Organized New Mom Tip #9: Create time for yourself

Everyone tells you to do it, but how often should you really take a time-out for yourself without feeling guilty? The answer is, as often enough to keep you out of a straight jacket. Those first few months alone with a newborn can be a bear, and by bear, I mean one of those gargantuan Kodiak Island Grizzly Bears.  I LOVE my son and treasure our time together, but between my lack of sleep, feedings every 3 hours, and finding myself covered in indiscernible fluids, I came to realize the true meaning of “it takes a village”. 

A few suggestions:

·         The only way you’re going to get some free time is if you plan for it. When Baby first comes home, the offers pour in right and left to take care of him, so take advantage. After awhile, life gets back to normal, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t still need a break here and there.  Find someone willing to come on a regular basis to babysit so it’s already planned, even for just an hour or so. I am fortunate enough to have a sister-in-law who still babysits my little guy every week so I can sneak away. (Thanks, Rachel!)

·         I know it’s hard, but when you do get a little time, don’t spend all of it catching up on lame housework or errands.  Try to save some of it for something fun or relaxing- aka pedicure, coffee trip, or window shopping. This isn’t selfish-it’s necessary.

·         Since this is a blog about staying organized, I feel compelled to suggest that you don’t use ALL of your free time for fun.  Also use this time to do those little things that are so much more difficult with a little one attached to you.

·         Show your gratitude for the help. Let your significant other know how much you appreciate him or repay that babysitting favor however you can.  Make it clear how much their time and effort means to you.

Organized New Mom Tip #8: Shop online

Not only is this a shameless plug for my online baby product business, it’s a useful tip I picked up soon after Will was born. I was never a big online shopper before he was born, mostly because I loved the experience of leaving my house to hop from store to store to browse and price compare. Needless to say, the luster soon wore off when I wasn’t so much hopping from store to store with my little guy, as I was trudging.

With the click of a button, I was hooked, although I assume you’re a kindred spirit since you’re reading this blog right now.  Shopping online made it so much more convenient to buy that last minute birthday gift  or order that replacement filter for the refrigerator, and I could do all that while simultaneously cradling my newborn in my arms – a much nicer alternative to wrestling the car seat or scrambling to find an appropriate place to nurse in public.

Here are some online shopping tips I’ve picked up along the way:

·         Most competitive websites offer some sort of free shipping deal, especially around the holidays. If you find a product you like, but the site doesn’t offer free shipping, look for the product on another site before purchasing.

·         If you’re buying a gift, check to see if the recipient has an online gift registry. Traditionally, most people create gift registries for weddings and baby showers, but more and more people keep an ongoing registry on their favorite sites. Plus, if they do have one, your shopping just became a lot less complicated.

·         If you’re not shopping on one of the online giant stores, make sure it’s reputable. You can tell a lot about a website by paying attention to their attention to detail. What’s the presentation like? Have the owners made themselves accessible to customers? Do they have an “About Us” page?  I’ve found some wonderful small online businesses by straying away from Amazon (once in a while). J

Organized New Mom Tip #7: Extras, Extras, Extras

Don’t let anyone tell you differently-it’s true that your teeny-tiny bundle of joy needs a U-Haul to carry around all of his newborn stuff.  This tip piggybacks a little on a couple of my previous posts, but it’s worth noting, and I think the title pretty much says it all. From pacifiers to burp cloths to rattles to receiving blankets, you can never have enough. When planning your nursery storage, plan space for extras because you need double, triple or even quadruple of everything.

If you’re short on cash, don’t worry. There’s no need to break the budget:

·    Register for extras. If you’re having a baby shower you can always ask for 3 hooded towels instead of one and let your friends and family shell out the dough (Click here to create a gift registry at Just Delivered-we carry tons of fun and unique baby essentials J)

·    Hit up your friends with kids. Trust me; they’re probably looking for a place to unload all of their baby things.

·    Shop at baby consignment stores. Since babies have been known to grow quickly, so much baby stuff at these stores are almost new and at least half the price of retail.