tin of peeled plum tomatoes... thank you DH who did the shopping this week!!

OP posts:

hideandseekpig · 19/03/2015 17:33

It will be ok just chop the plum tomatoes up a but - I do this all the time !

Original poster

JuniorMint · 19/03/2015 18:53

Plum tomatoes became suitably mushy DH got home in time for me to assemble meal, he's now bathing DD while I tidy kitchen before his night shift, bless 'im

OP posts:

hideandseekpig · 19/03/2015 18:58

Glad you got it all together in the end! It is tricky sometimes many a time I've felt like giving up with dinner altogether and it's only because I know I need to feed my dd that I carry on! And then I'm often a gibbering wreck when dh comes home and the mess in the kitchen can be pretty bad!!

hideandseekpig · 19/03/2015 18:59

Funnily enough I have started cooking a bit extra when I make soups etc and freezing it so I have a quick meal ready!

temperamentalamongcorvids · 19/03/2015 21:19

I totally remember this stage. It was even worse later when I had a toddler and very mobile 10mo. everything either had to be assembled in 10 minutes or less (omelette with salad/filled pasta with sauce/stir fry) or made in advance and cooked from chilled or frozen by microwaving or bunging in the oven. The slowcooker was useful too as I could put it on in nap time. We ate a lot of couscous.

AGirlCalledBoB · 19/03/2015 21:28

My son (18 months) is a nightmare when it comes to dinner time. He is 18 months and out of a highchair so can not be strapped into that and amused like he used to. Now he will keep coming into the kitchen or scream at the door. Can't let him into the kitchen as it is too small and like you, we have cat litter in there, oven etc.

So I put cbebbies or Sofia the first on for him and keep dinners simple when it's just me and him in the house. It keeps him amused enough so I can do the bulk of the dinner.

The only way I have managed to do it

softlysoftly · 19/03/2015 21:29

Right I've been 2 options for you.

Option 2 would be me with PFB DD1.

Option 1 is me now with poor ignored DD3 and her older siblings

Option 1 - give in and live off takeaways and oven food. Feed 10mo jars and finger food. Occasionally cook earlier in t the day or after bedtime then fridge/freezer it to be nuked at teatime when DD is too grumpy to wait.

Or stick her in her carseat in front of Cbeebies.

Or just make sure the living room is childproofed and leave her in there.
Btw get that bookcase pinned to the wall and the tv screwed to the stand because she will pull them on herself at about 2 during a "pretend to be a mountain climber and leap off" moment.

Option 2 - create a drawer/cupboard full of interesting but child proof items. So tupperware. Potato mashers, tins and spoons. Colanders. Bottles half full of rice or dried peas etc. ONLY give access to the cupboard at dinner cooking time.

StellaDrift · 19/03/2015 22:28

I haven't cooked properly in the evening during the week for ages, now I do a batch cook when DS is having a morning nap or a morning watch of baby tv from the play pen (more of a day bed than a play pen similar to this one ) I freeze portions and then just have to do a quick re-heat in the evening, or I put the slow cooker on after lunch. Fridays are often a ready meal pizza or take away.

If it all goes wrong then its the high chair and the cbbiess iplayer, Baby Jake and Twirlywhoos seem to be the 2 winning programs at the moment!

With getting DD in the Ergo and onto your back, I found watching youtube tutorials helped, some are much better than others so find one that you like, there are several ways to get you baby up and in so if one way doesn't work for you then try another.

Also try sitting on the sofa and putting DD in, a mirror in the room also helps as you can check if they are in or not. I still use the car windows as a mirror to check when we are out and about.

It gets easier as they get a bit bigger and can amuse themselves.

24hourM0MMY · 20/03/2015 02:50

Ice cube on highchair tray? This one used to keep DS thoroughly amused.

Littlef00t · 20/03/2015 12:02

I have just got rid of a large shallow box from my kitchen that has been in there since dd was about your LO age, she's now 1 and too mobile.

I'd pop it in the corner of the kitchen and plonk her in it, with some toys but also some kitchen bits and pieces to keep her entertained. She could see what I was doing and was happy most of the time just to play and watch.

mrsmugoo · 21/03/2015 08:37

I would either cook dinner during her afternoon nap and reheat later or cook and eat after her bedtime.

I never even attempt to cook with my 12 month old trying to climb up my legs!

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