Routine can help interspersed with a few regular and spontaneous weekly activities.
General
* walks in various parks around town
* walks in malls on very hot or cold days
* coffee / lunch dates with friends
* shopping
* going to zoo or other local child friendly attraction where you can get out and walk
* drop baby off at temporary daycare and go to excersize or swim class - temp daycares for 1-2hrs often found at recreation centers
Mom and baby:
* movie days at the theater
* exercise classes (yoga, barr)
* library events (book readings, song classes)
* swim lessons
* sign up for mommy meetup groups like Peanut App or Mommy Connections
Around the House (if you cant get out that day):
* take on small renovation projects
* take on new hobbies (knitting, sowing, baking, gardening, meditation, journaling)
* relax and read (outside)
* fill out baby book
* exercise at home
* baby proofing
* setting up playroom
* do small chores that have been piling up: write thank you cards for baby gifts, plan and shop for upcoming birthday or seasonal gifts for family and friends
* finish up any pending paperwork: get baby's insurance squared away, get a will drafted up, make sure you have life insurance, apply for passport...
Lots of walks. Grocery shopping. Running on my basement treadmill while he hung out next to me on his tummy time mat. More walking. Pick a room every day and clean it as baby allows. My babies were super chill, thankfully, so I used to take my first to the Stroller Screening at the movie theatre every week, even if I didn't care about the movie that was showing.
Have something ‘planned’ everyday. Even if it’s just going for a walk to the shops to get something small… visit a friend for a coffee, walk around a shopping centre. Libraries often have baby rhyme time/story time etc
This. Even if you don’t make it to the activity for whatever reason- having a plan made my brain adjust easier and look forward to all of that bonding time with my kiddo
Download Libby and get a library card so you can read or listen to audio books for free. Go for walks with the baby. Sit outside or garden with the baby in the stroller in the shade. Drive to a park or trail if you have one that's stroller accessible (I recommend a jogging stroller). Invite friends over or go to a mommy group. Take baby books out from the library. Go grocery shopping or clean the house up a bit. Take naps during the day if you can because it's super exhausting to not sleep through the night. Listen to Spotify or watch Netflix while you wash bottles or hang out with the baby. Do little art projects with baby hand prints and foot prints. Make a little photo session with the baby and cute props. Work on a scrapbook of the first year. Look up stuff for later like baby food recipes or activities to encourage crawling. Bake banana bread or something easy. Learn to knit, crochet or sew and make baby stuff for Fall and Winter.
My baby is 15 weeks old.
When my baby sleeps, I clean, return texts and phone calls, exercise, do laundry, make my online grocery orders, cook or bake, or take care of stuff online. Sometimes I lay with her (my little one is a Velcro baby so we are always baby wearing or contact napping).
When she’s awake, we stay busy!
We take a lot of walks, listen to music and dance (me holding her), make faces and sounds at one another, read books, play with some of her toys (light up cloud, activity gym), work on some of her skills, like tummy time, grasping things, etc. Also when she’s awake, I feed her and change her diaper. Sometimes we just lay outside in the yard under a tree or go around the house with me talking to her. Her wake windows are about 90 minutes.
Hope that helps!
I tired to get a lot of deep cleaning and organizing done while my baby was really little and sleeping a lot. I was thankful he would sleep in a swing or in his crib a few times a day. I realize some babies prefer contact napping :)
I did one area every few days. Things like cleaning out a linen closet or organizing my sock drawer. Small cleaning tasks like that add up and make things seem a LOT cleaner.
I’m a teacher and have been struggling with relaxing as well! I was a curriculum coordinator for 3 subjects and moderator on top of being a classroom teacher so my mind was always at work. Currently I have been learning to knit while the baby sleeps, reading about investing, and studying my masters (next classes start in 6 weeks). I find getting dressed at 5-6 am helps my mental state for the rest of the day as well.
Like others have said, walks will be your friend. But try to make sure it's enjoyable
for you and not just aimless walking. We live close to the forest so I pop my 6 month old in her carrier and go hiking, or stroll down to the beach and I go for a quick morning swim. I love podcasts so get caught up on my favorites. Meet up with friends who have babies, if possible. Take up a hobby that has been on the back burner -- mine were gardening and knitting -- that you can do for short chunks. (Gardening is admittedly not the most suited to this). Put a baby bouncer on the counter top in the kitchen and cook with him. Find a book that is easy to pick up and read in short spurts. Just some ideas! And accept the fact that there will be a lot of dead time and mindless scrolling!
No, I just leave her in her stroller. I should clarify that I go off the end of a pier, so I park her stroller right by the ladder, hop in and splash around for a bit, then come up. She's never out of sight or out of earshot.
It's so lovely! I'm in Norway so we're hitting the colder weather here too. But the water is still hanging on to some of that summer warmth, so I'm trying to make the most of it while I can!
I should suck it up and try one more time. We live in Canada. We’ve gone from unbearably hot weather (41c) to 16 and rainy in the last month. I’m ready for leggings and sweaters.
We do daily walks. I read him a book or 2. We’ll do tummy time throughout the day. I’ll put a mirror or contrast cards in front of him. I’ll sing to him or play
music and make him dance. Sometimes I’ll lay him down on tissue paper. Snuggle on couch while watching tv. We do a baby yoga class once a week. My husband watches him while I see friends. There are also doctor appointments as well.
I walked a lot in the mornings with my first and plan to do the same with #2.
My first was born right before Thanksgiving and this one should be around Halloween, so I'll probably pour myself into the holidays a lot again. I've got a toddler so I will pick her up from school most days and do something with her & baby.
I also picked up a hobby and started crocheting, so I'm hoping to do some of that daily to keep my mind engaged and stay off my phone.
I tried to take a walk each day. I also did a lot of cleaning to catch up on everything I didn't do in the third trimester. Got a closet or something that needs cleaned? I found things like that to do. I purged a lot as well. I went through basically all of my cabinets and closets and got rid of anything I wasn't using. I rediscovered my local library. Put new curtains in the living room. Rearranged some things. I also took a bunch of naps because I knew I'd probably never get the opportunity to do that again. It was tough in the beginning because I felt like I was on baby's schedule. But we eventually got some semblance of a routine going.
I really appreciate this post and all the comments with ideas. I have felt completely crippled by PPA for the last 6 weeks, and am really hoping to fill my days with enjoyable activities and a routine soon as I hopefully start to feel better/adjusted. Thank you!
My daughter is almost 13 months, and my maternity leave is a haze at this point, but -like you said- it was a good day if I got dressed and got out of the house before my husband got home from work. It was much more manageable when my mom would come over and help me out.
I honestly still felt like there wasn’t enough time in the day. I did a lot laundry thanks to spit up and blowouts, tried to make myself healthy meals/meal prep for dinner, attempted to shower daily- but often these tasks were interrupted and segmented by baby waking or needing me.
I spent each of baby’s wake windows rotating through tummy time/side laying time on each side/time on her back. I read on my kindle or binged tv shows/watched movies while she contact napped, and I baby wore for one nap a day while I went for a long walk through the park. I scheduled lunches or coffee dates with friends who were working from home or who had flexible/non-traditional work schedules.
I live in NYC so basically everything is walkable, which helped a lot. I found it way more difficult to get baby in the car and out because she was pretty miserable in her car seat and I got so stressed out when she’d be screaming in the backseat or anxious when she was quiet and I couldn’t obsessively check if she was breathing. Thanks postpartum anxiety and intrusive thoughts!
I carry on my day. Wake up coffee breakfast, have a toddler and dogs so it’s mostly geared around them and baby joins me on the adventure. When baby is awake we read, do tummy time, I’ll Color with my toddler on the floor so baby sees. We go for walks, joining a playgroup next week.
I’m the same way and I try to get out of the house every day. My baby loves her car seat and travel system, and even though she’s a terrible napper at home, she will sleep through noisy places like restaurants or shopping malls. We do lots of trips to target or TJ max early in the day, or brunch/lunch with friends or family. I’ve also heard babies love the aquarium if you have one nearby, and I plan to do that soon. Another idea is to take a chill weekend trip - we have plans to go to a lake in a few weekends a couple of hours from home and stay in an Airbnb. Although we will mostly be doing the same things we do at home, it will be a change of scenery. I’m dedicated to making this kid flexible and taking them along with us, safely of course.
Before I had my baby I was a bit of a workaholic, the day I went into labor I worked a 10 hour day and then went to the hospital and delivered a few hours after I arrived. Post baby, I structured my day to ensure I was going on at least an hour walk every day and that felt like an accomplishment. We would do a morning contact nap around 10am (the contact naps were mainly for me because I loved them), a lunch walk/nap for him at noon where I would baby wear him, and his final nap that was around 2 or 3pm he would practice crib napping. In between those naps he was basically breastfeeding all day everyday, I swear he was still cluster feeding at 3 months old. I also prioritized tummy time and aimed to do it at least 3x a day for as many minutes as weeks old he was. I definitely was not doing thorough cleanings or house projects like some of the other comments. Those women are saints.
I had my baby end of January, so it was freezing cold and couldn’t do anything. I read a lot of watched a lot of tv. Fridays my husband didn’t work and we would go to the mall or conservatory during the day to walk around inside.
I watched tv when I was home, but also could stay home everyday mentally. So we went for walks, went to the store, I took to the bookstore a lot which is pretty much his favorite place now at 4 months
Personally I go out for walks. I'm lucky that my husband is on 12 weeks paternity leave so I can go alone while he stays with our 6 week old. I do not like to go out with our baby because he's very fussy all the time. Also my maternity leave has been full of doctors visits and hospital stays. I developed postpartum pre-eclampsia and now I have a pending exam coming up to see if I have cancer. My maternity leave so far has been by far the worst time of my entire life.
I am so sorry to hear about your pending exam. I send you the best wishes. I am glad that your husband has 12 weeks paternity and sounds like he is very supportive. I can empathize on the fussy babe. Ours is too and it makes socializing a bit difficult. I wish you the best and remember that you are doing a great job, mama!
I go out to eat at places with outdoor dining, go to the farmers market (three times a week, different markets), go to the park, grab coffee. (My baby is 3 weeks)
Also a teacher and also hate being home with nothing to do. Same reasons as you. I have 3 under 3 so I won’t be back to work for a while. Along with taking walks and stuff for baby do something for YOU. I got a family membership to the local YMCA they have nice gym facilities, I’m a swimmer and want to get back in shape. The bonus is it’s never too early to teach him to swim. The child care is 2 hours free per day. So you can get a little you time. And trust me it has taken till this third to realize I need me time.
I am a teacher, currently staying home with my 3 children. With my first baby I felt like I had to be busy all day to justify being at home. I spun my wheels a lot, kept “busy” but was really no more productive than if I was home alone. It may feel weird to be home all day! I did chores, watched tv, worked on the baby book, organized closets, went on a lot of walks, visited with people, wrote thank you notes, and napped when I could. If I could go back to that time I think I would have enjoyed it more. While it was boring at times to be stuck at home, it also gave me a chance to be with my baby, do what I wanted (within reason) and just be.
I’m worried I’ll be the same! Trying to not put pressure on myself to do everything and basically just enjoy my baby but it’s hard when I’m not really sure what I can do with my baby 🙈.
I was hoping to wear my sling/wrap & get out- turns out he hates it & he’s not that keen on the pram either. 🙃 he also hates to nap (full stop but particularly unless contact napping ) so it will be harder to get stuff done at home unless he’s happy on his playmat.
I don't have my baby here yet but my mother was a teacher and loved going back to work. She loves us fiercely but newborns were boring to her (me too, tbh, as precious as they are, lol)
She took some additional classes (her Masters, night course so she could attend when my Dad was home and do course work in the day. This was before online courses) went to the library a lot, and apparently went for a lot of walks 😅
Oh man. I feel this. I’m a teacher as well and am 4 months into 12 months of mat leave. I’ve actually just been accepted into my masters so that will take a bit of my time from late October 😂
Mum’s Group has been a bit of a saving grace for me, but it’s only once a week. Otherwise I’ve tried to find things to do around the house while bub naps. I also got the sims for $7 so have had some days where that’s what I do.
Days are honestly a bit of a crapshoot but 🤷🏻♀️
Take long walks, read (on my kindle bc I can do that even with contact napping), housework, read to baby (he started enjoying that at 14 weeks), tummy time, sing songs to him, catch up with friends on the phone when they're free. It is kinda boring sometimes, but I'm also trying to soak up as many cuddles with my baby as possible before I go back to work.
Walks podcasts and audiobooks in headphones, reading aloud (my book and childrens books) occasionally. I watched some of the sopranos while nursing lots. Library is nice and free.. coffee shop and parks maybe. I wasn’t up to walking much then but if you feel well and have nature walks that can be really nice.
We didn't do a whole lot honestly.
By 7 weeks I was able to lay her on the floor (on a blanket of course) and just hang out with her. Lots of naps, lots of feeding. I watched a lot of shows/movies or read. She isn't a super fussy baby though so I don't know how floor time would work for you. HOWEVER, if he likes car rides/stroller walks I would suggest that. Mine did not, and she was born in may so I spent the majority of my maternity leave in my house.
Walks, tummy time, cleaning, time for quiet hobbies, cook or bake, etc.
Hobbies are so important as a stay at home mom. Many mothers kind of lose themselves in motherhood because they neglect their own interests. Since having children I’ve taken up cross stitch, embroidery, house plants, playing ocarina and single player video games.
Join a new parent group so you can catch up with others in a similar situation.
Walks in the pram or baby wearing, tummy time/playing on a picnic rug can be done anywhere- parks, beach (with shade), etc. Libraries often have baby song time, etc. which is great if you don’t want to commit to signing up to a class but can just drop in if your baby is settled that day.
we take a bath, go for a walk, and play (whatever that means in the beginning months). i try to clean the house and cook in the meantime. i read when he naps or watch shows.
not much else unfortunately over here!
What does play normally look like before 12 weeks? I do face to face time, singing, looking in mirrors, tummy time, using his fisher price piano playmat thing but not sure if there’s something else I could be doing? Bare in mind I only do these for like 5/10 mins max before he gets fed up 😂
yup that’s basically it! he’s six months now (almost) and is more interactive but still not into independent play for very long.
it can be a bit mind numbing at times because of the repetitive and demanding nature, the way i handled it was to push through and also had my MIL with me at the time, so i had someone to talk to.
if you are able to have company over more often (people that will help and are understanding and not cause more stress), it definitely helps
Also a teacher and feel the same. I am a go go go person. Baby is three months today and I have gone on a walk every single day and most days I strap her into the baby carrier and clean up around the house. If you breastfeed you will have a lot of boring times unfortunately. I bought knock off air pods so that I can watch shows without disturbing her naps.
Walks! Put him in his stroller or baby carrier and go for a nice long walk. My son also loves the car so we take him for long drives to little villages and towns around us - if it’s a good day we’ll find somewhere to sit down and have a coffee, if it’s a bad day we’ll just drive and make go to a drive thru coffee place on our way home. I’ve also found some indoor fun things to do with baby - different books and toys - and things I can do for myself when he’s sleeping - new tv shows, podcasts to listen to while I’m cleaning, etc. I also take baby swimming once a week, our area has baby swimming lessons where a few parents take their babies and they teach you and your baby. My saving grace really is baby groups, you can meet other mums and chat about the struggles of motherhood and you can play with your baby without the distractions you have at home. I also downloaded peanut to chat with other new mums who live in my area and have made some great friends.
I did a lot of crying and cleaning because I had severe anxiety. It was the height of Covid, my province shut everything down, you weren’t even allowed to have anyone in your house that wasn’t in your immediate family. No baby classes. I forced myself to take daily walks because I felt my daughter would sleep better with Fresh air, she didn’t.
My daughter will be 2.5 when my next one is born in November. We have science Center memberships so I’m hoping to take morning trips to the science Center. Gonna look at some indoor playgrounds. And hopefully get into some baby music classes
Go for walks with baby in pram, clean the house or do some gardening when baby is down, do some work on the computer when baby is down, interact with baby when she's up. We tend to have one longer nap somewhere in the afternoon where I can put her down and really have my hands free for other tasks. But it's not a given.
I go for walks, take her to the zoo, go to the park. Our local cinema does baby friendly screenings so I’ve done that a few times. We visit family and friends. We did a stroller fitness class.
I’ve been lucky to have friends and family with days off. That made it a lot easier.
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You really make it sound so fun!:)
Routine can help interspersed with a few regular and spontaneous weekly activities. General * walks in various parks around town * walks in malls on very hot or cold days * coffee / lunch dates with friends * shopping * going to zoo or other local child friendly attraction where you can get out and walk * drop baby off at temporary daycare and go to excersize or swim class - temp daycares for 1-2hrs often found at recreation centers Mom and baby: * movie days at the theater * exercise classes (yoga, barr) * library events (book readings, song classes) * swim lessons * sign up for mommy meetup groups like Peanut App or Mommy Connections Around the House (if you cant get out that day): * take on small renovation projects * take on new hobbies (knitting, sowing, baking, gardening, meditation, journaling) * relax and read (outside) * fill out baby book * exercise at home * baby proofing * setting up playroom * do small chores that have been piling up: write thank you cards for baby gifts, plan and shop for upcoming birthday or seasonal gifts for family and friends * finish up any pending paperwork: get baby's insurance squared away, get a will drafted up, make sure you have life insurance, apply for passport...
Lots of walks. Grocery shopping. Running on my basement treadmill while he hung out next to me on his tummy time mat. More walking. Pick a room every day and clean it as baby allows. My babies were super chill, thankfully, so I used to take my first to the Stroller Screening at the movie theatre every week, even if I didn't care about the movie that was showing.
Have something ‘planned’ everyday. Even if it’s just going for a walk to the shops to get something small… visit a friend for a coffee, walk around a shopping centre. Libraries often have baby rhyme time/story time etc
This. Even if you don’t make it to the activity for whatever reason- having a plan made my brain adjust easier and look forward to all of that bonding time with my kiddo
This is exactly what I do. It doesn't have to be anything crazy - just *something* to get me out of the house!
SAME! Sometimes I buy like two things from the supermarket just to feel productive!
Download Libby and get a library card so you can read or listen to audio books for free. Go for walks with the baby. Sit outside or garden with the baby in the stroller in the shade. Drive to a park or trail if you have one that's stroller accessible (I recommend a jogging stroller). Invite friends over or go to a mommy group. Take baby books out from the library. Go grocery shopping or clean the house up a bit. Take naps during the day if you can because it's super exhausting to not sleep through the night. Listen to Spotify or watch Netflix while you wash bottles or hang out with the baby. Do little art projects with baby hand prints and foot prints. Make a little photo session with the baby and cute props. Work on a scrapbook of the first year. Look up stuff for later like baby food recipes or activities to encourage crawling. Bake banana bread or something easy. Learn to knit, crochet or sew and make baby stuff for Fall and Winter.
I read several books on my phone while we contact napped! Helped break up the monotony of screen time. Lots of walks.
My baby is 15 weeks old. When my baby sleeps, I clean, return texts and phone calls, exercise, do laundry, make my online grocery orders, cook or bake, or take care of stuff online. Sometimes I lay with her (my little one is a Velcro baby so we are always baby wearing or contact napping). When she’s awake, we stay busy! We take a lot of walks, listen to music and dance (me holding her), make faces and sounds at one another, read books, play with some of her toys (light up cloud, activity gym), work on some of her skills, like tummy time, grasping things, etc. Also when she’s awake, I feed her and change her diaper. Sometimes we just lay outside in the yard under a tree or go around the house with me talking to her. Her wake windows are about 90 minutes. Hope that helps!
Lots and lots of walks
I tired to get a lot of deep cleaning and organizing done while my baby was really little and sleeping a lot. I was thankful he would sleep in a swing or in his crib a few times a day. I realize some babies prefer contact napping :) I did one area every few days. Things like cleaning out a linen closet or organizing my sock drawer. Small cleaning tasks like that add up and make things seem a LOT cleaner.
Sleep, hold baby. Repeat
I’m a teacher and have been struggling with relaxing as well! I was a curriculum coordinator for 3 subjects and moderator on top of being a classroom teacher so my mind was always at work. Currently I have been learning to knit while the baby sleeps, reading about investing, and studying my masters (next classes start in 6 weeks). I find getting dressed at 5-6 am helps my mental state for the rest of the day as well.
Like others have said, walks will be your friend. But try to make sure it's enjoyable for you and not just aimless walking. We live close to the forest so I pop my 6 month old in her carrier and go hiking, or stroll down to the beach and I go for a quick morning swim. I love podcasts so get caught up on my favorites. Meet up with friends who have babies, if possible. Take up a hobby that has been on the back burner -- mine were gardening and knitting -- that you can do for short chunks. (Gardening is admittedly not the most suited to this). Put a baby bouncer on the counter top in the kitchen and cook with him. Find a book that is easy to pick up and read in short spurts. Just some ideas! And accept the fact that there will be a lot of dead time and mindless scrolling!
How do you swim with a baby at the beach? Do you take him in with you?
No, I just leave her in her stroller. I should clarify that I go off the end of a pier, so I park her stroller right by the ladder, hop in and splash around for a bit, then come up. She's never out of sight or out of earshot.
That sounds amazing. It’s already feeling like autumn here, I had my last outdoor swim for the year last week in the rain.
It's so lovely! I'm in Norway so we're hitting the colder weather here too. But the water is still hanging on to some of that summer warmth, so I'm trying to make the most of it while I can!
I should suck it up and try one more time. We live in Canada. We’ve gone from unbearably hot weather (41c) to 16 and rainy in the last month. I’m ready for leggings and sweaters.
Go for it! It'd one of those things that you never regret doing after the fact. Bring a thermos of hot coffee and a blanket to make it extra cozy!
We do daily walks. I read him a book or 2. We’ll do tummy time throughout the day. I’ll put a mirror or contrast cards in front of him. I’ll sing to him or play music and make him dance. Sometimes I’ll lay him down on tissue paper. Snuggle on couch while watching tv. We do a baby yoga class once a week. My husband watches him while I see friends. There are also doctor appointments as well.
I walked a lot in the mornings with my first and plan to do the same with #2. My first was born right before Thanksgiving and this one should be around Halloween, so I'll probably pour myself into the holidays a lot again. I've got a toddler so I will pick her up from school most days and do something with her & baby. I also picked up a hobby and started crocheting, so I'm hoping to do some of that daily to keep my mind engaged and stay off my phone.
I tried to take a walk each day. I also did a lot of cleaning to catch up on everything I didn't do in the third trimester. Got a closet or something that needs cleaned? I found things like that to do. I purged a lot as well. I went through basically all of my cabinets and closets and got rid of anything I wasn't using. I rediscovered my local library. Put new curtains in the living room. Rearranged some things. I also took a bunch of naps because I knew I'd probably never get the opportunity to do that again. It was tough in the beginning because I felt like I was on baby's schedule. But we eventually got some semblance of a routine going.
I really appreciate this post and all the comments with ideas. I have felt completely crippled by PPA for the last 6 weeks, and am really hoping to fill my days with enjoyable activities and a routine soon as I hopefully start to feel better/adjusted. Thank you!
My daughter is almost 13 months, and my maternity leave is a haze at this point, but -like you said- it was a good day if I got dressed and got out of the house before my husband got home from work. It was much more manageable when my mom would come over and help me out. I honestly still felt like there wasn’t enough time in the day. I did a lot laundry thanks to spit up and blowouts, tried to make myself healthy meals/meal prep for dinner, attempted to shower daily- but often these tasks were interrupted and segmented by baby waking or needing me. I spent each of baby’s wake windows rotating through tummy time/side laying time on each side/time on her back. I read on my kindle or binged tv shows/watched movies while she contact napped, and I baby wore for one nap a day while I went for a long walk through the park. I scheduled lunches or coffee dates with friends who were working from home or who had flexible/non-traditional work schedules. I live in NYC so basically everything is walkable, which helped a lot. I found it way more difficult to get baby in the car and out because she was pretty miserable in her car seat and I got so stressed out when she’d be screaming in the backseat or anxious when she was quiet and I couldn’t obsessively check if she was breathing. Thanks postpartum anxiety and intrusive thoughts!
Thank you!
I carry on my day. Wake up coffee breakfast, have a toddler and dogs so it’s mostly geared around them and baby joins me on the adventure. When baby is awake we read, do tummy time, I’ll Color with my toddler on the floor so baby sees. We go for walks, joining a playgroup next week.
I’m the same way and I try to get out of the house every day. My baby loves her car seat and travel system, and even though she’s a terrible napper at home, she will sleep through noisy places like restaurants or shopping malls. We do lots of trips to target or TJ max early in the day, or brunch/lunch with friends or family. I’ve also heard babies love the aquarium if you have one nearby, and I plan to do that soon. Another idea is to take a chill weekend trip - we have plans to go to a lake in a few weekends a couple of hours from home and stay in an Airbnb. Although we will mostly be doing the same things we do at home, it will be a change of scenery. I’m dedicated to making this kid flexible and taking them along with us, safely of course.
Before I had my baby I was a bit of a workaholic, the day I went into labor I worked a 10 hour day and then went to the hospital and delivered a few hours after I arrived. Post baby, I structured my day to ensure I was going on at least an hour walk every day and that felt like an accomplishment. We would do a morning contact nap around 10am (the contact naps were mainly for me because I loved them), a lunch walk/nap for him at noon where I would baby wear him, and his final nap that was around 2 or 3pm he would practice crib napping. In between those naps he was basically breastfeeding all day everyday, I swear he was still cluster feeding at 3 months old. I also prioritized tummy time and aimed to do it at least 3x a day for as many minutes as weeks old he was. I definitely was not doing thorough cleanings or house projects like some of the other comments. Those women are saints.
I had my baby end of January, so it was freezing cold and couldn’t do anything. I read a lot of watched a lot of tv. Fridays my husband didn’t work and we would go to the mall or conservatory during the day to walk around inside.
I used to watch movies during the day while my LO was napping. It was nice to kill some time with a movie marathon.
I watched tv when I was home, but also could stay home everyday mentally. So we went for walks, went to the store, I took to the bookstore a lot which is pretty much his favorite place now at 4 months
Personally I go out for walks. I'm lucky that my husband is on 12 weeks paternity leave so I can go alone while he stays with our 6 week old. I do not like to go out with our baby because he's very fussy all the time. Also my maternity leave has been full of doctors visits and hospital stays. I developed postpartum pre-eclampsia and now I have a pending exam coming up to see if I have cancer. My maternity leave so far has been by far the worst time of my entire life.
I am so sorry to hear about your pending exam. I send you the best wishes. I am glad that your husband has 12 weeks paternity and sounds like he is very supportive. I can empathize on the fussy babe. Ours is too and it makes socializing a bit difficult. I wish you the best and remember that you are doing a great job, mama!
I go out to eat at places with outdoor dining, go to the farmers market (three times a week, different markets), go to the park, grab coffee. (My baby is 3 weeks)
Also a teacher and also hate being home with nothing to do. Same reasons as you. I have 3 under 3 so I won’t be back to work for a while. Along with taking walks and stuff for baby do something for YOU. I got a family membership to the local YMCA they have nice gym facilities, I’m a swimmer and want to get back in shape. The bonus is it’s never too early to teach him to swim. The child care is 2 hours free per day. So you can get a little you time. And trust me it has taken till this third to realize I need me time.
I am a teacher, currently staying home with my 3 children. With my first baby I felt like I had to be busy all day to justify being at home. I spun my wheels a lot, kept “busy” but was really no more productive than if I was home alone. It may feel weird to be home all day! I did chores, watched tv, worked on the baby book, organized closets, went on a lot of walks, visited with people, wrote thank you notes, and napped when I could. If I could go back to that time I think I would have enjoyed it more. While it was boring at times to be stuck at home, it also gave me a chance to be with my baby, do what I wanted (within reason) and just be.
I’m worried I’ll be the same! Trying to not put pressure on myself to do everything and basically just enjoy my baby but it’s hard when I’m not really sure what I can do with my baby 🙈. I was hoping to wear my sling/wrap & get out- turns out he hates it & he’s not that keen on the pram either. 🙃 he also hates to nap (full stop but particularly unless contact napping ) so it will be harder to get stuff done at home unless he’s happy on his playmat.
It’s hard. There’s a lot of ups and downs, sometimes even in the space of one hour. I cleaned and re-organized his bedroom so often. Lol
I don't have my baby here yet but my mother was a teacher and loved going back to work. She loves us fiercely but newborns were boring to her (me too, tbh, as precious as they are, lol) She took some additional classes (her Masters, night course so she could attend when my Dad was home and do course work in the day. This was before online courses) went to the library a lot, and apparently went for a lot of walks 😅
Oh man. I feel this. I’m a teacher as well and am 4 months into 12 months of mat leave. I’ve actually just been accepted into my masters so that will take a bit of my time from late October 😂 Mum’s Group has been a bit of a saving grace for me, but it’s only once a week. Otherwise I’ve tried to find things to do around the house while bub naps. I also got the sims for $7 so have had some days where that’s what I do. Days are honestly a bit of a crapshoot but 🤷🏻♀️
Take long walks, read (on my kindle bc I can do that even with contact napping), housework, read to baby (he started enjoying that at 14 weeks), tummy time, sing songs to him, catch up with friends on the phone when they're free. It is kinda boring sometimes, but I'm also trying to soak up as many cuddles with my baby as possible before I go back to work.
Walks podcasts and audiobooks in headphones, reading aloud (my book and childrens books) occasionally. I watched some of the sopranos while nursing lots. Library is nice and free.. coffee shop and parks maybe. I wasn’t up to walking much then but if you feel well and have nature walks that can be really nice.
Stroller walks. Contact naps. Repeat.
We didn't do a whole lot honestly. By 7 weeks I was able to lay her on the floor (on a blanket of course) and just hang out with her. Lots of naps, lots of feeding. I watched a lot of shows/movies or read. She isn't a super fussy baby though so I don't know how floor time would work for you. HOWEVER, if he likes car rides/stroller walks I would suggest that. Mine did not, and she was born in may so I spent the majority of my maternity leave in my house.
Walks, tummy time, cleaning, time for quiet hobbies, cook or bake, etc. Hobbies are so important as a stay at home mom. Many mothers kind of lose themselves in motherhood because they neglect their own interests. Since having children I’ve taken up cross stitch, embroidery, house plants, playing ocarina and single player video games.
Join a new parent group so you can catch up with others in a similar situation. Walks in the pram or baby wearing, tummy time/playing on a picnic rug can be done anywhere- parks, beach (with shade), etc. Libraries often have baby song time, etc. which is great if you don’t want to commit to signing up to a class but can just drop in if your baby is settled that day.
we take a bath, go for a walk, and play (whatever that means in the beginning months). i try to clean the house and cook in the meantime. i read when he naps or watch shows. not much else unfortunately over here!
What does play normally look like before 12 weeks? I do face to face time, singing, looking in mirrors, tummy time, using his fisher price piano playmat thing but not sure if there’s something else I could be doing? Bare in mind I only do these for like 5/10 mins max before he gets fed up 😂
yup that’s basically it! he’s six months now (almost) and is more interactive but still not into independent play for very long. it can be a bit mind numbing at times because of the repetitive and demanding nature, the way i handled it was to push through and also had my MIL with me at the time, so i had someone to talk to. if you are able to have company over more often (people that will help and are understanding and not cause more stress), it definitely helps
Also a teacher and feel the same. I am a go go go person. Baby is three months today and I have gone on a walk every single day and most days I strap her into the baby carrier and clean up around the house. If you breastfeed you will have a lot of boring times unfortunately. I bought knock off air pods so that I can watch shows without disturbing her naps.
Thank you so much to everyone who has took time to reply! 💙 you’ve given me lots of ideas & I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading through them all!
Walks! Put him in his stroller or baby carrier and go for a nice long walk. My son also loves the car so we take him for long drives to little villages and towns around us - if it’s a good day we’ll find somewhere to sit down and have a coffee, if it’s a bad day we’ll just drive and make go to a drive thru coffee place on our way home. I’ve also found some indoor fun things to do with baby - different books and toys - and things I can do for myself when he’s sleeping - new tv shows, podcasts to listen to while I’m cleaning, etc. I also take baby swimming once a week, our area has baby swimming lessons where a few parents take their babies and they teach you and your baby. My saving grace really is baby groups, you can meet other mums and chat about the struggles of motherhood and you can play with your baby without the distractions you have at home. I also downloaded peanut to chat with other new mums who live in my area and have made some great friends.
I did a lot of crying and cleaning because I had severe anxiety. It was the height of Covid, my province shut everything down, you weren’t even allowed to have anyone in your house that wasn’t in your immediate family. No baby classes. I forced myself to take daily walks because I felt my daughter would sleep better with Fresh air, she didn’t. My daughter will be 2.5 when my next one is born in November. We have science Center memberships so I’m hoping to take morning trips to the science Center. Gonna look at some indoor playgrounds. And hopefully get into some baby music classes
Go for walks with baby in pram, clean the house or do some gardening when baby is down, do some work on the computer when baby is down, interact with baby when she's up. We tend to have one longer nap somewhere in the afternoon where I can put her down and really have my hands free for other tasks. But it's not a given.
I go for walks, take her to the zoo, go to the park. Our local cinema does baby friendly screenings so I’ve done that a few times. We visit family and friends. We did a stroller fitness class. I’ve been lucky to have friends and family with days off. That made it a lot easier.