Ever since having Everly 8 months ago, I’ve been a stay at home mom. While I knew I wanted to be home with her full time, and I definitely feel blessed to be able to financially, it can be hard! However, I have come up with a fairly good routine that makes those hard days just a little bit easier. Here are my top tips for stay at home moms!
This is a guest post from Madison, the founder of Little Teacher Wife. Keep reading to hear her tips, and learn more about her below!
My first tip for stay at home moms: Have a Routine
One thing that has really helped maintain sanity, and a huge tip for other stay at home moms, is having a schedule! I try to stay really consistent with Everly’s routine. I follow the Moms on Call schedule (lifesaver), so we start our day at 7am. Up until recently, I would wake up to her cries and go get her. Every little bit of sleep counts! Now, I’m starting to naturally wake around 6:30am. I will brew my coffee prior to getting her at 7am. Ideally, I would wake up even earlier and get my workout in, but I’m not there quiteeee yet ;).
No matter how the rest of our days go, nap times are consistently at 9am and 1pm. At 8 months old, we have some good nap days and some bad nap days. On the good days, I can get in my workout, unload the dishwasher, get laundry started, etc, all during her first nap. On bad days, well, let’s just say we’re in survival mode. But luckily, with a consistent routine, there are more good nap days than bad.
Everly goes down to sleep for the night at 7pm and sleeps all night long! While some of that is her personality, I attribute most of this to following the Moms on Call schedule! If you’re struggling with sleep, I highly recommend checking out their book. They also have since come out with online video courses if that’s more your style.
And if sleep training isn’t your cup of tea, that’s okay too! Try to come up with some sort of routine, even if it isn’t a set schedule. Having an outline for your day really helps! Make sure you check out these baby sleep tips!
Heart & Home
I recently saw a tip for stay at home Moms on Instagram, with a to-do list titled “Heart and Home.” The mom (I can’t remember who!) made a list for each day in two categories. One was “home,” where you listed tasks that needed to be done around the home – laundry, dishes, cooking dinner, etc.
The other category, “heart,” was listing activities to do for YOU – taking a bath, drinking hot coffee, workout, reading a book. While it may seem a bit silly to “schedule” things like that into your day, I think it can be really helpful! It helps to make sure you aren’t “go, go, go” during nap time, and are taking time to actually slow down and take care of yourself. This has also helped me not *feel* like I’ve wasted her nap time watching Netflix and letting the dishes sit in the sink. Sometimes you just need a little YOU time.
Prioritize: the Dishes Can Wait!
The other week I started feeling really overwhelmed and like I just couldn’t get anything done. We had some bad nap days, and I was getting so frustrated with Everly, because she wouldn’t even let me leave the room for a second without crying. (We found out later, she had an ear infection. Poor thing!) After shedding a few tears myself, my husband gave me some tough love and told me – “your priorities are off.”
He was right. I was prioritizing a clean kitchen over spending time with Everly. I was holding freshly vacuumed floors as a higher importance than reading stories with her. We are at a clingy stage right now, and although it’s exhausting, my priority should be spending time with her! Yes, dishes need to be done. And with her crawling on the floor it would be great to not have dust bunnies everywhere. But if that comes at the expense of getting frustrated at an 8 month old, it’s not worth it! Those things will get done, but some days, you just need to play on the floor all day!
Making a priority list would be one of my top tips for stay at home moms! You have to know what is important in the long run and focus your days on that.
Huge tip for stay at home Moms: Delegate
This is the hardest for me. I’m lucky to have a husband who is so willing to help out, but asking for that help is hard! Small things like a load of laundry, a few dishes, and a crumb on the floor just don’t bother him like they do me, so he doesn’t naturally notice them. If I say “Hey, would you vacuum the floors?” he would do it happily, but he’s just not going to walk in the kitchen and say “Oh, I need to vacuum.” It’s very hard for me to ask for help, but it really does make a difference!
If you are in a two-parent household, or if you have someone to help out, use them! Even just having him load the dishwasher while I’m bathing the baby at night can help a ton. We like to watch Netflix after Everly goes to bed as our “us time,” but we try to make sure the house is picked up before we do that. So when we tag team the bedtime routine + dinner clean up, that Netflix binge can happen a little faster!
Like everything in life, motherhood is a balance. And as I’m writing this, I’m reminding myself of it yet again! I’m only 8 months in, and I definitely do not have it all figured out. But I hope these tips for stay at home moms can make your life a little bit easier! Go snuggle those babies!
About the Author, Madison
Madison is a former teacher turned stay-at-home mom after the birth of her first daughter, Everly, in October 2019. Through her blog, Little Teacher Wife, she shares posts about marriage, family, and teaching to help make fellow mom’s lives a little bit easier!.
Make sure you follow Madison on Little Teacher Wife, and her Instagram and Pinterest pages!
We can always use support and tips whether you are a stay at home Mom or not!