Time Management

I finally got a clue about how to manage my time after five weeks with my new baby. Instead of being lazy and playing around on the Internet all morning, this week I decided to GET STUFF DONE during this time that she usually is mellow and often sleeping.

See, I used to lollygag around during her sleepy mornings and eventually get to errands and the things that matter later in the day. By then, she could be cranky. This week, I tapped into the power of flowing with the baby's schedule and it's working great.

Monday, I went running in the morning for about a half hour, pretty much right after we wake up, while my husband is still home. I found that the baby is very happy and doesn't cry when she first wakes up for the whole day, and my husband is just milling around getting his breakfast and surfing the Web and would welcome the addition of some googly baby conversation while he does this. Plus, he's very supportive of me getting back in shape. So we all win. I figure I will do this three times a week and once on the weekend for starters and build from there.

After running, I nursed the baby and cuddled for a while, catching up on my web surfing and talking to her a bit til she fell asleep. Then I got down to business prepping my dinners for the week. My husband and I take turns cooking dinner every other night (except for when we occasionally go out). I made the topping for middle eastern cous cous, some eggplant parmesan and the dough for calzones while the baby slept. She did wake up for a bit, but I was able to nurse again and put her in her swing for a little while and then finish up as well as do some other random household chores as well as some upper body and ab exercises.

Now the key isn't for everyone to follow this exact schedule, but instead, be mindful of what schedule your baby seems to be keeping and try to work with it because I think it quickly becomes clear to moms that when you try to go against the baby's nature when it is so young, nobody is happy and you get very little done. You also have to try and fit in little things when you can. You may not get to do an hour long exercise DVD when you have a five-week-old baby. But you can do toning exercises here and there and lift some dumbells. It all adds up.

Being in tune with my baby's schedule helped me optimize the use of my time and thereby make the time I spend in the evenings with my husband more pleasant, too, since we wind down in the afternoons and neither I nor baby are harried, and everyone is happy!