How do you get any housework done?

[Mapal]

I have a 7 month old DS.
If I'm trying to get some housework done I have tried:

• Leaving him playing on the floor with his toys while I work about him. After about 5 minutes he generally starts crying and wants picking up.

• Sitting him in his Bumbo with some toys in the doorway while I talk to him about what I'm doing. This can buy me about 5 minutes too, maximum.

• Hanging him in his baby swing in the doorway while I'm working. This is generally the best thing and gives me 15 minutes tops.

• Sitting him in his highchair with a wooden spoon or some finger foods while I work. Maybe get another 5 minutes.

Wearing him in his sling works for a while but he's so heavy now I can't do much, especially if I need to bend down.

I have a hippychick hip seat, this also work but leaves me doing everything one handed and again, he's very heavy.

So.....how do you do it? Do I just have a particularly miserable baby? I cannot get ANYTHING done that takes longer than about 5 minutes unless I just leave him to cry.......... is this what other people do? My husband has never had a nice home cooked dinner waiting for him when he gets home from work because I don't want to listen to my baby cry.

He has always been like this, since he was born. What to do??

Thanks!

Oh how glad I am to have found someone else with the same problem!

I will be intrigued to see the replies. I have a DS2 who is eight months and I have 5 mins MAX of him doing any activity before he cries and wants to be picked up. It makes the days seem very very long.

I do go out as much as possible as he will happily 'play' at other peoples houses and doesn't moan that often in the buggy or car. I personally think it's boredom. I have a theory that once he starts crawling my life will become so much easier.

ps i too find myself wondering if i have a particularly grumpy baby or if this is normal for his age....

Doesn't he sleep in the cot or pushchair in the day?
Mine used to fall asleep while out and about and then I'd leave them in the pushchair asleep in the hall
once they were on three meals a day they started having a couple of hours in the cot after lunch
it does get easier

Mine was like this, I relied on the sling when he was very little and the house was just a tip until he started to crawl. (When it became a different sort of tip!) But he was a much happier chap once he could move under his own steam.

I used to put him in his bouncy chair and that would give me about 10 min. When he was napping that was only 30 min so I would just sit down and/or make phone calls.

Oh, I just didn't do it - we agreed my job was just to look after DS (he was the same at that age). Then I would cook tea when DP got home. Everything else pretty much went to the wall or got done in the evenings/weekends.

Sounds pretty normal to me. I just do things in 5 minute blocks. Which means that it takes me all day to do a tiny job. But it won't last for ever. I remind myself that I'll have plenty of time to do housework when the DCs have left home!

When you say a sling, do you mean a back or front one? Once my babies were big enough I started wearing them on my back, which makes them seem a lot lighter, and also keeps them out of the way so that you can (carefully) cook, fold washing etc.
I'd also suggest setting up a treasure basket

I don't, we live in filth, lower your standards and have a cup of tea instead.

Do it when he naps/on an evening. That's what I used to do. Although Morloth's sugestion sounds much better, so you should try that first.

Sorry, got hauled off MN to take myturn on the Wii. You can also find lots of treasure basket suggestions by searching for wnaky baskets on here. they're a brilliant way of keeping babies entertained while you get on with something in the same room.

What Morloth said!!

It's very, very normal for babies of this age to not want you to take your attention away from them.

Like someone else said, it gets easier when they're old enough to have one substantial nap in the day as you can get stuff done then.

I used to hand DD over to DH when he got home from work and do some basic housework then.

it's amazing how quickly they grow up, seriously, you will be looking back on it with nostalgia-tinged relief soon - if it is at all possible could you get some help with housework, or prepare meals in advance when you have an extra pair of hands, perhaps at weekends?

I don't! My ds is 4 months old and so is the dirt on my kitchen floor!

Seriously every few weeks when I can't stand it anymore I send dh out of house with ds for I do a big clean. Then it descends into filth again for next few weeks!

I like this poem:

I hope my child looks back on today
and remembers a Mum who had time to play
There will be years for cleaning and cooking
But children grow up when we are not looking
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
Cos babies grow fast, we learn to our sorrow
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm cuddling my baby, and babies don't keep

Also dirt is important for their immune systems. This is a good theory and should be held onto regardless of any forthcoming data to the contrary.

So actually you would be doing your DC a disservice to keep the house too clean.

I used to just do my cleaning when DH could look after DS1. DS2 was much easier and would happily play in his cot whilst I had stuff to do. I now have DD1 and she is another limpet... hey ho, living in a tip until the weekend!

i did mine while my son slept in the day.
Also did much as i went along.
A bit when he was in bed at night, before i sat down.

Do you have a mum or some one who could take him for a couple of hours once a week so that you can have a lovely cuppa, and catch up then?

All of the tacticts that you employ now will become more and more effective as he gets older, will occupy him for longer.

Its not for long, i promise, it is frustrating i agree.

My DS happens to love his bouncy seat and will play happily in it long enough to at least empty and load the dishwasher.

Other than that, cleaning is for the weekends when DH and I can tag team. Or for the rare 30 minute nap he takes during the week (DS not DH ), if I don't have something more important to do like MN!!

Ha ha loving the replies, thanks all! Love that poem too and is so true, I will stop worrying so much.

I was so naive before I had him, I had visions of spending my Mat leave baking all sorts of goodies and having a lovely meal ready every evening................oh dear how silly I was!!
Fortunately my hubby is not the kind to expect this kind of thing, in fact the house is such a tip by the time he gets home from work that he starts tidying as soon as he gets in (DS is often already in bed by then). We don't have any family near by sadly.

It was getting to me a bit because my MIL had made a comment to my SIL about the fact that she had phoned at tea time the other day and my OH was cooking the tea, and she was wondering why I hadn't already made something........I felt like she was criticising a bit. She had 3 kids and I expect she was always on top of the housework, but I can only assume she left her kids to cry while she did it because I really do try!!

My DS was exactly the same. But as everyone says, it does change. He is 19 months now and has a good 2 -3 hour sleep in the day so plenty of time to get things done (although generally I still don't!). Honestly, try not to worry about it...you've got a full time job with the baby at the mo. If it is really bothering you, could you afford to get a cleaner in occasionally, maybe just once a month? And as for lovely meals, I remember eating a lot of pasta with ready made sauces at that time!!

My house gets its 45 mins of housework done every week if it needs it or not .

This started when I had my first one and my hubby used to be ok abou it, but now our third kid is at school he thinks I should have a BIT more time for the house