When your other half goes back to work- how did you get on??...

[MrsC]

Thanks all for your great advice, and good to know that I'm not the only one that has felt like this, never felt so dependant on hubby in my life! The baby bouncer has been ordered so hoping that that'll work for me as sounds like a god send for some of you! I like the idea of showering in the evening in preparation for the next day so will intorduce that to save precious time in the mornings. Once I get to grips with small outings to the shops/park etc then will start to go to all of the mother baby groups in ED and will hopefully see you there! I think because I'm the type of person who just cant sit still that I worry about getting major cabin fever, but that said I'm having a lovely lazy day indoors today and have no desire to leave the flat!

Thanks all again! xx

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I used to only manage literally five minutues in the shower with my son in the bouncer chair before he would start crying, cue a wet towelled covered me shhing him and saying " Ok darling, mummy won't be long!" which just made him cry more! I was only able to wash my hair once a fortnight, and shaving was once a week. Brushing my teeth was a minute not the usual 3 minutes but alas, as time has gone on and he is more alert, he is able to entertain himself in his bouncer chair whilst i have a nice soak in the bath, wash my hair, shave my legs and brush my teeth for three minutes! I think he finds watching me entertaining too!

I can only cook with him in the chair, he gets bored after an hour in the chair but least it is an hour to do something so I just make something quick and easy.

The housework? sod that! No time to do that at the moment.

The first two months I spent stuck to the chair breast feeding with snacks nearby, remote nearby and my mobile. I used to have to hold my urine in for ages as my son would take forever to feed and then fall asleep on me, it was a toss up between trying to move him to the bed or cot without waking him up and going to the loo(10 out of 10 times that failed and he woke up and would not go back to sleep) or else just holding my wee in until he wakes up which I did! Now, I can actually go toilet, put him down, leave him in the cot with his mobile whilst i do things and so on.

I would say the first 3/4 months are the hardest and then it gets easier to actually leave them alone and do things for a while. I have not gone to baby groups yet ( my son is 18 weeks) because he is still feeding lots, and I am too lazy and tired at the moment, I will give it a few more months ( once he is weaned so he can go longer between feeds) before I hit the baby groups in Dulwich.

DOn't stress, just do what you can, and leave what you can't and before you know it a few months has whizzed by and things are so much easier!

[darlin']

Oh dear I feel guilty now reading all these responses! I was clearly a bit more lazy and didn't really bring my baby around to every room with me etc. She seemed so content just lying in her baby gym or bouncy chair that I would often put on music for her and go off and busy myself around the house without any worries! Oops!

It is totally true that in the early days they seem to have a sixth sense about when you are trying to shower or eat some food and always choose that particular moment to scream! I second the advice about getting easy to eat snacks stored up and would definitely say to register with an online grocery asap- something I put off for far too long and couldn't work out what had taken me so long when I finally did it. It's great!

I would also recommend the TinyLove Symphony in Motion mobile as an absolute life-saver! It was a gift from friends who said it had captivated their baby and they were right! As early as 3 or 4 weeks I would lie baby in her cot (the only thing she used her cot for at this stage!) and turn on the lovely music, and she would coo and gurgle away for up to 40 mins or even more! A great chunk of time for doing something for yourself and baby is happy too.

Good luck- I am sure you will get on brilliantly and it really does fade into distant memories all too soon! Try and enjoy it