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Parenting

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Original poster

How do people do their chores?

17 replies

spherisorb · 12/01/2019 00:14

I have a nearly 4 month old baby.

It’s getting harder to do things around the house, even cook! He’s a very good baby. I cannot complain with his sleeping etc

However he gets bored quite quickly and I have to entertain him in different ways. Also, I can’t leave the room for more than 10 minutes without him crying. It’s the awful crying with tears and going bright red so I think he’s genuinely scared or something.
Sometimes he’s good and I can go in and out but most of the time I can’t get anything done.

He weighs 17lbs!! So walking around in a sling won’t be practical unless I want to break my back.

What do I do? How do I entertain a 3 month year old? How do I do chores too? Does it get easier?

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MustBeAWeasly · 12/01/2019 00:36

Get a jumparoo! My 8 month old has had one since 3 months and she'd spend all day in it if I let her. I use it when I really need half an hour to get something done.
We call it the circle of neglect but she's happy and the house is moderately tidy.

niclw · 12/01/2019 08:13

@spherisorb I've been struggling with this as well. My baby boy is nearly four months and is 16lb and I won't use the sling either as his legs are so long they get in the way. My house currently looks like a bomb site and a friend has told me to just accept that I can't keep it tidier and cleaner. However, I try and do little bits at a time as my baby is entertained for about 15 mins by the play gym. I also put him in his bouncy chair in the kitchen when I'm doing things in there and I sing to him, pull faces at him etc as I get on. My plan today is to go for a walk which usually results in him having a long nap so I'm hoping to get my downstairs sorted except the hoovering while he sleeps as my parents are visiting Monday and my mum is a bit like a cleaning inspector. I then hope to do the same tomorrow but upstairs. Good luck and I hope you find a way round it x

GlossyTaco · 12/01/2019 08:16

Agree with pps. Use the bouncy chair and chat away to your baby while you do your housework.

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Doje · 12/01/2019 08:16

Does he nap during the day? I used to shower / prep dinners / clean in some naps and sleep in the afternoon nap!

PaquitaVariation · 12/01/2019 08:18

I used to either bring them with me into whichever room I was in, but actually did most of it when they were asleep.

dontpointatme · 12/01/2019 08:42

As soon as they're sitting and weaning, you can stick them in a high chair in the kitchen with a carrot stick or whatever while you're cooking and that entertains them for ages. Obviously you've got to keep a close eye but they're both trapped and entertained at the same time. You can also get high chair toys that stick onto the tray to keep them busy. And definitely a jumperoo, but be warned every time I put my DD in her jumperoo she did a massive poo, must have been the position she was in

Original poster

spherisorb · 12/01/2019 09:41

Yes he does nap and I try to get things done during the day but it’s like he knows I’ve left the room as he wakes up after 15 minutes. If I’m in the same room, he sleeps longer.

The high chair does entertain him but I thought you shouldn’t put them in a seated position for that long at that age?

He’s abit young for a jumperoo no?

OP posts:

SnowdropFox · 12/01/2019 09:47

My LO is only now big enough for a jumperoo so up until now I've put her in the bouncernd chat to her while I do some chores. She gets a little upset but chat and over the top smiles settler her for a little longer. I haven't been able to do proper cleans but it gives me enough time to put dishes away, wipe kitchen surfaces, dust the living room etc. Proper chores are done when my partner is home so one of us can entertain LO. It is slowly getting easier though at 5 months.

Dimsumlosesum · 12/01/2019 09:49

I didn't for the first 2 years.

MillionScarletRoses · 12/01/2019 09:50

Good quality wrap sling, tie baby on your back. Your hands are free to prep, peel and chop veg, cook, wash up, do laundry etc. Baby can’t reach anything dangerous. Baby happy as they are with Mom.

Lovemusic33 · 12/01/2019 09:53

I don’t think I did many chores for the first year or so and we ate a lot of take aways 😐

My first born was a nightmare, would cry if I left the room, would feed non stop and rarely napped so it was a case of doing what I could to survive. My 2nd born was much more chilled out and I could just sit her in her chair whilst I did things and she was happy just to watch.

Peanut91 · 12/01/2019 10:11

I break down all my chores into 5/10 minute tasks so I still feel like I am getting things done even if only a couple of jobs.

I have a to do list app and put all the jobs on there that I want to get done over the week and aim to have them all ticked off by the end of the week. Most weeks I manage but this week has been a fail as both me and my LO have been ill so I just prioritise the important jobs and leave the rest.

Re dinner if I get a chsnce to prep it during the day then great, if not I pass my DH the baby when he gets home from work ans I sort dinner then

TulipsInbloom1 · 12/01/2019 10:18

A back sling would be much more useful. Try a sling library to loan one and see how you get on with it.

Another option is to put him the room you are working in. Sit him in a bouncer or swing or lay him on a playmat in whatever room you are in and do all what you can in that room. So save up all the clean laundry for a few days then put him in the bedroom with you while you put it all away and sing/chat to him.

Inforthelonghaul · 12/01/2019 10:49

I just plonked mine on a mat in whichever room I was in with a toy arch over and a few toys in reach. I would get on with whatever I needed to do and chat or sing to the baby all the time. I also had the radio on a lot so music or speech in background also. I tried slings and baby carriers but preferred to be able to see my babies face so this worked better. Bouncy chair was also good, didn’t have a jumperoo so don’t know about them. Being on the floor gavethem lots of opportunity to try and roll or reach out for things too.

Wallsbangers · 12/01/2019 17:01

Is he rolling yet? I would leave mine on an activity may in a safe place, do a chore quickly and then give him attention. When he started to move we got a jumperoo style thing and a playpen to keep him entertained safely. Do you have a partner? What chores are they doing?

starpatch · 12/01/2019 18:15

Not too young for the jumperoo. It's not a natural position though so you can't leave them in there too long. I went for twenty minutes twice a day meant I got to eat!

MeadowHay · 13/01/2019 14:12

DD is nearly 7 months and I still do most of it on the weekends/evenings with DH or when one of us can be with DD whilst the other does the chore. She's a nightmare baby tbh, really clingy, you can't leave her in a room alone for any length of time before she screams, she needs constant entertaining - and no she doesn't find sitting watching me do household chores entertaining, maybe for a few minutes if I sing at the same time but her attention span is really short so you have to constantly find different things to do every 20 minutes (at 20 minutes is a stretch!)...if you have a baby like this, no amount of well-meaning advice like "get a jumperoo" will make a difference. We have a jumperoo, DD loves it, but not for more than 15 minutes at a time about twice a day and even though only if she's in a good mood. I'm so jealous of PP who said their DC would sit in a jumperoo all day if they could! My DD would never do that lol, she gets bored sooo easily. So I would take your friend's advice and just have to accept this is the way things are and lower your standards a bit. I hate it tbh but it won't always be this way. It is a lot easier now at 7 months than at 4 tbf, at 4 months I couldn't leave her alone to do anything and she also hardly napped, naps still are rare and usually only about 20/30 minutes so not much better in that regard but at least I can sometimes get 15 minutes out of her in jumperoo or door bouncer or high chair a couple of times a day (on a good day...), which is better than no time at all at least. Also we have her in bed by about 9pm for the last couple of weeks now as well which frees up some time in the evenings for urgent, quiet tasks.

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