keeping up as a new parent?

Question

How did you keep up with your daily house keeping and personal budget when your newborn came along?

Answer 1

Housekeeping:
Prioritize, divide, and conquer. First I figure out what needs cleaned the most that day, then I divide them into groups that take 5-10 minutes, then I conquer each group throughout the day. If I don't get the things at the end of the list done, its not a huge deal because they were the lowest priority.

Budget:
The budget gets evaluated pretty regularly. When it gets to the point that we ask "where is all the money going?" we keep an exact record of all the money that gets spent to see just exactly where its going. When its in writing, it becomes easier to see that we've eaten out a few more times that we can afford, or that we've bought a few luxuries (movies, CDs, etc.) and we trim them out for a bit to get back on track. I also shop ahead when I find things like diapers and wipes on sale on amazon.com.

Answer 2

Well, first off you take one thing at a time and as for the house work have someone like the Father or a good friend or family member come over to help you so not only will your new baby get some rest but you just as well until you get back on your feet and that can take some time after giving birth to a little baby.

And as far as budget goes try going on-line and looking for savings on things for baby's that you can print out or you also might find it in the Sundays news paper you never know because every bit of money you can save will help.

Answer 3

You don't.

Do you remember how clean your mother kept the house when you were a newborn? Me neither.

Concentrate on your baby. Dustbunnies under the bed never killed anyone.

As for the finances... kids are expensive, but not nearly as much as the toy stores would like you to think. Your newborn doesn't NEED anything except clean diapers, breastmilk or formula, and a warm place to sleep. Anything else is extra.

As he gets older, you don't HAVE to buy him a lot of fancy toys. You'll discover a million new uses for everyday household objects! (Anything that doesn't splinter, isn't smaller than your little finger, and can't break into small pieces is a perfectly fine toy).

Don't go nuts on clothes at the beginning. Some babies grow one size a week! Thrift stores are goldmines of baby stuff.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Well I found it easy when my son was first born because he slept alot it is once he got older and wanted to spend more time with me it became a bit harder. First I tried staying up after he went to bed to do my cleaning and that just got really hard to do. So I started doing it through out the day with him I would put him in his swing or his chair and turn on some music and he loved it. My son is now 2 years old was just diagnosed with Autism and I have a 8 month old baby girl now I start as soon as they get up I usually finish the major stuff before they are done eating. My son is one of those kids that can go and go and go until bed so it makes it easy to get some things done but at his age you can also have the start helping you he will help me with laundry,picking up toys,he tries but I don't like it to help me empty the dish washer. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Well as it is now im a single parent with an 8 month old...usually cleaning comes scarce, but when ur stressed out thats the best time to clean up and it may last a couple of days. i work part time and i go to school...my best advise is not to worry, usually what u worry about the most usually happens just pray and keep your head up. God will take care of u because you have a gift from him and he knows whats best for the both of u.

Answer 6

I didn't, at first. You really have to relax your standards a bit and get rid of your idea of perfection. It takes a little while to get into the swing of things and adjust. It made it a lot easier that my husband is wonderful and cooks, cleans, grocery shops, does laundry, changes diapers, etc. etc. He's really amazing. I couldn't have done it without him. It has really been a team effort.

Ask your hubby for more help. And make sure to allot a certain time of the day to certain things. But it's not going to be perfect.... at least not for a while.

Answer 7

Hey,
Very very diffultly.
I'd clean of a night when bubs goes to bed or early morning before he gets up...
Budget when out the window because Im a sucker for buying baby clothes and toys!

Take Care
Miss Cassie xxx

Answer 8

Actually, the housekeeping was not a problem with my first baby. It is not till the SECOND one comes along, and the first one is now a toddler messing things up...then, yeah, housekeeping became an issue!

Answer 9

Let it all slide, your baby is only a newborn once.

Answer 10

If you have the energy too, when they are napping.. if not, let it go