Hi friends!
Today I wanted to share some quick wisdom that a friend of mine shared with me recently. This advice has completely transformed my days and my time, and has allowed me to feel more productive, fulfilled, and satisfied at the end of the day. I know not all of my readers are mums, but I wanted to share this advice regardless so that maybes someday when you're a mum you can be way ahead of the game by already practicing this one small habit.
So what is this sage wisdom you ask?
Don't do anything during the baby's nap that you could do during their waketime.
I repeat:
DON'T DO ANY ACTIVITIES, CHORES, OR TASKS DURING NAPTIME THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED WHEN YOUR BABY IS AWAKE!
Seems logical right?
Well not for me! Last year I found myself putting my son down for a nap and then immediately rushing around the house cleaning, doing dishes, folding laundry, and making meals. It was CRAZY. I spent every single minute of his wake time playing with him and carrying him around, and his naptimes were spent doing homemaking chores, and by the end of the day, I was truly spent and exhausted. I would only have enough energy to plop down in front of the TV and watch 3 hours of Kdramas before sleeping and starting the cycle all over again the next morning. Woof.
Now, my exhaustion during some of Bodie's babyhood was partially to blame on being pregnant, but I also know that I ran myself ragged with my mismanagement of time.
So after receiving this advice, I decided to identify activities that I simply could NOT do during Bodie's waketime, and I found that the number one activity was, surprisingly, sitting down and relaxing.
Yes! You read that correctly.
If our son catches us in a comfy chair with our coffee, he has to come over and bug us about the coffee cup, hand us a hundred books to read, or simply pull on our pant legs to come play with him. It's adorable but can become frustrating if you feel like you've been going nonstop.
However, we realized that if we are doing an activity, like sorting the laundry, vacuuming the house, or even putting the dishes away, he leaves us be. He explores on his own, tries to "help" us, and in general, seems much more patient to allow us to do our thing. Sometimes he even sits in his high chair and watches us do our thing while taking bites of veggie straws. Now Hubby works out in our home gym with Bodie watching him, I run the vacuum while he chases me down, and laundry is a family affair.
And naptimes? Naptimes are pure bliss. My husband and I sit down to chat and have coffee, I create Instagram stories and catch up on my YouTube or blog, and I contact nap with Troy. We do alllllll the relaxing, quiet, and downtime activities during nap, and it has transformed our days.
So my rhythm of my day still has a lot of running around and chaos, but I always force myself to sit down and rest during the intermittent naptimes. I WILL do 45 minutes to an hour of chores after he goes down for the night, but naptimes are chore free!
In the morning I will wake up with Bodie, spend together time feeding and cuddling, and when he's ready for independent play, I get my own food and start on some simple chores while he explores. If Troy is awake at the same time, I do chores in a room where he can do kicky and tummy time. If Troy needs extra attention or if I want to hold him while being with Bodie, we all hang out on the ground by the play gym so I can switch between babies as I need to, and spend time reading books and playing with toys with Bodie.
Then, right before naptime, I pick up the play areas, tidy the kitchen, and do a general reset as much as I can. If they happen to nap at the same time in the morning, I will get ready for the day and shower (something I can't do with them awake) and if they nap at the same time in the afternoon, I will work on my social media, read articles online, and sip a hot drink. My days have built-in rest, and I am a HAPPIER mama for it. We still get everything done that we need to, but we overlap our chores with Bodie time, and everything has worked out splendidly.
Is this possible every single day?
No. But most days we get into a nice rhythm and our home is cleaner for it.
So make sure you take time to rest my dears! And don't worry... the house will get tidy. Babywearing, allowing your toddler to help, or combining tasks like sweeping the kitchen during breakfast when your baby is in a high chair are all ways you can get it all done! So don't forget to take time for you <3
xoxo,
Cait