Due to the recent birth of our beautiful baby girl, Nora Faith, I’ve rounded up an All-Star list of moms who effortlessly seem to manage work, home, family, life, and everything in between! You can read all their words of motherly wisdom here, as well as how they manage to “do it all” while still living a life they love.
I’ll be sharing my own thoughts and baby updates soon enough, but right now, I’m simply soaking up their trusted advice while cuddling with my new baby girl!
The following is written by Aby from Simplify 101:
Six weeks before my first baby’s due date, I thought I had everything under control. My baby shower was scheduled for the next Saturday, and I had a checklist and time-line in place for all the other remaining baby preparations.
What I didn’t realize was that the very next day my water would break.
I was scrubbing baseboards when I felt a little trickle — a little trickle that lead to an “oh no,” a tear-filled phone call to the doctor, and a panicked trip to the ER. (And no, my bag wasn’t packed yet.)
After five days on bed rest in the hospital, my doctor told me that my baby was on the way — Friday, November 13. He arrived five weeks early (the day before my baby shower) but he was a healthy baby boy — and that was the only thing that mattered.
Two days later, my husband and I brought baby Collin to his not-yet-ready home. This was when I learned my first lesson in parenting: You are no longer in control! Another person now rules your home, your schedule, and your heart.
I don’t have any tips for dealing with the heart part (though I promise, you will get used to it soon enough.) But, thirteen years later, I have some ideas to help you stay organized while someone else rules your home and your schedule.
Tip 1: Sleep when baby sleeps.
It’s much easier to stay organized and keep up with the rest of your life when you’re well rested. So in the early days sleep when your baby sleeps.
In time, your baby will learn to sleep on your schedule, but until then, make sure you get plenty of rest by napping when baby naps. (You won’t have this luxury with baby number two, so enjoy it with baby number one.)
Tip 2: Ask for help.
You’re not going to be able to do everything you did before you had a baby. Even though your baby will sleep a lot, he or she will take a lot of your time and energy. If you’re not one to ask for help, start practicing before baby arrives.
I had to learn how to ask for help while I was on bed rest in the hospital waiting for Collin to arrive. My friend Michelle helped me out by sewing sheets to fit the antique bassinet Collin was going to sleep in his first weeks at home. (This was one of those lingering items on my to-do list that didn’t get done before my water broke.) But thanks to Michelle’s help, baby Collin had a warm and cozy place to sleep his first weeks at home.
Tip 3: Seek out shortcuts whenever you can.
Shortcuts are a new mom’s best friend, so always be on the lookout for little ways you can save time. For example, you’ll be amazed at how much laundry one little bitty baby will create. Instead of folding your baby’s onesies, stack them in a pile and place them right in the dresser drawer.
Use just one style and color of baby socks, so you don’t have to spend time matching socks. Instead, simply drop all the socks into a basket (right next to that little stack of onesies.)
Tip 4: Use containers and curtains to conceal baby clutter.
Babies can also create a lot of clutter. There’s just so much stuff to care for one little person! Don’t stress about the clutter, conceal it! Corral little items like stuffed animals and rattles into small containers like metal buckets or baskets. Add a curtain to the front of your changing table to conceal less than perfect stacks of diapers, wipes and other changing necessities.
Tip 5: Enjoy every moment of it!
These baby days are going to fly by. And you will miss them when they’re gone. So don’t worry about the clutter or the laundry or anything else. Instead, hold that baby just a little bit longer and enjoy every single minute of being a new Mom. Everything else can wait. (You’ll just have to trust me on that one.)
What tips would you add to this list?
 |
Aby Garvey is an organizing expert who believes organizing can be creative and fun—the more you love an organizing solution the more likely you are to use it! She is the co-owner of Simplify 101, a professional organizing business that specializes in online organizing workshops. Aby helps people around the world get organized via her online workshops and one-on-one coaching services. |
sarah says
That’s a very solid list I’m not sure I could add to that, other than suggesting to JUST BREATH in the middle of it all especially when your in those crazy moments. The baby’s screaming, the phone is ringing and someone is banging on the front door, Oh and your leaking…. so JUST BREATH. The answer machine will take care of the phone, that someone who is banging on the front door no doubt hears the chaos and if they have kids they’re smiling and don’t mind waiting a few extra mins, while you pick your precious wailing babe up latch him/her on, throw a blanket over your exposed self and see who’s at the door.
We women were made to multi-task and at some point what I’m saying becomes second nature.
There will be days when what I’ve suggested is a good day and others involving dare I say it even more chaos…. JUST BREATH.