How To Manage Your Time With A Baby?

baby care“There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

And so true it is. With unbridled joy, a baby also brings with it exceedingly tedious time ahead for the new parent.

It takes days, weeks and even months to adjust to the unique timings of a newborn.

A baby does not know what time is. All it knows is hunger, excretion and rest. A breast feeding mother is a slave to the demands of her newborn while the father’s responsibilities lie in trying to all he can do to support his wife as well as fulfil his bread winning responsibilities.

The untimely sleep patterns of the baby, its feeding times, helping it adjust to the new environment and many other apprehensions, doubts and confusion about her newborn, add to the already overwhelmed mother, who feels there isn’t just enough time in a day!

Though the suggestions given below may not be a sure pointer to solving all your time problems at once, but in due course of time with practice, you can feel you have been managing things better than before.

Know your priorities

As a father, your topmost priority would naturally rest with the baby, but then the mother too is a priority. You need to ensure that the mother gets adequate rest to heal her body. As a mother you need to ensure that you are taking adequate food and rest to reenergize yourself. This can be achieved by resting while the baby rests and doing your work when it is awake.

Often it is the unpredictable sleeping pattern of the baby that frustrates many and all their pre-planning time management organizing gets disrupted. The best way would be to work with the baby’s sleep schedule, sleeping when the baby sleeps and attending to the baby and their chores when the baby is awake. Experts suggest to try and keep the baby awake during normal working hours in a day so that it will help them to sleep better during the night.

Delegate your tasks

Some household tasks can be delegated to other members of the family, telling them you need their help to recover fast. If you already have an older child, try not to give in to all the demands of the child, as you are not a super mother nor can you become one by stressing yourself out. Learn to say ‘no’. Remember, you aren’t a bad mother, wife or daughter-in-law if you are not able to perform in the same manner before the baby was born.

Channelize your energies

With a newborn baby, unexpected things do happen. It’s best to take things one at a time as and when they come. Channelize all your energies in completing the task on hand, leaving all your worries and guilty feelings behind. There is no point in fretting and losing sleep over things you feel you should have done at a particular time. Rest when it is time to rest and focus and work efficiently when you are awake.

Make a list of things to be done daily

Make a schedule of your daily routine. List all your appointments in that routine. Follow that routine as best as you can. This saves you a lot of time and your tasks are done much more efficiently. The list also ensures that you are aware as to the amount of time each task takes and what can be done to do it efficiently. Go through your list daily and think as to how to better manage your time.

Though all this may sound easy, its actual implementation may take time. You may not be able to manage your time efficiently overnight, but as you keep doing it, you will get things done right.

In conclusion, you’ve survived 9 months of pregnancy; you’ve made it through the excitement of labor and delivery, and now you’re ready begin life with your baby. Make it as joyous to yourself and your baby, as possible. Even though you may feel anxious about handling a newborn, in a few short weeks you’ll develop a routine and be parenting like a professional!

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