Becoming a new parent can be full of excitement, rewarding experiences – and having your nice, ordered life flipped completely upside down! Suddenly, it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done – feeding, nappy changes, and establishing a sleep routine (for yourself and your new baby) take up most of those hours, and we are often made to feel like we also have to maintain a spotless house, cook a brand-new nutritious meal, and generally keep up with everything we used to be able to do without thinking. Reality, of course, is rarely so understanding of social pressures. So today, we’ve put together a list of nine ways to help save you some time to keep new parenthood a little less overwhelming.
- Establish a Routine
There’s a lot to be said about creating a routine for your day – it helps your little one feel settled and can become amazing when you’re having one of those too-tired-to-think days. Regular feeding, playing and sleeping times are the basis of a new baby routine. Once that is developed, you can start building the rest of your routine. But for those who like some spontaneity, don’t worry – you’ll only need to keep this up for the first little while. As bubs gets older and you all get more into a rhythm, you’ll be able to relax those routines bit by bit.
- Prepare Meals in Advance
Cooking your daily meals (particularly dinner) takes up more time than perhaps a lot of us would like, so why not make some of those in advance? You can batch cook at the beginning or end of the week and freeze daily portions, use a slow cooker to just throw things into to be ready that evening (especially handy in winter!), or whichever method you prefer. If you’re still expecting, you can get started early by cooking and freezing a range of different easy-to-heat meals, meaning you can grab the dinner you feel like each day rather than being locked into just one meal type.
- Baby Wearing
Babywearing – that is, using some form of the baby carrier – is another one of those things that some parents find to be an absolute lifesaver. And you don’t just need to use them when you’re out! They allow you to have your baby nearby but still have your hands free. Do your laundry, head out for a walk – whatever you need to do, you can do so easily while having your baby safe and snug. These can be especially useful for babies going through a bit of reflux and struggling to sleep, or who are sick. Being close to you, much like with skin-to-skin when they’re first born, is very settling, helping them to feel better.
- Online Shopping
One of the most amazing parts of modern life is the fact we don’t have to drag ourselves to the supermarket—or anywhere else—if we just don’t feel like it! You can order your groceries to be delivered, or if there are baby supplies you just need to have, you can order them in minutes then have everything delivered to your door. Many places—including here at Haakaa!—also let you do click & collect if you want to get out of the house but not spend hours fighting through the crowds just to grab a few things. Either option lets you get the things you need without having to spend your precious time standing in line.
- Delegate and Accept Help
Enormously important and equally underrated, delegating and accepting help is vital when it comes to keeping yourself on an even keel, particularly in the first six months. As parents, we often feel like we need to do everything ourselves, but it’s not true. One of the strongest decisions you can make is to ask for help. That might be sharing nighttime feeding duties with your partner (if you’re breastfeeding, a pump and bottle will make this much easier), or it might be asking a grandparent to watch baby for a couple of hours so you can get some much-deserved rest. If visitors offer to do the dishes for you while they’re there – say yes! All these little things can add up not only in terms of time saved but also to make life just that little bit easier for you.
- Simplify Your Cleaning Routine
Another key time and sanity-saving tip is to simplify your cleaning routine. There are key places that should be kept up with – having a clean kitchen and bathroom/toilet is necessary – but there are other cleaning things that perhaps don’t need to be done right now. Try working in small chunks rather than giving the whole house a top-to-bottom clean every day. And as with the tip above, if someone offers to help you with tidying, accept that help. They wouldn’t offer to fold your laundry if they weren’t willing to actually do it.
- Plan Outings Strategically
Before we have children, ducking out for what we need as we need it is easy – there’s no one really to worry about other than ourselves, so we can do whatever needs doing as we feel like it. However, that is no longer the case once there’s a small one to worry about. Planning your outings before you head out can make life that little bit easier. Work out what you need and where it needs to come from, then plan the most straightforward way from place to place. Consider whether you’ll need somewhere to feed or change baby before you go, and ensure facilities are available. These days, most places have dedicated spaces to let you change your baby’s nappy, but it pays to check beforehand just in case. Make sure your baby bag is always stocked with spare nappies, clothes, and any creams and lotions you regularly need.
- Take Care of Yourself
This might not sound like a time-saving tip, but its importance can’t be overstated. You’re at your best when you’re looking after yourself. Use some of that offered help to have a relaxing bath, keep up that skincare routine, and eat healthily – they all go towards making sure you have the energy to deal with everything else. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that taking any time for yourself is selfish, but by reserving some time for self-care, you make it that much easier to tackle everything else that is going on.
- Be Flexible
No matter how well-intentioned your plans are, babies can often throw things into chaos from time to time – knowing and accepting that is probably the most important thing you can do. Giving yourself the flexibility to adapt to last-minute changes (and, indeed, even expecting them) means you’ll be able to deal with them as they come. And you can do this by utilising each of the previous eight tips. And this, ultimately, is the key – by developing a range of strategies to help you deal with each day, you’ll be able to save time for what really matters.