How to Make Life Easier

Posted Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:07 PM

by Abigail Green of “Diary of a New Mom”

Now that I’m on my second baby, my motto is “If it’s only pee, let it be.” The first time around, we dutifully changed the baby’s diaper every time he awoke for a nighttime feeding. At some point, though, we realized this was only disturbing him (and us) MORE, and making it harder to get him back to sleep. So now, I just load up Baby #2 with Desitin and a Huggies Overnite diaper and leave him be.

I’ve stumbled upon some other “secrets” for making life with baby easier on everybody. Want to hear them? Of course you do!

1.     You don’t HAVE to bathe your child every single night. Or even every other night. Sure, they might not have that clean-baby smell and their hair might get a little crusty once they start pulling strained peas through it. But they’ll live. And you’ll have one less chore for a few days.

2.     Convenience is key. I have a changing table in my dining room. I use laundry baskets to store clean burp cloths and baby clothes in the family room. No, I won’t make the pages of “House Beautiful” but keeping essentials close by sure beats running up and down the stairs every time the baby needs changing.

3.     DVR is a new mom’s best friend. If you haven’t been converted to Tivo yet, what are you waiting for?! I don’t think I’ve watched a TV show in “real time” since my first baby was born. Recording my favorite shows means I can watch them on MY schedule, even if that’s when I’m nursing the baby in the middle of the night. Plus, I don’t have to waste precious time watching commercials.

4.     You don’t have to cook dinner every night. I know -- duh! But what I mean is, cooking from scratch and take-out aren’t the only options. I had a lightbulb moment when a friend told me, “I cook maybe 2 or 3 times a week, and the other nights I throw dinner together.” Meaning: salad in a bag, Trader Joe’s frozen entrees, sandwiches, etc. Quicker than cooking and still cheaper than ordering a pizza.

5.     Let the house go to hell. Again, you’re probably thinking, “Duh!” But I realized I was spending all this time and energy making beds and putting away toys for nothing. After all, we don’t have company every day and the beds and toys are just going to get messed up again anyway! Of course, if orderly surroundings make you feel better, by all means, dust your miniblinds. But consider that relaxing your housekeeping standards may keep you sane when there’s a baby in the house.

So there you have it. I’ve admitted that I’m that mom whose dirty kids are running around a laundry-strewn house, wearing bulging diapers and eating frozen dinners. But, hey, it works for us! And it leaves me more time to watch all those shows I’ve recorded, too.

Abigail Green is a freelance writer and mom to two boys, ages 3 years and 8 mos. She blogs about the lighter side of life, writing, parenting, and more at http://diaryofanewmom.blogspot.com/.