When your children are very young the clock can seem to be your enemy. Try this idea for managing your day. Organise your day with the idea of routines inside bubbles of time.
For example before and after breakfast routines that include making beds, cleaning teeth, getting dressed etc leading on to cleaning for you while he does independent play. The amount of time for cleaning/independent play flexes to a longer or shorter time depending on his ability to play on his own that day or how long the earlier parts of the morning routine took. End that bubble of time with morning tea at a set time of day.
Use the same idea for the next bubble of time between morning tea and lunch and so on.
It gives your little one a sense of structure and familiarity to each day but you are not clock watching or forcing an activity to continue when it is a lost cause.
My ideas for packing for a trip away with my 3 children, who aren't old
enough to pack for themselves. (from a post to a friend after a trip down to Sydney to Taronga Zoo in 2008 before ds4 arrived)
1. Dh and I have different areas. He always does toiletries and
bedding. I do food, eating utensils and clothing except dh's.
2. I make sure we are all up to date with washing and folding and
putting away at least 1/2 day before. Over here I hate running the
dryer, am so used to line drying but have to accept that at times like
this if it has been wet it has to happen. My dryer doesn't buzz when
finished btw so I really have to keep an ear out or an eye on the clock
so I can co-ordinate wet and dry loads.
3. I pack our clothes into a few big crates that stack or nest. Ds3
and my clothes go in one box, Ds1 and Ds2 in another. I go to each
person's drawers one at a time and start from the top - underwear ,
t-shirts, jumpers (pull overs?!), trousers and shorts, pyjamas. This
last trip was 3 days so I grabbed enough for each day plus 1 spare then
co-ordinated colours (trying to stick with only 1 or 2 colour groups for
the whole family so that a washing load can be all put in together, more
important when travelling for more than 3 or 4 days). I then grab one
item of unseasonal things just in case, eg in summer grab one jumper, in
winter grab one pair of shorts and/or swimmers.
4. The kids pack their own toys in a back pack each. My eldest and
middle are really good at choosing sensible things, even books to read
at bed time so I don't worry about that area any more.
5. Only one pair of shoes for each person for the whole trip (much less
likely to leave behind or lose if they are on feet already).
6. Depending on accommodation I take a towel for each child (can then be
used as a blanket in the car if necessary) and the adults. Also with
children the ages of mine (3, 6 and 9) there is always a chance someone
will have an accident or play too close to the water's edge so a towel
can come in handy. lol
7. After a couple of days I switch all the clean clothes to one box and
the other is used for dirty items. When we get home the dirty clothes
are easily taken straight to the laundry and if any clean clothes are
left they are returned to the drawers.
This last trip I wasn't quite as well organised as I would have liked.
I assumed the self-contained accommodation would have a good supply of
crockery and cutlery. It wasn't quite enough for our large family so
next time we travel I will assume the worst and take a fully stocked
picnic box. Our little picnic backpack was only originally packed for 4
and I have lost bits over time anyway so I think I will start a box
instead, fully stocked for a family of 6 and use the backpack only when
actually going out with only the bits needed for that particular trip.
One thing I do feel I did right was to prepack our rolled oats in zip
lock bags and made sure we bought milk as soon as we got there. I also
put in a big bowl for cooking it in the microwave (knew we would have
one of those but wasn't sure about a stove). It made the whole trip a
lot less expensive for eating out. Also I am fortunate my kids like
microwave meals so we bought those one night (total cost about $25)
whereas fast food would have cost closer to $40. There was only a bar
fridge in our room and not a very well supplied kitchenette.
I also had fruit in containers so it could be stacked in a bag without
fear of squashed grapes or apples, some baked snacks and some frozen
fruit juice boxes to keep the whole lot cool. We only bought a hot
lunch (3 pastas shared between the 5 of us) at the zoo and drank our
juice/water along the way. It was still a stretch on our budget (had to
rob Peter to pay Paul) but it could have been a lot worse.
I was asked the other day if I had any advice for new mums seeing as I have been breastfeeding for over 9 years and have tandem fed during that time also. I have obviously birthed 3 babies and have almost toilet trained 3 children.
My advice: I don't have much to give as I have found that each child is different and each time I was a different person so each situation was as if new.
On a practical level I really couldn't give any advice because I have changed things each time due to personalities and circumstances.
On an emotional level I have learnt one thing, this whole parenting thing is a roller coaster ride, hang on to your sense of humour and enjoy the ride. I have tried to not get stuck on any one parenting idea because each time has been different but I have loved my kids with all my heart, gotten better at laughing at the horrible days and try to remember the big picture, that those bad days won't last forever and the big smiles and giggles can last as long as you keep smiling too.
So please realise I only share what has worked for me with each personality so that maybe you, the reader, will find something worthwhile.
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