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A mom is supposed to be a multitasking tornado, but you need to be a lazy mom for your own sanity at times. Here are 5 hacks that will help you out.
Multitasking mom, exhausted mom, super mom, angel mom- we have all heard of these adjectives for a mom. However a Lazy Mom barely or rarely exists (or at least is not supposed to exist!) but somewhere in the deep, dark corners of our hearts we secretly wish to be one. We wish for that extra nap. We wish to run away from all the chores that are piled up for us.
But I believe that a lazy mom is a smart mom. So here are my small tips which can go a long way to give you that extra nap, and maintain your sanity & sanctity.
This one is my mom’s invention. As soon as you start weaning your child, the biggest challenge is cooking 3 meals a day and over and above that, feeding him is a full time task. So you have an additional responsibility of cooking your child’s food which is usually overcooked, and without salt and spices.
To avoid the extra effort, I always used a small container (pic below) which can be screwed and put in the cooker with dal/rice or any vegetable I am cooking for the family. Because it is a separate container, the baby food will be safe from salt and spices of your food. And since you cook it for the same time, it does not get overcooked. You can cook anything and everything in it like mashed veggies, khichdi, dalia, rice etc.
Small container to cook baby’s food along with yours. (pic by author)
Usually moms do the opposite. Most of the times mothers don’t have an additional support to look after the baby, and hence they keep an eye on the baby when awake, and keep the cooking and laundry job for the time when the baby sleeps.
These are a few ways you can engage your baby while you can rush off through the chores, so that you are free to sleep with the baby.
Strap your baby in a stroller or pram: Pull the pram to your kitchen and finish off your chores while dancing, singing or just talking to your baby. Trust me, your baby will also have fun with you. Caution: Keep your baby at a safe distance from the stove and slab.
Put your baby in a baby house or enclosure like a baby room stuffed with his favourite toys and carry on with your work. In between you can keep an eye on them.
Engage the baby with finger food or fruits: My son loves fruits from the beginning. So I used to hand over a peeled apple/cucumber/carrot or give him roasted cereals in a bowl. This usually kept him engaged for at least 20-30min. Sometimes he even slept by himself while nibbling on the fruits. This technique is also a replacement for teethers and it soothes their pain. So there have been times when I have handed over an apple to my son while I worked, and took a nap while he slept.
There is no harm in seeking help. When you try to do everything on your own, you end up being exhausted and yet your work is never over. So take help whenever and wherever possible. It is not possible for even an SAHM to do everything on her own. Either take help of appropriate machines or seek help of people around.
You are a mom and deadlines barely work for you because there are days when the child sleeps a little more, and there are days when they are cranky and sleep less. So if you have set a deadline for yourself, you will just keep pushing yourself to attain that deadline and in the process, you will neither be devoted to the baby nor would you be able to achieve that deadline, thus making it troublesome for both of you.
My son used to be in diapers most of the times. Changing those diapers with pee was fine but changing and cleaning that diaper with poop had always given me tough times. I just hated to clean that off in absence of my maid. So, consciously I potty trained my child by the time he was one. He hasn’t pooped in pants ever since but he still pees in diapers which is fine because it doesn’t create a mess.
Thus I saved an hour a day which was otherwise spent on cleaning poop and diapers (considering the baby poops 2-3 times a day and each session required 20 minutes of time).
Let me know, if you find these hacks useful. I would love to hear your lazy mom hacks in the comments below.
Published here earlier.
Image source: shutterstock
I am a mother of a baby boy, a management graduate and a multi-faceted professional mom making home a sweeter place to live in. read more...
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