Pl SSE share your life hacks for coping with baby and toddler

[Doughnut100]

I am struggling with a four week old and two year old. Was in soft play unable to stop the tears yesterday (mine not baby’s). I have the most supportive dp but no family nearby. Emotionally I know I just need to hang in there and keep reaching for help when I need it. I’ve been reading old threads for encouragement. But practically I need ideas - how do you make it through the day? How do you entertain your toddler when you can’t make it out of the house? How do you get out of the house? What do you feed the toddler when you need something quick (we are veggie just to make it harder)? I have a sling already. Please share the life hacks that work/worked for you!

Does toddler go to nursery at all? If not, is that an option? Looking after a newborn and a toddler on your own is very difficult as their needs are so different. I just tried not to be alone with the two of them for more than an hour or so.

At one time I had a baby and a toddler and dh was out of the house from 5.15am until 7pm. It was tough.

two Moses baskets, one upstairs one downstairs was helpful.

we went out every morning Monday to Friday to a different class. That entertained the toddler, kept me calm and eventually entertained the baby too. Then after lunch toddler would nap. We generally stayed in the house / garden in the afternoons playing. They both loves a music class so i bought some of the musical instruments from it to play with in the afternoons. I had a craft cupboard in the kitchen filled with pva glue paints card sparkly things clay playdough etc.

Thanks.

nursery isn’t an option for another year.

will make a craft cupboard.

at the moment getting out of the house to classes is very hard. I guess it’ll get easier.

Quick veggie dinners for us are veggie sausages with beans, tomato pasta (I make a large batch and freeze large ice cubes of sauce and just cook some fusilli while defrosting a cube in the microwave), cheese on toast/crumpets with some fruit. I used a sling for getting out most of the time... kept my hands free for the eldest and the youngest was happy. TV, sticker books, reading, etch a sketch were all things I could do with one hand whilst feeding the youngest. It's bloody hard though and I found those early days very stressful!

Hi, I am sort of in a similar situation but my youngest is now 7 months. Things I found useful are the double buggy for getting out and about, keep the baby's car seat in the house if you drive, you can get them into their seat and put toddler out in to the car first knowing baby is safe, sleeping space for baby downstairs (he would sleep through the noise until he was around 4 months old), bouncer upstairs to put baby in if you are putting toddler to sleep, try and get both dressed before you come downstairs in the morning, it is easier to have clothes and changing bag sorted the night before so you can get out of the house quickly. If there are no toddler groups try the local library, they usually have story time or nursery rhyme time or there are a few play cafes here with soft play/toys to entertain toddler while you have a cup of tea. Try and sync the toddlers nap with baby's lunch time nap so you get a break in the day. Meals we have a lot of potato waffles done in the toaster with baked beans or spaghetti, baked potato with cheese, eggs on toast. It gets easier as baby gets older and are able to get involved more but take each day at a time and you will get through it 💪🏻

Lunch - make packed lunch. If you end up out at a park you have it with you (especially if time runs away and you think oh shit it's 12pm!). If you end up at home.. they just eat the packed lunch at the table.

And honestly? The biggest gamechanger? ASK FOR HELP. From strangers, from shop assistants, from anyone if you need it. I have 11month old twins and a pre-schooler. A polite smile and a clear request, when you clearly have your hands full, people are mostly more than willing to help. It was totally against my personality pre-twins but it's the way forward. "Can you help me to the table with our drinks? Thanks so much!" "Can you open that door for me? Thanks so much!". 99.9% of people are more than happy to help you on your way rather than watch you struggle.

Thanks so much for all your replies, some great tips here. Sorry I don’t have time to reply properly as I’m still run ragged... But it’s definitely getting better and I just wanted to say thank you for the ideas xxx