Three things that help me get things done despite a cranky baby and a needy four-year-old:
- Baby slings. A lot of time that I would otherwise spend on getting Adrian to sleep, or keeping him upright after a feed, I can now use for other things. Also they make me more mobile: when I want to go out, I don’t need to time my movements around his sleep times.
- A shopping trolley is an excellent complement to slings. It may not be the most stylish accessory but it is immensely useful. The little old ladies know what they’re doing! We bought one from IKEA for 159:- and it’s been perfect. It takes 20 kg I think, I’m a bit unsure about the exact number but more than I would ever want to drag home. I use it for grocery shopping, but also take it when I need to run errands in the city, both for the stuff we need to take with us (nappies etc) and for any purchases.
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A task list for every day, with the 3–4 things I absolutely want to get done that day. The tasks can range from the very short – “call to make appointment with doctor” – to longer things like “buy mittens for Ingrid”.
This shortlist helps me focus, and helps me plan my day: without it some things never get done because I only remember them at the most inappropriate time. I am mostly reminded of Ingrid’s need for mittens when I’m going out with her, or just coming home, but if I am going to buy new ones, it needs to happen during the day.
The list also helps me avoid the feeling that I do nothing but breastfeed, burp and change nappies all day long. I can look back after what feels like a totally improductive day and see that I have nevertheless crossed three things off my list.
We have the same shopping trolley :) Since we don’t have a car, it’s used a lot. And I agree about the lists, I still like to make them so I don’t feel that all I do all day long is sleep, eat, work…
[…] This was also my first long outing with him without a stroller. I’ve been doing shorter trips with him on my back, especially to the supermarket, so by now I am pretty confident that it works well. He used to not like back carries when he was younger but now he has no objections. And he is tall enough to be able to almost look over my shoulder, or around me, which also means that I can reach him to give him the dummy when needed. For all the stuff we need to bring with us, I take our trusty IKEA shopping trolley. […]
[…] best buy during my time on maternity leave with Adrian was my shopping trolley from IKEA. I wouldn’t call it life-changing, and it doesn’t rank quite as high on the […]