How does anyone clean or do housework with a toddler and baby?

[Bellabooboo]

Please if you can give me some tips!!!

I have a 2.5 year old DD and a 6 month old DD. DD1 goes to nursery twice a week and i try and do as much add i can but 6 month old shrieks if i don't hold her for more than 5 minutes. If I leave 2.5 to play for 5 minutes or whilst i clean up after lunch I'll turn my back for 1 second and she'll be pulling things out of the cupboard.

Do you have a door jumper or playmat with toys on to grab at for 6month old , that's how I manage and seems to go ok x

I only have one dd (19m) but the answer is that I don't get much cleaning or housework done!

I do kitchen stuff very swiftly (not thoroughly) while she is eating in her high chair. Basically everything else is done when she's in bed, or when dh is home, or on my lunch break if I'm working at home.

I've got a jumperoo but that sounds stop the whining or the toddler. Argh!

I don't do any housework unless she is asleep or out for a walk with my OH.

Sometimes I think I care about it other times I'm not sure I do, half of the mess is mine as for some reason I can never put my clothes away, or the babies

Does the baby sleep during the day? That's normally when you get things done. If not, then just do the bare minimum to survive and wait till they're older to have a clean and tidy house.

Can you put the baby in a sling and do stuff? That's the only way I can get anything done!

I put a baby gate up and have her in living room or whatever room is not being worked on at the moment. If I leave her in living room I usually find something on tv or movie she will settle down for. I am not a huge tv person, but I find it useful for when I'm in need of some small moments during the day to get things done (cooking, cleaning) it seems to help them.

I set up a play pen, toddler sits in there happily with toys while I clean

You have to have your unputdownable one first, then your easy one. It's all in the organisation!

Helpful?

Jumperoo / door bouncer for the baby and CBeebies for the toddler usually buys me about 30 minutes, and I whizz round like a crazy person doing as much as I possibly. Basically the only way!

I generally get about 45 minutes a day of co-ordinated naps so I sometimes use that, but to be honest tend to like to use that to sit down with a cup of tea and relish the silence.

Also, mine eat in the kitchen, so I use meal times to clean sides, do dishwasher etc, while they're busy eating.

Having said that, my babies have just turned 1 and the toddler is 2.8, and I've been surprised to find I've suddenly started having more time to myself, not less. I thought the twins getting mobile would be a nightmare, but they're much happier to be put down now. Meanwhile, the toddler has suddenly realised she can make them laugh and so is happy to play with them instead of needing me constantly. Admittedly they trashed the playroom this morning, but I did get a whole load of laundry done while they were doing so! (Unheard of during the day a couple of months ago.)

1. Let standards slide for a few years.

1. TV to keep toddler quiet for half an hour or whatever.

1. Use nap time to your advantage (i.e. rest too so you've got energy for later).

1. Bouncy chair/door bouncer/jumperoo or whatever to occupy the baby for 20 minutes while you get one chore done.

I have a 10 month old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 year old. My house is rarely clean but the children are happy. In a few years I plan to have both a clean house and happy children but I might get a dog instead.

I have ds 18 months and dd 7 months

Hire a cleaner ( she comes 3x per week, my house has never been so clean)

Let them watch Peppa Pig/Thomas the tank, while I load dish washer/wipe kitchen down

Do what you can while they nap

Get dh to do it at evenings and weekends

Me or dh have a tidy round once they are in bed, while the other one of us cooks dinner

I've had to lower my standards of cleanliness drastically since having DD2 as she won't be put down for longer than five minutes either and I have an equally demanding toddler (who doesn't nap or go to nursery) wanting me to play with her whenever baby isn't attached to me. Sometimes I can rock baby to sleep in her pram in the hallway, put toddler in front of cbeebies or peppa pig and get a few essential bits done. For the big stuff I wait until the weekend and DH takes them out for an hour and I frantically clean the house. It's still never as clean as I want it to be though but I just can't let it get to me.

Also have to think philosophically about it I think. Like when I'm older I'm not going to be laying on my death bed thinking oh I wish I'd have cleaned more

I have a 2.9yo and a 10mo. Toddler goes to preschool one morning a week so I whizz round while he's there and make sure baby has a decent nap during this time. Other than that I give toddler a spray bottle of water and a cloth so he can 'help' and occupy baby or stick her in sling on my back and get on with it. It takes a long time and my house is never clean all the way through but I've just accepted that.

I have a 2.9yo and 9mo. My standards were already fairly low, so lowering them further wasn't really an option.

DD1 has two mornings at Preschool and although I mostly use the time to play with DD2, if she goes down for a decent nap (rare) in that time I run around and do what I can for half the time then MN the rest.

I tidy the kitchen/dining space/playroom (open plan-ish) or do laundry whilst they eat after I've stuffed my food down quickly.

We all go upstairs, I shut the stair gate and let them 'roam' whilst I put away clothes or other small upstairs jobs.

Once the DCs are in bed, we run around and chuck everything in drawers and baskets have a tidy up to keep on top of the small person debris.

At weekends DH or I will watch the DCs whilst the other gets on with chores.

BUT our house would still be a shit tip if it wasn't for our cleaner. That's the best tip

Get the baby napping in a cot, follow a routine

Get the toddler a hand vac and have them vac around the edges. I did that with my son when he was 2.5 and he LOVED it. I also learned to function really well holding my daughter in one arm and working with the other. You can do it!

When my two were that age, my house was, to quote my 'D' mother, a disgusting mess (it really wasn't that bad, a mess yes, but only slightly disgusting ).

Who cares? They're only little for a short time and then they're off to school and you can clean to your hearts content.

I always said, I'm not off work to clean, I'm off work to spend time with my babies.

Simple - I hardly did any :D my husband did most of it.

I don't.

My cleaner does it.

My youngest is 14 months now and I can do a bit more housework, even chuck some things in the slow cooker occasionally

I've only got one toddler so easier for me. I've got child locks on the cupboards. As pp said, cbeebies.

I am just about to have DC2 but this really got to me last time I was on ML!

It was mainly the stress hanging over me that things weren't as clean as I wanted them. I found it tough enough to keep myself clean, fed, clothes washed and bottles etc sterilised with a baby who wasn't happy unless being held so she could see what was going on.

This time I will be keeping the cleaner we got when I went back to work. This is well worth the money to take the pressure and stress off me and/or DH. Otherwise I think you can clean bits and bobs here and there but it will never feel completely clean and order restored!

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