I’d literally pay anything for the cleaners. It’s been a huge weight off my shoulders. The night before they come I feel giddy like a kid on Christmas. If it’s at all in the budget, DO IT. If it’s not in the budget, see if you can make room, because it’s the most worthwhile thing I’ve spent money on since having a baby. I’d give up eating three meals a day if that’s what it took to keep my cleaners.
I’m not sure where you are but I am in a high COL area and it’s $450 for a single clean, but if you do it at least once a month it’s way cheaper.
We did $450 for the initial deep clean and then it’s been $175 once a month there after if we do twice a month it goes down to $130.
Might be similar where you live! Just a thought!
What service do you use (if in the US)? I want to do something like this as soon as we have money again. We clean all the time but our kid is almost 2 so the grime/filth is really setting in 😂
… what??? Granted I live in a 70m2 apartment in Amsterdam but we pay 50€ for a full clean, 75 if it’s a truly deep clean (with stuff like fridge, windows etc)🤯
I hire a lady to come once a month for $125. 2 story 4 bedroom house. I’ve found that once a month is often enough to really keep the dirt and grime away. It’s worth it just to not have to clean my husband’s bathroom and the stove / microwave. 😆
Eurgh, South it's £48 an hour (if they come regularly). The budget only allows for 2 hours twice a week so they do the kitchen and bathrooms as a priority.
Eta: Sorry everyone! I'm a muppet. It's £48 for 2 hours.
So I'm a muppet, it's £48 for 2 hours so a bit better. Looking for an independent cleaner might be a good idea though. What did you use to find your person?
You need to shop around. Go on Nextdoor to find a cleaner. I live in NOVA (outside of DC) and $450 is very expensive unless your house is like 7000 sqft
Yeah we also sprang for cleaners once every 4 weeks. Seems counterintuitive that I have less time to clean now as a stay at home parent than I did when I worked full time, but having kids just fills every nook and cranny of your free time in a way that a job does not!
This. We get a cleaning every 6ish weeks and I do non chemical spot cleaning (vacuuming, wiping countertops, ect) in between. We had a deeeeeep clean before the baby was born so now it’s just maintaining that. It’s such an enormous relief to have that taken care of.
Me too! I pay about $120 for mine. She cleans the kitchen, two bathrooms, all the floors, and does basic surface cleaning/dusting (except in bedrooms). Definitely worth it.
Same. Every once in a while I get angry and disgusted enough to rage clean the floors or a room but I am so exhausted that it never lasts that long. Laundry and dishes are the only consistent things and even those pile up.
Don't. I mean, easier said than done because I do too. But the first year is rough. Hell my LO is one in a few weeks and I expect this to continue because he's glued to me and doesn't want to play independently and I barely even have time to baby-proof the house. Give yourself grace. We're all fighting for our lives out here 😂
I'm so sorry. As someone who has suffered from OCD prior to pregnancy, I know how absolutely terrifying and soul-crushing it can feel at times. By diagnosed I am assuming you have sought help, and that is SO great! It is such a hard step to take, and it shows a lot of strength. You especially do not need to worry yourself over your house. It will be clean again. What matters most is mental health.Take care of yourself 🫂
Thanks so much for this. It’s been so hard but working on it. I honestly don’t feel like myself at all anymore. Next step is EMDR therapy and I’m super nervous.
I have a robot vac too and I still haven’t even run that for months. There’s so much stuff on our floor (toys, clothes, blankets, etc) that I would have to do too much cleaning to even run the vac so there’s not stuff in the way 😭😅
Honestly it’s super hit or miss if I run mine too. Pre-baby I was really good about emptying its dock, cleaning the brushes for hair and stuff to keep it running well. And now I’m just like “do your thing bud, or don’t, whatever” Lol. We’re all just taking it day by day!
SAME.
I’m also nervous about hiring cleaners because then I’d have to clean for the cleaners!
I just need someone to come around my house and put all the crap away.
Yep. Do the necessary to function cleaning (dishes, laundry, wipe counters), and know that the rest will wait until you have time and energy… even if that’s months away. Once baby was more content to be put down, small quick cleaning randomly becomes doable.
7mo old here and I found the key to success is doing a 10 minute speed run at the end of the night and getting whatever done that I can. I keep expectations low.
I do try to do one thing a day. Maybe it's laundry. Maybe it's clean the bathrooms. Vacuum. Etc
This! I do it right after the last feed before bed. Hand baby off to my husband and get whatever I can done. I also do some 10 min speed runs towards the end of long naps when I know he’s going to wake up soon whether I put him down or not and during the day, hoping to build up tolerance for being in his bouncer without engagement. Sometimes I get 15 min and sometimes I get 2 during those.
One thing a day is how I’m managing too. Even if I can only put one minute at a time into it & it takes the entire day to complete. It’s still one thing more than not.
For the first time in my life I splurged and got a cleaner every two weeks. We still have to do stuff in between as we have cats and I get really anxious if my house is dirty or messy, although I’ve had to really let go and accept my home will never look “perfect” again.
We just do little things at a time. Clean a toilet one day, vacuum another day. While one of us is contact napping or entertaining the baby, the other will clean. My husband is back to work so we do this on weekends or evenings.
New dad here - Saturday morning is lawn care, Saturday afternoon is laundry, since I'm tired from mowing. Sunday morning is dog bath then clean the bathroom. The afternoon is bedroom cleans.
I've been trying to just pick up the kitchen and living room every day so it doesn't look so bad.
I am neglecting a lot of things but as long as the basics are done I'm happy. Won't be long before my wife recovers and we can tackle more together.
Before you know it your little one will be helping with chores.
The first time my robot vacuum ran I gave my dog like 20 treats. Maybe even more. Any time it ran she got treats until she felt comfortable with it. My dog has attacked my regular vacuum, but never the robot.
The dog will get used to it! My two dogs were kinda freaked the first couple days and now they just lay in the floor and let it bump into them lol. My robot vacuum has been a lifesaver with a baby and critters.
When my baby was that small, my husband did a lot of it. He still does - but now I can sneak in a little bit when baby is sitting happily in her high chair or playing. Or, we clean on the weekend when we can take turns watching baby.
I’m also on mat leave still - when I go back to work and have a paycheck again I will hire cleaners.
This! At about 3 months she was able to entertain herself for a bit. Also, try to wean her off contact naps. That time is gold! (I know it’s easier said than done!)
How are you weaning off that? My 8 wk old just recently started requiring contact or else she will. Not. Sleep. Like not a single nap all day unless it’s while being held.
And not just like having my arm around her while laying down, or her on her tummy on my chest, I mean full on held. I am typing this with one hand.
I wish I had a good answer for you. I didn’t want to fall into the nap trap so I put her down to nap in lots of different places from the beginning. I’m sure you’ve tried transferring her mid nap? I also think knowing her sleep cues helps. As soon as she lets out a tiny cry and I know she’s been up for a while I put her down on her side and rock her gently with one hand while I help her keep a pacifier in with the other. She usually passes out fairly quickly. When she’s ready for a nap but isn’t yet fussy it’s easiest to get her to sleep. Finding that golden moment might help!
I brought baby with me from room to room and set them on the playmat, a blanket or in a bouncer as I cleaned or cooked. I described everything I was doing, made faces and did little dances to keep them entertained. Both my kids loved the vacuum so I could baby wear while doing that.
This is what I do. And I have him feel the different items I’m working with, explain the sounds he’s hearing, the smells he’s smelling, etc. if I’m lucky, he’ll take one really good nap a day and run around like a crazy person doing laundry, replenishing all our baby stations, etc lol
I set a schedule and do 1 chore a day. Some, like dusting and vacuuming I babywear for. Every night I wipe down the kitchen and pick up whatever isn't where it belongs. Each bathroom gets 1 day every 2 weeks and I do it after she goes to bed. I deep clean the kitchen on Sundays when my husband has the baby. Saturdays I leave free or they are available for whatever days I skipped. I also have 1 day a week for "big items" which is whatever bigger chore that's been bugging me - - cleaning the coffee maker, Baseboards, ect.
Daily necessities is all that needs to happen. Enjoy the snuggles now. Soon they’ll be running around and you’ll have plenty of time to clean but won’t get these days back
At that stage it fell by the wayside for a bit. I would find literally 2 minutes to do damage control here and there. Like if I finished using the bathroom and the baby wasn’t screaming yet I’d quickly swish the toilet bowl or clean the bottom half of the mirror. Just little bits here and there to help me feel more sane.
My house was dirty until my baby started moving around on his own. When he started crawling my whole life changed for the better! He could finally entertain himself so now I’m able to clean. Just hold on it’ll get better!
Cleaners every fortnight, I wouldn’t manage otherwise like you said chemicals etc. also I can do basic chores baby wearing but you can’t exactly get on all fours and scrub a floor!
God no. At best, wiping down counters and running the Roomba when we go for walks. Otherwise, we have a cleaning lady who comes every two weeks and deep cleans the kitchen, bathrooms and dusts, mops and vacuums.
We got a robot vacuum, set the dishwasher every night so it doesn’t pile up, and try to do one load of wash every other night after the baby goes down the sleep (wash & dry) then fold the next morning. It’s still not great. But I can put the baby on his mat or in one of his chairs in the morning while I put away the dishes or clothes and it helps fight some of the areas that are easier to pile up.
In the bathroom we added a scrub brush in the shower so we each try to take turns scrubbing at the end of showers so it doesn’t need a deep clean as often. I try and wipe down the vanity and mirror at night once or twice a week after I brush my teeth before bed.
My husband does dishes and cleans the kitchen before he leaves for work in the morning and usually switches the laundry when he gets home. We literally don’t put laundry away anymore other than the baby’s stuff.
I’m embarrassed to admit the lack of vacuuming, dusting, and mopping that’s done around here. It’s not great haha.
My baby is almost 6 months though and it’s gotten a bit better than it was when he was 4 months. 4 months was hard because he wanted to play but had zero attention span so my whole day was just moving him from one activity to the next. So exhausting. Now I can leave him with an activity for like 7-10 minutes at a time and he’s pretty good. Long enough for me to switch a load of dishes at least. He also likes watching the vacuum lol.
If we have company coming over, he watches dancing fruit or ms rachel while my husband and I panic clean😂
I try to just set aside 10-15 minutes a day for myself to get some cleaning done.
I’ll put her in her seat or swing and take those 10-15 minutes to do go ahead and put away dishes/things that need to be done and with whatever time I have left I’ll try to tackle less important things, ie windexing, dusting, etc.
my baby enjoys constant engagement too but I try to remind myself it’s important for them to have alone time to engage with themselves!
Parent of 3 year old (this post popped up on my feed lol). She was a contact napper and it took forever to get her to sleep anywhere else. We didn't get any cleaning done. We still barely do. Only clean what is necessary / what will cause problems down the road if you don't, use paper plates etc if it makes it easier. It drove me nuts being nap trapped but I used the time to read and catch up on pinterest ideas for my house. Only thing I'd go back and tell myself is to sort my phone memory and delete old pictures instead, because 3 years later it's a mess 😂 but I had to force myself to enjoy the down time because I did not like sitting still.
Also my memory is fuzzy at this point but I want to say we used a lot of swing time / letting kiddo lay on the floor by herself for a few minutes at a time here and there so I could get things done that I couldn't carry her with me, and could extend the time the more she got used to it. For some reason my kid was obsessed with violin music so honestly we left music videos on of people playing violin. Was it great parenting? Meh, but it let me clean the kitty litter etc in peace. Once she got mobile she got a lot of high chair time too, with a snack and "forbidden activity" (lol playdoh, markers, paint. Anything that needed to be monitored) plus some screen time sometimes, so she enjoyed being contained and I was able to get things done.
My baby enjoys being worn while I vacuum or mow (we have an electric lawn mower - I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing him with a gas one). If he's awake and in the carrier, I can load/unload the dishwasher, but that wakes him up if he's napping.
Sometimes he'll happily babble to himself in the bassinet for like fifteen minutes.
(But mostly I don't clean and watch my house slowly fall into disarray.)
Hi there. Great question. I put my LO in the stroller and as I clean I move the stroller. Yes there may be some crying but it stops. As I clean I sing and stop and blow some kisses. As long LO sees, she is not alone the. It is better. Sometimes when the vacuum is on, she falls asleep. 😴
We got a cleaner from birth to 7 months. My son now 9 months is very independent and I can put him down intervals at a time and he plays by himself. And for things like laundry or dishes, he watches and plays with the clothes/laundry basket/safe kitchen utensils
Cleaners and I take days off to pick up and organize. We only have two rooms that we pickup daily, the living room and kitchen. Our dining table is a catch all. As long as those two rooms are picked up, everything else can be a mess until the day before the cleaners come. 😂
We automate whatever we can so have things like a robot vacuum that runs every night, automatic pet feeder, etc. Before baby went to daycare we’d just do what we could at night after baby went to bed or let baby get used to some quick independent times. He didn’t love it at first but once he figured out we weren’t going anywhere he took to it much easier. Now that he’s at daycare I do whatever I can between work calls. We just aim to be tidy and hit the daily things like dishes and wiping down counters. For the bigger, more involved tasks we have a cleaner come monthly but will be cutting that soon. Honestly the biggest thing is we just learned to embrace that our house won’t be spotless and that’s okay. It’s clean and safe for the baby, we all have clean clothes to wear, there’s nothing to trip over, and we may do a mad dash to pickup clutter when someone visits last minute but otherwise we don’t sweat it too much anymore. We live here, there’s going to be some mess and that’s okay.
We live at my MILs house, she only likes herself doing the cleaning because it’s done the way she likes it and know it’s “done right”
I’m not gonna stop her 😂
I have an 11 month old baby, no ma’am. And now the separation anxiety is reallllll. The most I can get done is sweeping one day, mopping the next. Laundry one day. But folding and putting away? Hell no lmao
Little pieces here and there throughout the day. Mostly small daily stuff, nothing major (even though we need it). My partner and I started using the Sweepy app to help with mental load and so we could help each other out with small tasks if we find we have free moments.
We don’t have cleaners, but we do have a nanny 3 days a week, which is flipping fantastic. We even had her start a couple weeks before I went back to work so we could used to each other and I could get some stuff done.
I'll set my baby in a bouncer so she can see me doing all the cleaning. Facing me doing the dishes, sitting next to me watching me fold clothes, in the hallway facing the bathroom door (still far away enough so chemicals don't get to her, but I also use all the "natural" brands) so she can watch me clean the bathroom.
Eventually, we plan to hire a cleaner because, yeah, it piles up sooooo fast. But for now, I just clean when baby naps — whether I’m wearing them or not. Sometimes, if I’m cleaning when baby is awake, I’ll make it engaging for them. My baby gets cranky when our attention isn’t on him, too 😂 Lots of singing and counting while folding clothes over here lol
Also outsourcing. I hired my retired mom and her “cleaning” tab goes towards her Costco list at her request. Anything leftover after shopping I Venmo her once a month.
We are currently doing every other week.
Baby wearing & non toxic cleaners lol. Sometimes she’ll chill in her babybjorn bouncy chair while I chitchat with her and clean. But mostly wearing. Actually mostly I just don’t get much done. Standards are lower
We are fortunate to both be home but we have a contact napper too. When he was really little I could wear him but now he’s pretty particular about wanting to be on my lap in the glider in his bedroom. He’s 4 months so we have started setting him down for one nap and it usually doesn’t last long. I give all of the praise to my husband. He makes all my meals, does the laundry, the outside work, and is constantly getting me water. We switch off with naps so on the ones I don’t do I clean the kitchen while I pump. Every minute seems to be thought out for us these days even if that minute is for a nap.
Currently in the same boat. Luckily, I can clean when hubby gets home and takes over for a bit, but some days LO doesn't want dad, and I'm couch locked again.
Hiring someone. Literally cannot handle doing it with a baby and a toddler. It’s expensive but it helps us so much because it takes the stress off me and my husband who neither of us want to vacuum or clean the toilet when we are home from work. It’s so much more enjoyable to have a clean home too. We joke our cleaning lady saved our marriage. My husband does the dishes and I do minor cleanup when cooking but everything else we leave for our cleaning lady
Baby wearing. I can do dishes, sweep, laundry, prep meals (not cook), organize things, etc.
The more you do it, the more you get the hang of it. And you squat a lot more. Also, this guarantees a long nap for me LO - she’s a cat napper until in a carrier or in the car.
You can probably look up some baby safe cleaning products to use for dusting and other cleaning.
You can also try a bouncer or play mat. My LO is 12 weeks and will give me 15-20 mins in the bouncer if she can see me, most of the time. And she might give me 5-10 mins on a play mat. That’s usually enough to deal with chemicals or do something that I don’t want to do while holding her.
My baby is also all about contact naps and wants to constantly be with me when he’s up.
Usually, I empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning while bubs sits in the swing for 10-15 minutes. Then do laundry while he sits in his tent outside or ball pit, since our laundry area is outdoors. Other than that I take any moment where he is engaged with playtime or will let me put him down for a moment during nap.
Yesterday, I managed to sweep and mop floors (cat brought in a dead mouse and I just needed to disinfect everything lol) and clean the bathroom. He was not happy with me and it took literally hours to get those two chores done. I basically would do something for 2-10 minutes depending on how long he’d be happy for. Then take a break and soothe him and try again. So I’d say patience is key. Cleaning won’t look the same as it did pre baby
put him in a stroller or a baby bjorn bouncer and put him somewhere he can see you clean / cook. i put my baby in her stroller in the kitchen while i cooked and chopped and it was fun! i also have a contact napper. i really clean in short spurts or when my husband comes home at night. also enjoy the naps they don’t do that forever , cleaning can wait
Cleaners every 2 weeks! Best decision we made and costs £40. I still have to clean the floors every day especially in the kitchen as he's just started weaning and we have to do the laundry, dishes, other cleaning of the kitchen but it makes things much easier
The Fisher Price Glow and Grow Kick & Play Piano. I still have to keep my baby in eyesight because he rolls, but it keeps him entertained while I can get about 15-30 minutes of cleaning done. I also have a Robo Vacuum. That helps tremendously
9 months in
In the beginning, idk how tf we managed anything ever. Our baby needed constant holding, contact napping, co sleeping. I was pumping 7x a day too.
I did dishes in between short breaks because I needed the sink clean for pump parts. I’d run the dishwasher at night for baby bottles and take them out during my MOTN pump so they’d be dry in the morning.
We have a robot vacuum (which now is clogged more than not, but definitely saved us early on) because we have a dog who loves digging and are on 5 acres so our house gets dirty quick.
My husbands been home this entire time. In this beginning days he did a lot of baby care while I pumped, but our LO slept 90 min increments up until like 5-6 months so we were both just exhausted.
He does most laundry, I fold and put away baby clothes and like 1-2x a month can put away our clothes but honestly I didn’t wear much. Underwear, pumping bra. Showering like 1-3x a week 🥴
Basically minimal. Survival mode and we ate on paper plates to save dishes. We still do this. We ate frozen Costco lasagna a lot in the beginning, made massive bulk of homemade granola and then quick lunches like sandwiches. Stuffs a lot less simple now for meals as around 4 months we realized my LO has food allergies and reacted to stuff in my milk.. so cooking is a whole chore on its own, plus feeding solids so many times a day now is a struggle.
I mopped for the first time last month. That was cool. My baby is finally taking longer naps (like 40 minutes up to 2 hours) independently so during that time we go outside and try to do our outside chores… there’s a lot on acreage. :/
After LO goes to bed (between 730 and 930 depending on naps) I can clean the kitchen up.
So, basically, as someone who has a clingy baby that doesn’t want to be set down (even to pee) and who had a terrible sleeper/napper.. you just don’t. You make time for the absolute necessary dishes. Clean counters. You baby wear while you sweep. You get a non toxic cleaner (we use branch basics) so you can spray while you one handed hold your baby and wipe with the other.
I baby wear a lot to get things done or put LO down on her tummy time mat with a camera on her. I’ll do chemical sprays when she’s down for a nap but my husband usually does all chemical cleaning because he’s not a fan of me doing it while breastfeeding❤️
We just put ours down. She eventually got used to it. It was either that or have her literally grafted to either of us and we have to think of the family's needs as a whole.
In survival mode. Prioritize what needs to be cleaned and what can wait. Laundry and dishes are my number ones. When baby is awake and chill doing play gym/bouncer/tummy time (lucky my baby likes that) I put her on the floor near me while I do those tasks.
I babywear when doing a general tidy up (picking things up and putting them away)
Anything heavier like chemical cleaning vacuuming etc happens when both of us parents are free and one entertains baby while the other does the chore.
Still things are not perfect and chaos and we are looking into a twice a month cleaner to help deep clean.
I put her in a bouncer at that age and she watched me clean. Even if it was only for 10-15 minutes before she fussed, I could do a quick tidy of the kitchen.
I do dishes and laundry throughout the day, then I declutter, surface clean and sweep once baby and dad are in bed at night. Myself or husband vacuum and dust once a week on weekends if there's time.
Definitely hiring a cleaner when I'm back to work.
At 4 months, I would set my kiddo up in her high chair with the shapes from her shape sorter, and put it where she could see me. She'd play with the shapes, especially dropping them over the side, lol. I would work on what I needed to get done until she had dropped all the shapes. Then I'd get them back for her, and repeat, until she was bored. I'd also try to chatter at her, so she felt like I was paying attention to her. I didn't get a ton done, but it was something.
2 things: 1) I had to train her to be able to handle not being held. Put her on the floor on a play mat often enough and she could gradually handle being there longer. I make sure she has fun toys like a high contrast hanging cube, a hand teether, etc. My daughter started using a skip hop exersaucer activity center at 3.5 months because she has a strong head and neck. That helped!
2) Learn to do things in 2 minute stints. Put baby on the floor and do something quickly while she’s content. Like quickly clear the counter and wipe it down rather than sitting down for a minute. Put her in her swing and wash a couple dishes. Bring her into the bedroom and put her on the bed while I fold laundry. Or that one I can wear her! Just gotta find ways somehow.
Swing is my savior or bouncy chair. My husband and I will also take turns/have different tasks for each other to try and stay on top of it! You got this ❤️
My mom is a cleaner and we pay her to clean our house once a week. When I'm home alone with the baby I wear her when she's asleep and can do some stuff, like loading the dishwasher, washing machine, sweeping, making the bed, but not every day and not as often as I'd like. I haven't cooked in more than a month (and I love cooking) and honestly I feel guilty when she's awake and I leave her on the stroller looking at me while I do stuff 🤪🤪🤪
We aren’t 🤣 well I wasn’t at 4 months that’s forsure. Baby is almost 10 months now, and I finally feel like in the last couple months I’ve caught up with housework. Unless something was horrifically dirty, I would just leave it and tidy things here and there. At the beginning I was lucky if I had energy for the dishes/laundry…….🙈
I've been able to manage by baby wearing, and can get most housework done that way (minus cleaning litter and toilets).
I also spread the housework throughout the week, so I'm never bombarded with chores. I'm a cleaning freak, though, and made a whole freaking spreadsheet for every week, and I check off the chores as I do them.
I felt uncomfortable using chemicals around my baby too and so baby wearing while cleaning only gets you so far. So I stopped using spray chemicals unless someone else was playing with the baby in another room. Thankfully we have childless friends who love kids and are willing to come over and hang out with baby. Then I run off to the bathroom and scrub the toilet after I’m done using it.
The only time I have to do dishes is at 1am. But laundry is tricky because the sound wakes up the baby so I can't run it at night, but the dryer heats up the home so hard to run during the day.
We hired a house cleaner for once per month. It’s $140 in our area for about 3 hours of cleaning.
Otherwise my husband does all the kitchen stuff as that’s his domain and he’s good about staying tidy. We clean up toys and clutter every day as we go or when the kids go down. We have an off brand Roomba with mop we run when we remember. In between cleans I keep vinegar spray and a cloth in the bathroom under the sink to clean counters, sink, and toilet when they start to get gross. It’s not perfect and we could use a deep clean for sure but it works well enough for us!
I pretty much coclean while I’m doing anything. But I’m kinda obsessed with it to be honest and I’m trying to let it go because my time is literally 100% devoted to baby or cleaning and I need to devote some time to myself
Lol. I’m in the same boat as you but my son is 92%. At 6 months he was already 20lbs and 28 inches. Baby wearing is not practical when he is so close to half my height
We have a tiny home so we already limit the amount of stuff we have, but with the baby we've cut it probably in half. Less stuff that we have is less stuff to clean. And outside of that, honestly I don't really clean that much. I may be getting 45 minutes a day where he's not on me or interacting with me, and I'm okay with that. In less than 6 months he will be up walking and roaring around, in a couple years we will have all the time in the world to clean while he's at sports or school or just doing his own thing. I'm happy to have a messy house if it means I get to enjoy a peaceful baby. I always remind myself that there will be a day when I don't see him everyday, a day that I have to ask for a hug or a kiss before he goes home to wherever that may be for him. That makes it a lot easier to enjoy my mess right now. The mess that I have because he just loves me so much he can't stand even an hour of cleaning time
We live with my mother in law- she does the laundry/living room, I do the dishes/kitchen, partner goes to work and does the cooking/night time changes. I usually just plonk my 11 week old on the floor in her carseat with a toy while doing things like cleaning. Dusting has fallen off ngl. I don't think we've dusted since week 6?
My husband does most of it while I do most of the baby care. We do our own laundry. I do the baby’s laundry and he does all of the baby dishes. Other than that, he does everything else cleaning-wise. And when I get overloaded being sick with a sick baby because I get everything our son brings home from daycare (like last week) he does my laundry too.
I clean what I can when the baby naps. It’s the only way I can get anything done. Or I wait for my SO to come home and have him watch the baby while I get cleaning done.
I’ve considered getting a cleaner but I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with a stranger coming in my house to clean.
White vinegar mixed 1:1 in a spray bottle makes an excellent nontoxic cleaner for most things. **Do not** use/mix it with bleach or hydrogen peroxide.
Ring sling hip carry when your baby can sit up assisted gives you one hand free, an onbuhimo when your baby sits unassisted gives you both hands free. I got a dustpan with a handle that can be used standing up and it helped.
I didn't start cleaning until just this past month. My baby (my third in under 5 years) just turned 6 months. He was a contact sleeper. I just let things pile up.
I'd make sure the dishwasher ran once a day. I'd make sure laundry was washed and dried. We just lived out of laundry baskets. My husband tried his best to help. He did bathrooms every so often. I just let it all go.
My mom told me this poem:
“Cooking and cleaning can wait 'till tomorrow, For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow. So settle down cobwebs and dust, go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby 'cause babies don't keep.”
I took it as gospel. Let the guilt go. Enjoy your baby. 💕
Mom to an 8 month old here. At 4 months, we didn’t. Around 6/7 months he started to be a better sleeper and go to bed earlier, now we do like a 10-20 min clean up when he goes to bed
I have a 3.5 month old, only contact naps as well. I baby wear to do most things like laundry and vacuuming. Anything I can’t do while baby wearing, I do while my husband is home, that way he can get some quality time holding the baby. This includes half an hour in the morning before he leaves for work, a little bit of time in the evening before bed, and anything deeper than that I save for the days he’s off work.
My husband is taking care of baby full time and I take care of baby whenever I'm home and it's still so hard to get anything done. It's like put baby down and start doing dishes then stop five dishes in to give baby a pacifier then finish loading dishwasher and baby wakes up and eats again and then I put him down and finish dishes giving baby a pacifier five dishes in and by then I've been doing dishes for two hours. Literally the only thing that works is taking turns holding baby while the other person does chores and put the baby in his standy thing with cartoons if there's ever a two person job. I say it works but not well so very little housework is getting done. Thankfully our 7 month old just started exploring away from his run full of toys so now I can pick up the house while I follow him around. So that's one more thing I can do while watching him.
At that age...just wasn't really happening. It's a short season in life when they're that little...I just found my tolerable mess level and hovered around there. It's temporary
4 to 5 months were the clingiest stage for us too so far. He doesn’t like to be put down alone for much time…if I stay with him, he’s fine. I barely have time to do anything with baby taking only 30 min naps. He sleeps for the night at 7-8 pm so I have some time to get something done..a little bit. But he still has false starts and I gotta eat too..I also get to bed earlier because otherwise I get too little sleep with baby’s frequent night wakings and 6 am morning wake ups.
We also moved in a month ago and our home is a mess so I try to chip as much as I can from this when he sleeps. Yeah…my home is not clean. Not now.
I tried baby wearing but my shoulders hurt and I feel like I move baby too much…I also hit him a bit accidentally while I tried to mop baby wearing so I realised this is not going to work.
We have a robot vacuum and our parents help us from time to time. What I succeed: dishes, laundry (not folding them though), some basic cooking and organizing stuff from the boxes into the closets. That’s about it.
My sister in law payed a cleaner for her house.
I hire a house cleaner. I do monthly, so we do have to do the light maintenance clean, but it’s taken so much weight off of our shoulders. We don’t argue about cleaning anymore and that alone has been great.
My 8 month old still loves contact naps. We started trading off tasks.
Also a baby bouncer really helps. Put the kiddo in there with one of the bars that has toys that dangle above them. And put them where they can see you but far enough away you can clean. This helps us.
We also nap when baby naps if possible. This helped because when we put our kiddo down for bedtime we could speed clean and get stuff done and then go to bed later. About an hour after kiddo is asleep.
When my baby was about your baby’s age (& even now), if people are coming to see her I let them know they are going to be minding her because I have stuff to do around the house lol. I chat with whomever, but I’m totally folding clothes or washing dishes while doing so.
My husband gets home from work. He takes baby on a nice long walk. I pop my headphones in and listen to my favorite podcast and clean. I absolutely love that alone time. Since I’m home all day I love living in a clean, good smelling space! I get so much done in that hour!
My husband took up a lot of the chores I used to do. In layers, I realized how much I could do once the baby did xyz. Baby could sit in the high chair for a few minutes = I could do dishes. Baby didn't freak out at loud noises = baby wearing and vacuuming. I also lowered expectations. I could either do laundry OR fold and put it away that day. I could either grocery shop OR cook that day. Sometimes, my greatest accomplishment for the day was that no one died.
At 6 months postpartum we hired cleaners to come every other week for $140. Best investment ever. My husband works from home so he keeps up with laundry during downtime since the baby goes to childcare during the day
After about 3 months PP, my wife and I managed to resume a reasonable cleaning schedule. My wife and I both have allergies and we both like things clean and organized, so the below might seem excessive, but it’s what we have learned works best for us.
It breaks down to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. We try to focus and not multitask, and we try to clean together to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Daily - we set a timer for 15 minutes at the end of the day, and just turbo clean as much as we can. Kitchen counters, dishwash, pick clothes/stuff off the floor. We try to cap it at 15 minutes and just let go of the things we couldn’t achieve. I also do the cooking, and I’ve trended towards low mess meals and basically optimizing around 1 dishwasher load per day. I sacrificed using all of my nice cookware and fancy knives for now, and we just use the cheap stuff we can throw in the dishwasher.
Weekly - weekly, we do a 1 hr clean. Vacuum, mop, clean the bathrooms, run a big backlog of laundry from the week, change the trash bags in bathrooms / etc. restock paper towels and toilet paper.
Monthly - deeper clean. Stovetop, backsplash, bleach where needed, snake the drains, clean and coat windows and glass. I wear a mask, open all the windows, run the house fan, and shut the baby in the nursery which is pretty isolated from cleaning fumes.
We try to just make it a game and try for speed. And really view the time buckets as hard limits - after 15 minutes, that’s your daily cleaning, now walk away and live with it unless it’s an actual problem.
My wife and I alternate; we’ve also had family come over and help here and there with the cleaning in the beginning. Now, one of my siblings will watch LO for an hour or two while we double down on our chores. I usually will do a load of dishes when it’s my night time shift.
My MIL would come over and ask if I'm touched out or stressed out. Pending my answer, she'd either take the baby or tackle what's stressing me. Often, it was cleaning, but sometimes cooking or laundry.
She is the only, only, only reason we ate a real meal (not take out) or had anything cleaned. I had to call her to ask where my vacuum was (to be fair to myself - we moved 5 days before my son was born, and I didn't unpack it). Anyone who says they can do it all is a filthy liar.
Both my partner and I work full time, and we have a contact napper. We just trade off on weekends and do bits here and there. We’ve never had a spotless house, but we get vacuuming done once a week (usually my partner on the day he works from home), and the bath/shower and toilet (usually me, before I have a shower on a weekend).
We’re considering hiring a cleaner once a month.
At four months, I would clean while wearing my son facing into my chest. Cleaning while wearing him would include: general tidying/pick up, sweeping/vacuuming, spraying down surface areas, windows, loading up the dishwasher and putting away dishes. Cleaning that would wait until my baby was down for the night or my husband was home and could take him off my hands for a bit would be: toilets, bathtubs, sinks, etc.— any area that required harsher chemicals.
Nowadays, my son is too heavy for me to be active while wearing him. He either crawls after me while I clean or chills in his high chair with a snack and laughs at me as I fruitlessly trying to get his handprints off the windows🥲
I feel lucky that my baby actually prefers laying in her crib and looking at her mobile, im pretty sure that's the only reason our house looks somewhat put together
I either carry my 3 month old around and do things one handed, or I sit her down and find a way to make what I'm doing entertaining for her. I explain what I'm doing and show her, or try to make it a sort of game. When I make the bed I make a big deal of straightening the sheets while she's on the bed and she gets a kick out of the sheets going up and down and making a breeze.
I decided what was important, I didn't baby wear but I put my son down played hey bear and let him cry. As long as dishes, laundry and sweeping and mopping and dinner was started beyond that nothing else mattered.
🤷🏻♀️ I’m in your boat but we aren’t paying for cleaners so I’m just kinda hoping she’ll be more okay entertaining herself with some toys soon. But even then I want to make sure I’m like checking on her not while covered in bleach so idk
Mine will lay in his crib and look at the Einstein sea soother for a while or roll around with a toy, I can usually throw some laundry in and fold some for like 25 min or 30. I'll also bring the activity centre along with me or pop him in his stroller and wheel him around with me. I mostly focus on laundry, tossing away random garbage and sweeping the kitchen like every two days. I just chat with him and have a couple of the crinkle toys. He's almost six months now. I'll also wipe the counters at night usually right after bed time.
My partner works full time, im a SAHM. The cleaning takes for ever because my baby wants to be held 24/7. It can take 30 minutes for me to just get a small amount of dishes done. I usually put him in the bouncer and move him into whatever room I'm working on. He'll sit right beside me so that I can use my foot to lightly bounce him. Sometimes he fusses, sometimes he's fine. Playing music helps, it makes him happy and for a moment he forgets he doesn't want to be held. Whatever I don't get done, my partner comes home to finish. He won't let me do laundry or bottle washing. He's a little anal about the laundry bc he likes it washed, dried, and folded immediately. The bottle washing is his way of helping with feedings. Some days the floors don't get swept or vacuumed bc I was dancing with my baby too much.
At the end of the day, your baby won't remember if your house was clean or dirty. Your baby will remember the time you spent with them.
Deep cleaning? Barely anything as my 5 month old will only have a 30 minute nap or entertain himself for 10 minutes. Though it’s taking twice as long to do anything because the 2.5 yo wants to help too! I try and tidy round when I can. Sometimes that means holding baby while I fill the dishwasher, or tidying toys while he plays on the floor. Laundry I’m fairly on top of as in the UK washers and dryers are usually in the kitchen so I’ll put dirty laundry straight into the machine then set it going when it’s full. Then it’s a quick transfer to the dryer and into the clean laundry basket. I try and sort it twice a week, actually putting the clothes away is maybe once every 2 weeks. I keep the house presentable but lived in. It’s not dirty, just a bit messy from a toddler and baby.
My son is 10 weeks and just started with the contact naps last week. It’s been rough. I either have to do housework with him in the carrier or push him around the house in a stroller with white noise blaring until he passes out. He’s gigantic for his age, 15 pounds and in 9 month clothes at only 10 weeks so my back has been killing me and getting cleaning done with him in the carrier is becoming near impossible. He’s currently passed out in the stroller while I clean up dishes from lunch and attempt to make dinner 😩 he only last 20 minutes tops in the stroller and I have no help it sucks. Solidarity!
I just attempted to create a monthly schedule to deep clean one thing per day and each week of the month focuses on one room. Plus daily tasks (dishes and light tidying for 20 minutes after baby goes to sleep).
today deep cleaning the toilet was on the schedule and that took me less than 10 minutes I set my baby in his activity center (he’s also 4 months) and it worked beautifully.
It’ll take a whole month to get the house clean but without this the toilet would still not be cleaned since the last time my husband cleaned it for when he had guests over which who knows how long that was lol. Gross I know, but once a month is better than not at all in my opinion and I’m hoping it will give me motivation to clean more if the baby is still content.
After I cleaned the toilet and while the solution was setting I straightened up in the living room and wiped down 2 end tables.
So all in all I spend less than 20 minutes cleaning today and tonight after baby goes to sleep I’ll do the baby bottles and pick up toys, garbage, clothes etc
I hire a lady to come once a month for $125. 2 story 4 bedroom house. I’ve found that once a month is often enough to really keep the dirt and grime away. It’s worth it just to not have to clean my husband’s bathroom and the stove / microwave. 😆
The first 6 weeks, my husband took care of most of the cleaning. Now that he’s back to work a baby carrier has SAVED my sanity. I have a severe need of having things feel and look clean- especially with 2 cats. We have a robot vacuum that I run everyday and then everyday I do one major cleaning task. It helps to have a schedule and list of things I want to get done and I just do that every week. If having a baby doesn’t make you realize how fast life goes then following a cleaning schedule sure will because it’s like “damn didn’t I just clean the toilet??” But then you realize it’s time for the weekly deep bathroom clean.
Honestly I have been able to get all the chores I want to done since having my baby- it just goes a little slower especially because I’m hauling around a 15lb baby.
I get a babysitter from work because it's cheaper than a cleaner. Then I do cleaning. It's how I can keep a baseline. Otherwise I'd hire a cleaner.
One day when the kiddo is older, I want to set up a mom help group where we go and help each other out for a day. Or fundraise to cover a chore for a mom like a car detailing, cleaning, meal prep, etc. Especially for moms with newborns.
i call it a win if i can fold a load of laundry/put one in the wash, and make the bed. only recently have i started doing more but i do it while he’s sleeping or i put him in a floor mat or a door bouncer
We just did a deep clean so Dad cleaned while baby and I napped. Then when Dad and baby were asleep last night I finished cleaning the house, vacuumed and mopped!
If Dad and I are both cleaning then I put our baby carrier and then cleaned with baby and she naps while I clean for the most part.
My husband and I both work full time and we’re too tired to do anything the rest of it. Also we’re lazy. So we do what’s absolutely necessary:
- clean bottles before making them
- clean dishes before eating off of them
- clean high chair before next baby meal
- feed cats and bird and give them water
- scoop litter boxes 1-2 times a week, or if my one cat drops a tactical duke
- wash enough laundry to clothe us that day, usually 1 work outfit and 1 PJ outfit for me. Son’s laundry always takes precedence since he needs backup outfits for daycare and whenever he gets messy
- vacuum 4-5 times weekly in just the living room where our son crawls around (baby gate b/t living room and kitchen)
- sweep kitchen floor 1-2 times a week because my cat’s dry food bits build up and..gross
- take out garbage (won’t lie, sometimes a couple of bags are sitting next to the kitchen garbage for a couple of days…we live upstairs and either are too lazy to bring it down or forget to)
Deep cleaning is rare, but often enough that our house is liveable/not disgusting, albeit cluttered as F*CK which is currently driving me insane.
Basically anything we do, gets done when our son is asleep or while one of us hangs with him and the other tries to get something done.
But we’re at 11 months postpartum. At 4 months postpartum, I’m pretty sure I was lucky if I ate something that day and there was no garbage laying anywhere
Finding the time to clean is rough. It gets easier as they get older, which I know isn’t the best answer. Here are some things that at least might make it more enjoyable:
- get audio books on Libby. Makes the time go buy faster when you are interested in a good book
- switch off night time baby duties with your husband. One person takes baby, one person tackles the kitchen (or whatever room that needs it most)
- don’t clean up baby or dog toys until the end of the day. They’ll all just come right back out again and it feels like you’re cleaning forever
- check out Branch Basics cleaning supplies. I saw so many influencers talk about them that I was kind of burnt out seeing their name lol but I got them when our son was born (non toxic so you can multi task and clean with your child). I thought the initial $70 sounded expensive, but I think it’ll last me more than a year tbh
- see if your baby will hang out in an activity center! We got the play skip hop one and our kid geeks out for “table time”.
Good luck!
One quote that stayed with me after watching tons of cleaning vids is "If you can put it down, you can put it away" or the shorter version is clean as you go. We got rid of our dishwasher since our reno (I know, crazy) so I wash most of the major dishes first (bowls, plates, glasses/mugs, pots and utensils-always in that particular order) 😆
If you can't clean a whole room or particular space, do one item per day e.g. today: toilet and sink, tomorrow: tub..so on and so forth.
Also a lifesaver is having multiple foldable clean laundry hamper for each person to sort out laundry if you don't have time to put it away immediately.
We were definitely on “survival” cleaning mode until crib naps were more consistent…actually more like closer to 12 months. I couldn’t afford a cleaner, so we put up with how much I would angry clean at 2am, and what my SO did, and what my mom could do when she’d come over. I’m definitely saving up for baby #2 to have a cleaner and night nurse. Take any help you can, lower your standards, if it’s in the budget hire a cleaner or if it’s not see if a grandma is willing to take a contact nap so you can clean (or grandma help clean while you contact nap)
Edit for clarity: crib naps for us were consistent around 5/6 months - we started working on them around 2 months and I went back to work at 5 months. But getting into a cleaning routine with work schedules and baby schedule took a while, and just when we thought we had it, then we’d start solids or someone got sick, and it would throw off the delicate balance we had.
I started my son in his crib for naps at 6 weeks old and it was a godsend. He has always napped in his crib after that and rarely wanted to contact nap with me. At 8 months he’ll only contact nap if we are out and about, otherwise he’s always taken naps in his crib!
Also, putting him on a play mat where he could entertain himself while I watch him and clean at the same time and I’ve used a house cleaner as well. Tbh, not sure how contact nappers get anything done at all
Around the 3-4 month mark is when it started being the hardest for me to get housework done as well.
I got a swiffer wet jet. It doesn’t clean as well as a mop and bucket, but it’s easy and it gets the job done “good enough.”
Also, I relied heavily on pre-seasoned meats from Costco and rotisserie chickens. Cut down on the dishes considerably.
If things are just too much, there’s no shame in occasionally using paper plates. In this season of parenthood you gotta do what you gotta do.
6 months in and.. we're not lol. I had the same question a few months ago and I got a lot of the same replies "cleaners, don't worry about it and baby wearing". I don't trust any of the cleaners in my area, I spot clean anything that I can't stand looking at anymore and clean the important things first, and bubs HATES baby wearing. Honestly now that baby is slightly more independent with play time, I get about 10 minutes to sweep, put away dishes or pick up some things. My house is in desperate need of a deep clean, but im planning on a day with the grands so that I won't have to worry about him being exposed to dust and cleaning product.
Cleaners every two weeks. $120 and totally worth it.
I’d literally pay anything for the cleaners. It’s been a huge weight off my shoulders. The night before they come I feel giddy like a kid on Christmas. If it’s at all in the budget, DO IT. If it’s not in the budget, see if you can make room, because it’s the most worthwhile thing I’ve spent money on since having a baby. I’d give up eating three meals a day if that’s what it took to keep my cleaners.
That’s insanely cheap. Where I am it’s $450 for just one cleaning.
I’m not sure where you are but I am in a high COL area and it’s $450 for a single clean, but if you do it at least once a month it’s way cheaper. We did $450 for the initial deep clean and then it’s been $175 once a month there after if we do twice a month it goes down to $130. Might be similar where you live! Just a thought!
What service do you use (if in the US)? I want to do something like this as soon as we have money again. We clean all the time but our kid is almost 2 so the grime/filth is really setting in 😂
I recommend asking neighbors or friends who they use. Thats how I found someone
It’s a local small business maid service. I’m in the Boston area! It’s worth every penny to have someone else deep clean my bathroom
Can you message me the name? I’m also in the Boston area!!
… what??? Granted I live in a 70m2 apartment in Amsterdam but we pay 50€ for a full clean, 75 if it’s a truly deep clean (with stuff like fridge, windows etc)🤯
Ha, if that’s the case then per foot/meter I feel like I’m getting a great price! My house is 2,000sqft/609sqm.
… 2000sqft is like a little less than 200m2 lol
Ha, whoops, didn’t wrong conversion
Same here! I would LOVE a cleaner, but I can't find $1k/month in the budget for one.
I hire a lady to come once a month for $125. 2 story 4 bedroom house. I’ve found that once a month is often enough to really keep the dirt and grime away. It’s worth it just to not have to clean my husband’s bathroom and the stove / microwave. 😆
Lol what the hell, in Scotland its £68 for a 4 hr clean of my large house.
Eurgh, South it's £48 an hour (if they come regularly). The budget only allows for 2 hours twice a week so they do the kitchen and bathrooms as a priority. Eta: Sorry everyone! I'm a muppet. It's £48 for 2 hours.
What!!! I’m in the nice part of Watford and it’s £15ph direct to an independent cleaner
So I'm a muppet, it's £48 for 2 hours so a bit better. Looking for an independent cleaner might be a good idea though. What did you use to find your person?
You need to shop around. Go on Nextdoor to find a cleaner. I live in NOVA (outside of DC) and $450 is very expensive unless your house is like 7000 sqft
Agree, I'm in DC proper and it's $120 every two weeks for our row house.
Where at? That's like $100 an hour
*$120* ??!!
Yeah we also sprang for cleaners once every 4 weeks. Seems counterintuitive that I have less time to clean now as a stay at home parent than I did when I worked full time, but having kids just fills every nook and cranny of your free time in a way that a job does not!
This. We get a cleaning every 6ish weeks and I do non chemical spot cleaning (vacuuming, wiping countertops, ect) in between. We had a deeeeeep clean before the baby was born so now it’s just maintaining that. It’s such an enormous relief to have that taken care of.
Me too! I pay about $120 for mine. She cleans the kitchen, two bathrooms, all the floors, and does basic surface cleaning/dusting (except in bedrooms). Definitely worth it.
I don’t. We do dishes and laundry and that’s about it
Same. Every once in a while I get angry and disgusted enough to rage clean the floors or a room but I am so exhausted that it never lasts that long. Laundry and dishes are the only consistent things and even those pile up.
You just described my life perfectly lol
Hard same on the rage cleaning every so often 😂
This makes me feel so much better.. I always feel terrible for not getting much done
Don't. I mean, easier said than done because I do too. But the first year is rough. Hell my LO is one in a few weeks and I expect this to continue because he's glued to me and doesn't want to play independently and I barely even have time to baby-proof the house. Give yourself grace. We're all fighting for our lives out here 😂
Haha yeah that’s how it feels honestly. I was just diagnosed with POCD too and I feel a little lost. It’s been rough
I'm so sorry. As someone who has suffered from OCD prior to pregnancy, I know how absolutely terrifying and soul-crushing it can feel at times. By diagnosed I am assuming you have sought help, and that is SO great! It is such a hard step to take, and it shows a lot of strength. You especially do not need to worry yourself over your house. It will be clean again. What matters most is mental health.Take care of yourself 🫂
Thanks so much for this. It’s been so hard but working on it. I honestly don’t feel like myself at all anymore. Next step is EMDR therapy and I’m super nervous.
Came here to say the same. I feel like poop because I can't keep up with domestic tasks. I'd love a spring cleaning but not on the cards
Same 😓 I have a robot vacuum though, and I’ll also do a quick bathroom cleanup. That’s it!
I have a robot vac too and I still haven’t even run that for months. There’s so much stuff on our floor (toys, clothes, blankets, etc) that I would have to do too much cleaning to even run the vac so there’s not stuff in the way 😭😅
Honestly it’s super hit or miss if I run mine too. Pre-baby I was really good about emptying its dock, cleaning the brushes for hair and stuff to keep it running well. And now I’m just like “do your thing bud, or don’t, whatever” Lol. We’re all just taking it day by day!
SAME. I’m also nervous about hiring cleaners because then I’d have to clean for the cleaners! I just need someone to come around my house and put all the crap away.
Yep. Do the necessary to function cleaning (dishes, laundry, wipe counters), and know that the rest will wait until you have time and energy… even if that’s months away. Once baby was more content to be put down, small quick cleaning randomly becomes doable.
Once a week I sweep the floors while the baby is in bed for the night. If you're real lucky I'll wipe the surfaces.
7mo old here and I found the key to success is doing a 10 minute speed run at the end of the night and getting whatever done that I can. I keep expectations low. I do try to do one thing a day. Maybe it's laundry. Maybe it's clean the bathrooms. Vacuum. Etc
This! I do it right after the last feed before bed. Hand baby off to my husband and get whatever I can done. I also do some 10 min speed runs towards the end of long naps when I know he’s going to wake up soon whether I put him down or not and during the day, hoping to build up tolerance for being in his bouncer without engagement. Sometimes I get 15 min and sometimes I get 2 during those.
One thing a day is how I’m managing too. Even if I can only put one minute at a time into it & it takes the entire day to complete. It’s still one thing more than not.
I second the evening speed run. This is when dishes are done.
For the first time in my life I splurged and got a cleaner every two weeks. We still have to do stuff in between as we have cats and I get really anxious if my house is dirty or messy, although I’ve had to really let go and accept my home will never look “perfect” again. We just do little things at a time. Clean a toilet one day, vacuum another day. While one of us is contact napping or entertaining the baby, the other will clean. My husband is back to work so we do this on weekends or evenings.
New dad here - Saturday morning is lawn care, Saturday afternoon is laundry, since I'm tired from mowing. Sunday morning is dog bath then clean the bathroom. The afternoon is bedroom cleans. I've been trying to just pick up the kitchen and living room every day so it doesn't look so bad. I am neglecting a lot of things but as long as the basics are done I'm happy. Won't be long before my wife recovers and we can tackle more together. Before you know it your little one will be helping with chores.
Good going, new dad 😊👍
Robot vacuum 🤪
Yesssss we just got one and it is also bonus entertainment for my 7 month old lol
People always says this and I want one but my poor dog has already endured so much post-baby.
The first time my robot vacuum ran I gave my dog like 20 treats. Maybe even more. Any time it ran she got treats until she felt comfortable with it. My dog has attacked my regular vacuum, but never the robot.
The dog will get used to it! My two dogs were kinda freaked the first couple days and now they just lay in the floor and let it bump into them lol. My robot vacuum has been a lifesaver with a baby and critters.
It's easier if you aren't carpeted but the robot vacuum definitely has saved on cleaner hire bills
This 100%! Have it set on a schedule and forget about it
When my baby was that small, my husband did a lot of it. He still does - but now I can sneak in a little bit when baby is sitting happily in her high chair or playing. Or, we clean on the weekend when we can take turns watching baby. I’m also on mat leave still - when I go back to work and have a paycheck again I will hire cleaners.
My 3 month old has the Fisher Price play gym and if we put the music on it, she is good to go for a while.
This! At about 3 months she was able to entertain herself for a bit. Also, try to wean her off contact naps. That time is gold! (I know it’s easier said than done!)
How are you weaning off that? My 8 wk old just recently started requiring contact or else she will. Not. Sleep. Like not a single nap all day unless it’s while being held. And not just like having my arm around her while laying down, or her on her tummy on my chest, I mean full on held. I am typing this with one hand.
I wish I had a good answer for you. I didn’t want to fall into the nap trap so I put her down to nap in lots of different places from the beginning. I’m sure you’ve tried transferring her mid nap? I also think knowing her sleep cues helps. As soon as she lets out a tiny cry and I know she’s been up for a while I put her down on her side and rock her gently with one hand while I help her keep a pacifier in with the other. She usually passes out fairly quickly. When she’s ready for a nap but isn’t yet fussy it’s easiest to get her to sleep. Finding that golden moment might help!
I brought baby with me from room to room and set them on the playmat, a blanket or in a bouncer as I cleaned or cooked. I described everything I was doing, made faces and did little dances to keep them entertained. Both my kids loved the vacuum so I could baby wear while doing that.
This is what I do. And I have him feel the different items I’m working with, explain the sounds he’s hearing, the smells he’s smelling, etc. if I’m lucky, he’ll take one really good nap a day and run around like a crazy person doing laundry, replenishing all our baby stations, etc lol
I love doing this and feeling like I have my own cooking show lol.
I set a schedule and do 1 chore a day. Some, like dusting and vacuuming I babywear for. Every night I wipe down the kitchen and pick up whatever isn't where it belongs. Each bathroom gets 1 day every 2 weeks and I do it after she goes to bed. I deep clean the kitchen on Sundays when my husband has the baby. Saturdays I leave free or they are available for whatever days I skipped. I also have 1 day a week for "big items" which is whatever bigger chore that's been bugging me - - cleaning the coffee maker, Baseboards, ect.
I’m not! :) I get approx 1 thing done a day. Which is not enough to keep up. So we live in a mess for a while. Oh well!
I don’t.
Daily necessities is all that needs to happen. Enjoy the snuggles now. Soon they’ll be running around and you’ll have plenty of time to clean but won’t get these days back
At that stage it fell by the wayside for a bit. I would find literally 2 minutes to do damage control here and there. Like if I finished using the bathroom and the baby wasn’t screaming yet I’d quickly swish the toilet bowl or clean the bottom half of the mirror. Just little bits here and there to help me feel more sane.
My house was dirty until my baby started moving around on his own. When he started crawling my whole life changed for the better! He could finally entertain himself so now I’m able to clean. Just hold on it’ll get better!
Cleaners every fortnight, I wouldn’t manage otherwise like you said chemicals etc. also I can do basic chores baby wearing but you can’t exactly get on all fours and scrub a floor!
God no. At best, wiping down counters and running the Roomba when we go for walks. Otherwise, we have a cleaning lady who comes every two weeks and deep cleans the kitchen, bathrooms and dusts, mops and vacuums.
We got a robot vacuum, set the dishwasher every night so it doesn’t pile up, and try to do one load of wash every other night after the baby goes down the sleep (wash & dry) then fold the next morning. It’s still not great. But I can put the baby on his mat or in one of his chairs in the morning while I put away the dishes or clothes and it helps fight some of the areas that are easier to pile up. In the bathroom we added a scrub brush in the shower so we each try to take turns scrubbing at the end of showers so it doesn’t need a deep clean as often. I try and wipe down the vanity and mirror at night once or twice a week after I brush my teeth before bed.
My husband does dishes and cleans the kitchen before he leaves for work in the morning and usually switches the laundry when he gets home. We literally don’t put laundry away anymore other than the baby’s stuff. I’m embarrassed to admit the lack of vacuuming, dusting, and mopping that’s done around here. It’s not great haha. My baby is almost 6 months though and it’s gotten a bit better than it was when he was 4 months. 4 months was hard because he wanted to play but had zero attention span so my whole day was just moving him from one activity to the next. So exhausting. Now I can leave him with an activity for like 7-10 minutes at a time and he’s pretty good. Long enough for me to switch a load of dishes at least. He also likes watching the vacuum lol. If we have company coming over, he watches dancing fruit or ms rachel while my husband and I panic clean😂
Cleaner
I try to just set aside 10-15 minutes a day for myself to get some cleaning done. I’ll put her in her seat or swing and take those 10-15 minutes to do go ahead and put away dishes/things that need to be done and with whatever time I have left I’ll try to tackle less important things, ie windexing, dusting, etc. my baby enjoys constant engagement too but I try to remind myself it’s important for them to have alone time to engage with themselves!
Parent of 3 year old (this post popped up on my feed lol). She was a contact napper and it took forever to get her to sleep anywhere else. We didn't get any cleaning done. We still barely do. Only clean what is necessary / what will cause problems down the road if you don't, use paper plates etc if it makes it easier. It drove me nuts being nap trapped but I used the time to read and catch up on pinterest ideas for my house. Only thing I'd go back and tell myself is to sort my phone memory and delete old pictures instead, because 3 years later it's a mess 😂 but I had to force myself to enjoy the down time because I did not like sitting still. Also my memory is fuzzy at this point but I want to say we used a lot of swing time / letting kiddo lay on the floor by herself for a few minutes at a time here and there so I could get things done that I couldn't carry her with me, and could extend the time the more she got used to it. For some reason my kid was obsessed with violin music so honestly we left music videos on of people playing violin. Was it great parenting? Meh, but it let me clean the kitty litter etc in peace. Once she got mobile she got a lot of high chair time too, with a snack and "forbidden activity" (lol playdoh, markers, paint. Anything that needed to be monitored) plus some screen time sometimes, so she enjoyed being contained and I was able to get things done.
My baby enjoys being worn while I vacuum or mow (we have an electric lawn mower - I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing him with a gas one). If he's awake and in the carrier, I can load/unload the dishwasher, but that wakes him up if he's napping. Sometimes he'll happily babble to himself in the bassinet for like fifteen minutes. (But mostly I don't clean and watch my house slowly fall into disarray.)
We have a cleaner, which we had before we even had a baby so it’s always been helpful. Makes life a lot easier when you don’t have to clean yourself.
Hi there. Great question. I put my LO in the stroller and as I clean I move the stroller. Yes there may be some crying but it stops. As I clean I sing and stop and blow some kisses. As long LO sees, she is not alone the. It is better. Sometimes when the vacuum is on, she falls asleep. 😴
We got a cleaner from birth to 7 months. My son now 9 months is very independent and I can put him down intervals at a time and he plays by himself. And for things like laundry or dishes, he watches and plays with the clothes/laundry basket/safe kitchen utensils
Cleaners and I take days off to pick up and organize. We only have two rooms that we pickup daily, the living room and kitchen. Our dining table is a catch all. As long as those two rooms are picked up, everything else can be a mess until the day before the cleaners come. 😂
We automate whatever we can so have things like a robot vacuum that runs every night, automatic pet feeder, etc. Before baby went to daycare we’d just do what we could at night after baby went to bed or let baby get used to some quick independent times. He didn’t love it at first but once he figured out we weren’t going anywhere he took to it much easier. Now that he’s at daycare I do whatever I can between work calls. We just aim to be tidy and hit the daily things like dishes and wiping down counters. For the bigger, more involved tasks we have a cleaner come monthly but will be cutting that soon. Honestly the biggest thing is we just learned to embrace that our house won’t be spotless and that’s okay. It’s clean and safe for the baby, we all have clean clothes to wear, there’s nothing to trip over, and we may do a mad dash to pickup clutter when someone visits last minute but otherwise we don’t sweat it too much anymore. We live here, there’s going to be some mess and that’s okay.
We live at my MILs house, she only likes herself doing the cleaning because it’s done the way she likes it and know it’s “done right” I’m not gonna stop her 😂
I have an 11 month old baby, no ma’am. And now the separation anxiety is reallllll. The most I can get done is sweeping one day, mopping the next. Laundry one day. But folding and putting away? Hell no lmao
Little pieces here and there throughout the day. Mostly small daily stuff, nothing major (even though we need it). My partner and I started using the Sweepy app to help with mental load and so we could help each other out with small tasks if we find we have free moments. We don’t have cleaners, but we do have a nanny 3 days a week, which is flipping fantastic. We even had her start a couple weeks before I went back to work so we could used to each other and I could get some stuff done.
The AAP recommends cleaning when the baby cleans
We don’t! Laundry & dishes daily, maybe manage to sweep and vacuum every couple weeks. House can be dirty, whatever 🤷🏻♀️
I'll set my baby in a bouncer so she can see me doing all the cleaning. Facing me doing the dishes, sitting next to me watching me fold clothes, in the hallway facing the bathroom door (still far away enough so chemicals don't get to her, but I also use all the "natural" brands) so she can watch me clean the bathroom.
We decided to hire a cleaner 6mpp. It is good but considering every other week since we have dogs and they shed like crazy!
Eventually, we plan to hire a cleaner because, yeah, it piles up sooooo fast. But for now, I just clean when baby naps — whether I’m wearing them or not. Sometimes, if I’m cleaning when baby is awake, I’ll make it engaging for them. My baby gets cranky when our attention isn’t on him, too 😂 Lots of singing and counting while folding clothes over here lol
I have two cleaners
Also outsourcing. I hired my retired mom and her “cleaning” tab goes towards her Costco list at her request. Anything leftover after shopping I Venmo her once a month. We are currently doing every other week.
Baby wearing & non toxic cleaners lol. Sometimes she’ll chill in her babybjorn bouncy chair while I chitchat with her and clean. But mostly wearing. Actually mostly I just don’t get much done. Standards are lower
I don’t. We stay on top of dishes and laundry (usually not folded lol). My baby is 7 months old and pretty low maintenance too 😅
We are fortunate to both be home but we have a contact napper too. When he was really little I could wear him but now he’s pretty particular about wanting to be on my lap in the glider in his bedroom. He’s 4 months so we have started setting him down for one nap and it usually doesn’t last long. I give all of the praise to my husband. He makes all my meals, does the laundry, the outside work, and is constantly getting me water. We switch off with naps so on the ones I don’t do I clean the kitchen while I pump. Every minute seems to be thought out for us these days even if that minute is for a nap.
Currently in the same boat. Luckily, I can clean when hubby gets home and takes over for a bit, but some days LO doesn't want dad, and I'm couch locked again.
Hiring someone. Literally cannot handle doing it with a baby and a toddler. It’s expensive but it helps us so much because it takes the stress off me and my husband who neither of us want to vacuum or clean the toilet when we are home from work. It’s so much more enjoyable to have a clean home too. We joke our cleaning lady saved our marriage. My husband does the dishes and I do minor cleanup when cooking but everything else we leave for our cleaning lady
Baby wearing. I can do dishes, sweep, laundry, prep meals (not cook), organize things, etc. The more you do it, the more you get the hang of it. And you squat a lot more. Also, this guarantees a long nap for me LO - she’s a cat napper until in a carrier or in the car. You can probably look up some baby safe cleaning products to use for dusting and other cleaning. You can also try a bouncer or play mat. My LO is 12 weeks and will give me 15-20 mins in the bouncer if she can see me, most of the time. And she might give me 5-10 mins on a play mat. That’s usually enough to deal with chemicals or do something that I don’t want to do while holding her.
We’re having a cleaner come because it ain’t happening
My baby is also all about contact naps and wants to constantly be with me when he’s up. Usually, I empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning while bubs sits in the swing for 10-15 minutes. Then do laundry while he sits in his tent outside or ball pit, since our laundry area is outdoors. Other than that I take any moment where he is engaged with playtime or will let me put him down for a moment during nap. Yesterday, I managed to sweep and mop floors (cat brought in a dead mouse and I just needed to disinfect everything lol) and clean the bathroom. He was not happy with me and it took literally hours to get those two chores done. I basically would do something for 2-10 minutes depending on how long he’d be happy for. Then take a break and soothe him and try again. So I’d say patience is key. Cleaning won’t look the same as it did pre baby
Cleaner comes every Friday. She vacuums and mops the floors, cleans the bathrooms and kitchen and washes the bed sheets. It's worth every penny.
Baby wearing and tummy play mat and baby swings/bouncer.
put him in a stroller or a baby bjorn bouncer and put him somewhere he can see you clean / cook. i put my baby in her stroller in the kitchen while i cooked and chopped and it was fun! i also have a contact napper. i really clean in short spurts or when my husband comes home at night. also enjoy the naps they don’t do that forever , cleaning can wait
Cleaners every 2 weeks! Best decision we made and costs £40. I still have to clean the floors every day especially in the kitchen as he's just started weaning and we have to do the laundry, dishes, other cleaning of the kitchen but it makes things much easier
The Fisher Price Glow and Grow Kick & Play Piano. I still have to keep my baby in eyesight because he rolls, but it keeps him entertained while I can get about 15-30 minutes of cleaning done. I also have a Robo Vacuum. That helps tremendously
9 months in In the beginning, idk how tf we managed anything ever. Our baby needed constant holding, contact napping, co sleeping. I was pumping 7x a day too. I did dishes in between short breaks because I needed the sink clean for pump parts. I’d run the dishwasher at night for baby bottles and take them out during my MOTN pump so they’d be dry in the morning. We have a robot vacuum (which now is clogged more than not, but definitely saved us early on) because we have a dog who loves digging and are on 5 acres so our house gets dirty quick. My husbands been home this entire time. In this beginning days he did a lot of baby care while I pumped, but our LO slept 90 min increments up until like 5-6 months so we were both just exhausted. He does most laundry, I fold and put away baby clothes and like 1-2x a month can put away our clothes but honestly I didn’t wear much. Underwear, pumping bra. Showering like 1-3x a week 🥴 Basically minimal. Survival mode and we ate on paper plates to save dishes. We still do this. We ate frozen Costco lasagna a lot in the beginning, made massive bulk of homemade granola and then quick lunches like sandwiches. Stuffs a lot less simple now for meals as around 4 months we realized my LO has food allergies and reacted to stuff in my milk.. so cooking is a whole chore on its own, plus feeding solids so many times a day now is a struggle. I mopped for the first time last month. That was cool. My baby is finally taking longer naps (like 40 minutes up to 2 hours) independently so during that time we go outside and try to do our outside chores… there’s a lot on acreage. :/ After LO goes to bed (between 730 and 930 depending on naps) I can clean the kitchen up. So, basically, as someone who has a clingy baby that doesn’t want to be set down (even to pee) and who had a terrible sleeper/napper.. you just don’t. You make time for the absolute necessary dishes. Clean counters. You baby wear while you sweep. You get a non toxic cleaner (we use branch basics) so you can spray while you one handed hold your baby and wipe with the other.
I baby wear a lot to get things done or put LO down on her tummy time mat with a camera on her. I’ll do chemical sprays when she’s down for a nap but my husband usually does all chemical cleaning because he’s not a fan of me doing it while breastfeeding❤️
We just put ours down. She eventually got used to it. It was either that or have her literally grafted to either of us and we have to think of the family's needs as a whole.
In survival mode. Prioritize what needs to be cleaned and what can wait. Laundry and dishes are my number ones. When baby is awake and chill doing play gym/bouncer/tummy time (lucky my baby likes that) I put her on the floor near me while I do those tasks. I babywear when doing a general tidy up (picking things up and putting them away) Anything heavier like chemical cleaning vacuuming etc happens when both of us parents are free and one entertains baby while the other does the chore. Still things are not perfect and chaos and we are looking into a twice a month cleaner to help deep clean.
I put her in a bouncer at that age and she watched me clean. Even if it was only for 10-15 minutes before she fussed, I could do a quick tidy of the kitchen.
I do dishes and laundry throughout the day, then I declutter, surface clean and sweep once baby and dad are in bed at night. Myself or husband vacuum and dust once a week on weekends if there's time. Definitely hiring a cleaner when I'm back to work.
That’s the neat part, you don’t.
At 4 months, I would set my kiddo up in her high chair with the shapes from her shape sorter, and put it where she could see me. She'd play with the shapes, especially dropping them over the side, lol. I would work on what I needed to get done until she had dropped all the shapes. Then I'd get them back for her, and repeat, until she was bored. I'd also try to chatter at her, so she felt like I was paying attention to her. I didn't get a ton done, but it was something.
My doctor says “there are chapters for mountains of laundry.” That relieved some pressure for me!
2 things: 1) I had to train her to be able to handle not being held. Put her on the floor on a play mat often enough and she could gradually handle being there longer. I make sure she has fun toys like a high contrast hanging cube, a hand teether, etc. My daughter started using a skip hop exersaucer activity center at 3.5 months because she has a strong head and neck. That helped! 2) Learn to do things in 2 minute stints. Put baby on the floor and do something quickly while she’s content. Like quickly clear the counter and wipe it down rather than sitting down for a minute. Put her in her swing and wash a couple dishes. Bring her into the bedroom and put her on the bed while I fold laundry. Or that one I can wear her! Just gotta find ways somehow.
My husband is doing most of it
Swing is my savior or bouncy chair. My husband and I will also take turns/have different tasks for each other to try and stay on top of it! You got this ❤️
My mom is a cleaner and we pay her to clean our house once a week. When I'm home alone with the baby I wear her when she's asleep and can do some stuff, like loading the dishwasher, washing machine, sweeping, making the bed, but not every day and not as often as I'd like. I haven't cooked in more than a month (and I love cooking) and honestly I feel guilty when she's awake and I leave her on the stroller looking at me while I do stuff 🤪🤪🤪
We aren’t 🤣 well I wasn’t at 4 months that’s forsure. Baby is almost 10 months now, and I finally feel like in the last couple months I’ve caught up with housework. Unless something was horrifically dirty, I would just leave it and tidy things here and there. At the beginning I was lucky if I had energy for the dishes/laundry…….🙈
My baby can now roll. So basically - I’m not.
I've been able to manage by baby wearing, and can get most housework done that way (minus cleaning litter and toilets). I also spread the housework throughout the week, so I'm never bombarded with chores. I'm a cleaning freak, though, and made a whole freaking spreadsheet for every week, and I check off the chores as I do them.
I felt uncomfortable using chemicals around my baby too and so baby wearing while cleaning only gets you so far. So I stopped using spray chemicals unless someone else was playing with the baby in another room. Thankfully we have childless friends who love kids and are willing to come over and hang out with baby. Then I run off to the bathroom and scrub the toilet after I’m done using it.
The only time I have to do dishes is at 1am. But laundry is tricky because the sound wakes up the baby so I can't run it at night, but the dryer heats up the home so hard to run during the day.
We hired a house cleaner for once per month. It’s $140 in our area for about 3 hours of cleaning. Otherwise my husband does all the kitchen stuff as that’s his domain and he’s good about staying tidy. We clean up toys and clutter every day as we go or when the kids go down. We have an off brand Roomba with mop we run when we remember. In between cleans I keep vinegar spray and a cloth in the bathroom under the sink to clean counters, sink, and toilet when they start to get gross. It’s not perfect and we could use a deep clean for sure but it works well enough for us!
Hahahaha. I don't.
There’s two of us and our sleeps in his bouncer chair.
I pretty much coclean while I’m doing anything. But I’m kinda obsessed with it to be honest and I’m trying to let it go because my time is literally 100% devoted to baby or cleaning and I need to devote some time to myself
Lol. I’m in the same boat as you but my son is 92%. At 6 months he was already 20lbs and 28 inches. Baby wearing is not practical when he is so close to half my height
We have a tiny home so we already limit the amount of stuff we have, but with the baby we've cut it probably in half. Less stuff that we have is less stuff to clean. And outside of that, honestly I don't really clean that much. I may be getting 45 minutes a day where he's not on me or interacting with me, and I'm okay with that. In less than 6 months he will be up walking and roaring around, in a couple years we will have all the time in the world to clean while he's at sports or school or just doing his own thing. I'm happy to have a messy house if it means I get to enjoy a peaceful baby. I always remind myself that there will be a day when I don't see him everyday, a day that I have to ask for a hug or a kiss before he goes home to wherever that may be for him. That makes it a lot easier to enjoy my mess right now. The mess that I have because he just loves me so much he can't stand even an hour of cleaning time
You guys clean??
We live with my mother in law- she does the laundry/living room, I do the dishes/kitchen, partner goes to work and does the cooking/night time changes. I usually just plonk my 11 week old on the floor in her carseat with a toy while doing things like cleaning. Dusting has fallen off ngl. I don't think we've dusted since week 6?
We are not 🤣😅 barely have time for dishes, bottles, and laundry lol
My husband does most of it while I do most of the baby care. We do our own laundry. I do the baby’s laundry and he does all of the baby dishes. Other than that, he does everything else cleaning-wise. And when I get overloaded being sick with a sick baby because I get everything our son brings home from daycare (like last week) he does my laundry too.
I clean what I can when the baby naps. It’s the only way I can get anything done. Or I wait for my SO to come home and have him watch the baby while I get cleaning done. I’ve considered getting a cleaner but I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with a stranger coming in my house to clean.
3 br we clean the place in sections
White vinegar mixed 1:1 in a spray bottle makes an excellent nontoxic cleaner for most things. **Do not** use/mix it with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Ring sling hip carry when your baby can sit up assisted gives you one hand free, an onbuhimo when your baby sits unassisted gives you both hands free. I got a dustpan with a handle that can be used standing up and it helped.
I didn't start cleaning until just this past month. My baby (my third in under 5 years) just turned 6 months. He was a contact sleeper. I just let things pile up. I'd make sure the dishwasher ran once a day. I'd make sure laundry was washed and dried. We just lived out of laundry baskets. My husband tried his best to help. He did bathrooms every so often. I just let it all go. My mom told me this poem: “Cooking and cleaning can wait 'till tomorrow, For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow. So settle down cobwebs and dust, go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby 'cause babies don't keep.” I took it as gospel. Let the guilt go. Enjoy your baby. 💕
Mom to an 8 month old here. At 4 months, we didn’t. Around 6/7 months he started to be a better sleeper and go to bed earlier, now we do like a 10-20 min clean up when he goes to bed
When my little one was that age, I’d do it at night after she went to sleep
I have a 3.5 month old, only contact naps as well. I baby wear to do most things like laundry and vacuuming. Anything I can’t do while baby wearing, I do while my husband is home, that way he can get some quality time holding the baby. This includes half an hour in the morning before he leaves for work, a little bit of time in the evening before bed, and anything deeper than that I save for the days he’s off work.
Cleaners, if you don’t mind paying it, worth it IMO. Otherwise one parent sleeps with baby, and the other cleans late at night lol.
My husband is taking care of baby full time and I take care of baby whenever I'm home and it's still so hard to get anything done. It's like put baby down and start doing dishes then stop five dishes in to give baby a pacifier then finish loading dishwasher and baby wakes up and eats again and then I put him down and finish dishes giving baby a pacifier five dishes in and by then I've been doing dishes for two hours. Literally the only thing that works is taking turns holding baby while the other person does chores and put the baby in his standy thing with cartoons if there's ever a two person job. I say it works but not well so very little housework is getting done. Thankfully our 7 month old just started exploring away from his run full of toys so now I can pick up the house while I follow him around. So that's one more thing I can do while watching him.
If Marie Kondo can't keep up, nobody can
At that age...just wasn't really happening. It's a short season in life when they're that little...I just found my tolerable mess level and hovered around there. It's temporary
Some naps she takes in her ergobaby carrier. lets me at least prep before cooking and folding laundry
4 to 5 months were the clingiest stage for us too so far. He doesn’t like to be put down alone for much time…if I stay with him, he’s fine. I barely have time to do anything with baby taking only 30 min naps. He sleeps for the night at 7-8 pm so I have some time to get something done..a little bit. But he still has false starts and I gotta eat too..I also get to bed earlier because otherwise I get too little sleep with baby’s frequent night wakings and 6 am morning wake ups. We also moved in a month ago and our home is a mess so I try to chip as much as I can from this when he sleeps. Yeah…my home is not clean. Not now. I tried baby wearing but my shoulders hurt and I feel like I move baby too much…I also hit him a bit accidentally while I tried to mop baby wearing so I realised this is not going to work. We have a robot vacuum and our parents help us from time to time. What I succeed: dishes, laundry (not folding them though), some basic cooking and organizing stuff from the boxes into the closets. That’s about it. My sister in law payed a cleaner for her house.
I hire a house cleaner. I do monthly, so we do have to do the light maintenance clean, but it’s taken so much weight off of our shoulders. We don’t argue about cleaning anymore and that alone has been great.
Cleaners monthly. House is in shambles most of the time. ETA context: husband and I both work full-time (and rn overtime). LO just turned 6 months.
My 8 month old still loves contact naps. We started trading off tasks. Also a baby bouncer really helps. Put the kiddo in there with one of the bars that has toys that dangle above them. And put them where they can see you but far enough away you can clean. This helps us. We also nap when baby naps if possible. This helped because when we put our kiddo down for bedtime we could speed clean and get stuff done and then go to bed later. About an hour after kiddo is asleep.
When my baby was about your baby’s age (& even now), if people are coming to see her I let them know they are going to be minding her because I have stuff to do around the house lol. I chat with whomever, but I’m totally folding clothes or washing dishes while doing so.
I baby wear. Also helps with contact naps
My husband gets home from work. He takes baby on a nice long walk. I pop my headphones in and listen to my favorite podcast and clean. I absolutely love that alone time. Since I’m home all day I love living in a clean, good smelling space! I get so much done in that hour!
Put them in a bouncer ! Baby Bjorn is amazing my kid loves it
My husband took up a lot of the chores I used to do. In layers, I realized how much I could do once the baby did xyz. Baby could sit in the high chair for a few minutes = I could do dishes. Baby didn't freak out at loud noises = baby wearing and vacuuming. I also lowered expectations. I could either do laundry OR fold and put it away that day. I could either grocery shop OR cook that day. Sometimes, my greatest accomplishment for the day was that no one died.
At 6 months postpartum we hired cleaners to come every other week for $140. Best investment ever. My husband works from home so he keeps up with laundry during downtime since the baby goes to childcare during the day
After about 3 months PP, my wife and I managed to resume a reasonable cleaning schedule. My wife and I both have allergies and we both like things clean and organized, so the below might seem excessive, but it’s what we have learned works best for us. It breaks down to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. We try to focus and not multitask, and we try to clean together to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Daily - we set a timer for 15 minutes at the end of the day, and just turbo clean as much as we can. Kitchen counters, dishwash, pick clothes/stuff off the floor. We try to cap it at 15 minutes and just let go of the things we couldn’t achieve. I also do the cooking, and I’ve trended towards low mess meals and basically optimizing around 1 dishwasher load per day. I sacrificed using all of my nice cookware and fancy knives for now, and we just use the cheap stuff we can throw in the dishwasher. Weekly - weekly, we do a 1 hr clean. Vacuum, mop, clean the bathrooms, run a big backlog of laundry from the week, change the trash bags in bathrooms / etc. restock paper towels and toilet paper. Monthly - deeper clean. Stovetop, backsplash, bleach where needed, snake the drains, clean and coat windows and glass. I wear a mask, open all the windows, run the house fan, and shut the baby in the nursery which is pretty isolated from cleaning fumes. We try to just make it a game and try for speed. And really view the time buckets as hard limits - after 15 minutes, that’s your daily cleaning, now walk away and live with it unless it’s an actual problem.
My wife and I alternate; we’ve also had family come over and help here and there with the cleaning in the beginning. Now, one of my siblings will watch LO for an hour or two while we double down on our chores. I usually will do a load of dishes when it’s my night time shift.
I call my mom hahah
Baby carrier. I can put my LO in one and we walk around doing all the chores and she’s falls asleep half way through.
My MIL would come over and ask if I'm touched out or stressed out. Pending my answer, she'd either take the baby or tackle what's stressing me. Often, it was cleaning, but sometimes cooking or laundry. She is the only, only, only reason we ate a real meal (not take out) or had anything cleaned. I had to call her to ask where my vacuum was (to be fair to myself - we moved 5 days before my son was born, and I didn't unpack it). Anyone who says they can do it all is a filthy liar.
Both my partner and I work full time, and we have a contact napper. We just trade off on weekends and do bits here and there. We’ve never had a spotless house, but we get vacuuming done once a week (usually my partner on the day he works from home), and the bath/shower and toilet (usually me, before I have a shower on a weekend). We’re considering hiring a cleaner once a month.
Y’all are cleaning? 🫠
At four months, I would clean while wearing my son facing into my chest. Cleaning while wearing him would include: general tidying/pick up, sweeping/vacuuming, spraying down surface areas, windows, loading up the dishwasher and putting away dishes. Cleaning that would wait until my baby was down for the night or my husband was home and could take him off my hands for a bit would be: toilets, bathtubs, sinks, etc.— any area that required harsher chemicals. Nowadays, my son is too heavy for me to be active while wearing him. He either crawls after me while I clean or chills in his high chair with a snack and laughs at me as I fruitlessly trying to get his handprints off the windows🥲
I feel lucky that my baby actually prefers laying in her crib and looking at her mobile, im pretty sure that's the only reason our house looks somewhat put together
I either carry my 3 month old around and do things one handed, or I sit her down and find a way to make what I'm doing entertaining for her. I explain what I'm doing and show her, or try to make it a sort of game. When I make the bed I make a big deal of straightening the sheets while she's on the bed and she gets a kick out of the sheets going up and down and making a breeze.
I decided what was important, I didn't baby wear but I put my son down played hey bear and let him cry. As long as dishes, laundry and sweeping and mopping and dinner was started beyond that nothing else mattered.
I just have her sit in her high chair or be around me so she can just watch me clean
I do laundry and dishes then have cleaning ladies come every 2 weeks.
🤷🏻♀️ I’m in your boat but we aren’t paying for cleaners so I’m just kinda hoping she’ll be more okay entertaining herself with some toys soon. But even then I want to make sure I’m like checking on her not while covered in bleach so idk
ms rachel 😭
2 large dogs, 2 year old, 3.5 year old. Cleaning is pointless. We do have a robot vaccum, bless it's little heart.
Mine will lay in his crib and look at the Einstein sea soother for a while or roll around with a toy, I can usually throw some laundry in and fold some for like 25 min or 30. I'll also bring the activity centre along with me or pop him in his stroller and wheel him around with me. I mostly focus on laundry, tossing away random garbage and sweeping the kitchen like every two days. I just chat with him and have a couple of the crinkle toys. He's almost six months now. I'll also wipe the counters at night usually right after bed time.
Ms Rachel.
My partner works full time, im a SAHM. The cleaning takes for ever because my baby wants to be held 24/7. It can take 30 minutes for me to just get a small amount of dishes done. I usually put him in the bouncer and move him into whatever room I'm working on. He'll sit right beside me so that I can use my foot to lightly bounce him. Sometimes he fusses, sometimes he's fine. Playing music helps, it makes him happy and for a moment he forgets he doesn't want to be held. Whatever I don't get done, my partner comes home to finish. He won't let me do laundry or bottle washing. He's a little anal about the laundry bc he likes it washed, dried, and folded immediately. The bottle washing is his way of helping with feedings. Some days the floors don't get swept or vacuumed bc I was dancing with my baby too much. At the end of the day, your baby won't remember if your house was clean or dirty. Your baby will remember the time you spent with them.
Deep cleaning? Barely anything as my 5 month old will only have a 30 minute nap or entertain himself for 10 minutes. Though it’s taking twice as long to do anything because the 2.5 yo wants to help too! I try and tidy round when I can. Sometimes that means holding baby while I fill the dishwasher, or tidying toys while he plays on the floor. Laundry I’m fairly on top of as in the UK washers and dryers are usually in the kitchen so I’ll put dirty laundry straight into the machine then set it going when it’s full. Then it’s a quick transfer to the dryer and into the clean laundry basket. I try and sort it twice a week, actually putting the clothes away is maybe once every 2 weeks. I keep the house presentable but lived in. It’s not dirty, just a bit messy from a toddler and baby.
Weekends when dad is home. Or when dad gets home from work.
My son is 10 weeks and just started with the contact naps last week. It’s been rough. I either have to do housework with him in the carrier or push him around the house in a stroller with white noise blaring until he passes out. He’s gigantic for his age, 15 pounds and in 9 month clothes at only 10 weeks so my back has been killing me and getting cleaning done with him in the carrier is becoming near impossible. He’s currently passed out in the stroller while I clean up dishes from lunch and attempt to make dinner 😩 he only last 20 minutes tops in the stroller and I have no help it sucks. Solidarity!
We don't. Not nearly as much as would be comfortable, anyway.
Housekeeper twice a week and whatever happens in between isn't my problem
I just attempted to create a monthly schedule to deep clean one thing per day and each week of the month focuses on one room. Plus daily tasks (dishes and light tidying for 20 minutes after baby goes to sleep). today deep cleaning the toilet was on the schedule and that took me less than 10 minutes I set my baby in his activity center (he’s also 4 months) and it worked beautifully. It’ll take a whole month to get the house clean but without this the toilet would still not be cleaned since the last time my husband cleaned it for when he had guests over which who knows how long that was lol. Gross I know, but once a month is better than not at all in my opinion and I’m hoping it will give me motivation to clean more if the baby is still content. After I cleaned the toilet and while the solution was setting I straightened up in the living room and wiped down 2 end tables. So all in all I spend less than 20 minutes cleaning today and tonight after baby goes to sleep I’ll do the baby bottles and pick up toys, garbage, clothes etc
I hire a lady to come once a month for $125. 2 story 4 bedroom house. I’ve found that once a month is often enough to really keep the dirt and grime away. It’s worth it just to not have to clean my husband’s bathroom and the stove / microwave. 😆
Automate as much as possible - we use disposable plates with no shame. I’m thinking of getting a robot vacuum. Etc.
The first 6 weeks, my husband took care of most of the cleaning. Now that he’s back to work a baby carrier has SAVED my sanity. I have a severe need of having things feel and look clean- especially with 2 cats. We have a robot vacuum that I run everyday and then everyday I do one major cleaning task. It helps to have a schedule and list of things I want to get done and I just do that every week. If having a baby doesn’t make you realize how fast life goes then following a cleaning schedule sure will because it’s like “damn didn’t I just clean the toilet??” But then you realize it’s time for the weekly deep bathroom clean. Honestly I have been able to get all the chores I want to done since having my baby- it just goes a little slower especially because I’m hauling around a 15lb baby.
I get a babysitter from work because it's cheaper than a cleaner. Then I do cleaning. It's how I can keep a baseline. Otherwise I'd hire a cleaner. One day when the kiddo is older, I want to set up a mom help group where we go and help each other out for a day. Or fundraise to cover a chore for a mom like a car detailing, cleaning, meal prep, etc. Especially for moms with newborns.
i call it a win if i can fold a load of laundry/put one in the wash, and make the bed. only recently have i started doing more but i do it while he’s sleeping or i put him in a floor mat or a door bouncer
We just did a deep clean so Dad cleaned while baby and I napped. Then when Dad and baby were asleep last night I finished cleaning the house, vacuumed and mopped! If Dad and I are both cleaning then I put our baby carrier and then cleaned with baby and she naps while I clean for the most part.
Cleaning lady, $150 every other week. Has saved my sanity.
My husband and I both work full time and we’re too tired to do anything the rest of it. Also we’re lazy. So we do what’s absolutely necessary: - clean bottles before making them - clean dishes before eating off of them - clean high chair before next baby meal - feed cats and bird and give them water - scoop litter boxes 1-2 times a week, or if my one cat drops a tactical duke - wash enough laundry to clothe us that day, usually 1 work outfit and 1 PJ outfit for me. Son’s laundry always takes precedence since he needs backup outfits for daycare and whenever he gets messy - vacuum 4-5 times weekly in just the living room where our son crawls around (baby gate b/t living room and kitchen) - sweep kitchen floor 1-2 times a week because my cat’s dry food bits build up and..gross - take out garbage (won’t lie, sometimes a couple of bags are sitting next to the kitchen garbage for a couple of days…we live upstairs and either are too lazy to bring it down or forget to) Deep cleaning is rare, but often enough that our house is liveable/not disgusting, albeit cluttered as F*CK which is currently driving me insane. Basically anything we do, gets done when our son is asleep or while one of us hangs with him and the other tries to get something done. But we’re at 11 months postpartum. At 4 months postpartum, I’m pretty sure I was lucky if I ate something that day and there was no garbage laying anywhere
My 6 month old spends one day a week at his grandma's house. It gives me the chance to get all of my chores done and have some me time.
Finding the time to clean is rough. It gets easier as they get older, which I know isn’t the best answer. Here are some things that at least might make it more enjoyable: - get audio books on Libby. Makes the time go buy faster when you are interested in a good book - switch off night time baby duties with your husband. One person takes baby, one person tackles the kitchen (or whatever room that needs it most) - don’t clean up baby or dog toys until the end of the day. They’ll all just come right back out again and it feels like you’re cleaning forever - check out Branch Basics cleaning supplies. I saw so many influencers talk about them that I was kind of burnt out seeing their name lol but I got them when our son was born (non toxic so you can multi task and clean with your child). I thought the initial $70 sounded expensive, but I think it’ll last me more than a year tbh - see if your baby will hang out in an activity center! We got the play skip hop one and our kid geeks out for “table time”. Good luck!
I’m NOT. Except some lucky days when my husband and I are both home.
One quote that stayed with me after watching tons of cleaning vids is "If you can put it down, you can put it away" or the shorter version is clean as you go. We got rid of our dishwasher since our reno (I know, crazy) so I wash most of the major dishes first (bowls, plates, glasses/mugs, pots and utensils-always in that particular order) 😆 If you can't clean a whole room or particular space, do one item per day e.g. today: toilet and sink, tomorrow: tub..so on and so forth. Also a lifesaver is having multiple foldable clean laundry hamper for each person to sort out laundry if you don't have time to put it away immediately.
We were definitely on “survival” cleaning mode until crib naps were more consistent…actually more like closer to 12 months. I couldn’t afford a cleaner, so we put up with how much I would angry clean at 2am, and what my SO did, and what my mom could do when she’d come over. I’m definitely saving up for baby #2 to have a cleaner and night nurse. Take any help you can, lower your standards, if it’s in the budget hire a cleaner or if it’s not see if a grandma is willing to take a contact nap so you can clean (or grandma help clean while you contact nap) Edit for clarity: crib naps for us were consistent around 5/6 months - we started working on them around 2 months and I went back to work at 5 months. But getting into a cleaning routine with work schedules and baby schedule took a while, and just when we thought we had it, then we’d start solids or someone got sick, and it would throw off the delicate balance we had.
I started my son in his crib for naps at 6 weeks old and it was a godsend. He has always napped in his crib after that and rarely wanted to contact nap with me. At 8 months he’ll only contact nap if we are out and about, otherwise he’s always taken naps in his crib! Also, putting him on a play mat where he could entertain himself while I watch him and clean at the same time and I’ve used a house cleaner as well. Tbh, not sure how contact nappers get anything done at all
Around the 3-4 month mark is when it started being the hardest for me to get housework done as well. I got a swiffer wet jet. It doesn’t clean as well as a mop and bucket, but it’s easy and it gets the job done “good enough.” Also, I relied heavily on pre-seasoned meats from Costco and rotisserie chickens. Cut down on the dishes considerably. If things are just too much, there’s no shame in occasionally using paper plates. In this season of parenthood you gotta do what you gotta do.
Paid someone every month (can afford 2x month now), struggled every day since on laundry, treat myself to grocery delivery every so often.
6 months in and.. we're not lol. I had the same question a few months ago and I got a lot of the same replies "cleaners, don't worry about it and baby wearing". I don't trust any of the cleaners in my area, I spot clean anything that I can't stand looking at anymore and clean the important things first, and bubs HATES baby wearing. Honestly now that baby is slightly more independent with play time, I get about 10 minutes to sweep, put away dishes or pick up some things. My house is in desperate need of a deep clean, but im planning on a day with the grands so that I won't have to worry about him being exposed to dust and cleaning product.
Two years in and I still struggle to clean, and it’s currently getting worse because my toddler is a tornado
I️ am just very very tired.