Schedules For Stay at Home Moms
Stay at home moms of 1 year olds have a hard job. Your child is slowly leaving the world of frequent napping and quiet observation. He is starting to play, explore, and sleep less during the day, which means you have less time to get things done. It may help you enjoy your day more if you establish a schedule. By planning your daily activities you will feel more in control and get more accomplished.
Identify Necessary Activities
Determine what activities must be accomplished every day. For example, meals, snacks, naps, and exercise will fall into this category. Once you schedule a time for each of these, you can schedule other activities, such as play time, around them.
Observe Your Child's Schedule
Watch your child and make note of when he needs to eat and sleep and how long he needs for each of these. Note when your child is usually in a good mood and when he doesn't seem to be as happy, and schedule accordingly. For example, maybe your son is a morning baby and all smiles after breakfast. This might be the perfect time to run errands.
Schedule Some Time for Yourself
Try to work in some time that you can focus just on yourself. It may only be fifteen minutes during your daughter's morning nap, but every mom needs a little 'me' time. Perhaps you can schedule thirty minutes every night when dad takes the baby and you read a book or go for a jog. Dad will get a little bonding time and you will get a much needed respite.
Be Flexible
Your schedule will not work everyday. There will be days when your son refuses to nap or your daughter wants to be held all day. This is okay. It is part of being a mom. Be flexible and try to adapt.
Recognize When to Change the Schedule
Just when you think you have your baby figured out, he will change. He'll drop his morning nap. He'll go through a growth spurt that will have him ravenous from dawn until dusk. Note these things and adjust your schedule accordingly. Nothing can be as frustrating as constantly being off a schedule you really want to follow. Try to recognize the need for change and make the necessary adjustments.
Cleaning Schedule
Design a cleaning schedule that works for you. You may plan to complete a specific task each day. For example, maybe you will mop on Mondays, clean bathrooms on Tuesdays, and dust on Wednesdays. This way your house gets clean, but you don't spend your entire weekend cleaning it. If this approach doesn't work for you, try to find one that does.
Meal Schedule
In order to spend your days at home with the baby and not running in and out of grocery stores, consider designing a meal schedule each week. Plan what you will have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day and put together a grocery list. Not only will you save time and money at the grocery store, you will avoid indecision at dinner time by glancing at your meal plan and to see what you have planned to eat that night.
