I told several friends in the months prior to Emma’s birth that while on some level I recognized that it would be hard to get much done with a newborn in the house, there was also a strong voice in my brain saying “Hey! 3 months off work! I’m going to get SO MUCH done!”
Yeah. I know. You can laugh at me; everyone else did too! And of course they’re right — it’s been 2.5 weeks and I’ve gotten essentially nothing done except take care of Emma. (Which yes, of course, is the most important thing!)
Happy in the MIT onesie I made for her!
Still, I’m one of those people that likes to stay busy. I’ve always got a long to-do list. And even though I knew it was coming, it’s still been an adjustment to throw everything out the window and just go with the daily flow. I saw a suggestion in The Rookie Mom’s Handbook (a low-key, humorous guide to navigating life with a newborn that I gifted to myself) that instead of a “to do” list, new moms should instead make a “did do” list — and no accomplishment is too small!
You mean there are other things to do besides stare at my cuteness? Inconceivable!
Here’s what I’ve done today as of about 5:00:
- Fed Emma 5 times
- Changed 6 diapers
- Pumped 6 times
- Cleaned all the bottles and other stuff after each feeding and/or pumping
- Took a shower
- Made myself a Keurig iced coffee
- Ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a Lean Cuisine for lunch
- Did 3 loads of laundry – washed, dried, folded AND put away!
- Checked the mail
- Talked to an HR guy about making the necessary changes to our health insurance, life insurance, etc
- Took a nap
- Unloaded the dishwasher
- Wrote this blog post (my 3rd post in 3 days!)
And tonight I’m going to book club! (Even though I didn’t read the book.) And tomorrow is Friday! Which means after that it’s the weekend and Jose will be home for two days in a row! (It’s the little things…)
I’m going to keep posting these from time to time while I’m on maternity leave because 1) a “did do” list is a REALLY good idea for a list-maker like me, since it does remind me that I’m accomplishing a lot on a daily basis and 2) it’ll be fun and/or interesting to see how the lists change between now and Halloween (when I go back to work) as Emma grows and hits different milestones.
Love the photo of Emma in the MIT onesie. She is so cute! (Though I expect to see some GT representation at some point) 🙂
I don’t have any GT clothes for her! I thought I might get something at a shower, but I didn’t. I need to order something for her!
Love your “did do” list — keep it up as it reminds you that you are not on vacation, but taking care of our cute BG — whole lot harder than a vacation or working!!
Sounds like a pretty productive day to me! I still struggle to get much done other than feed myself and Isla and entertain her, especially since she’s not really into napping these days.
Another tip to make pumping easier/faster: instead of disassembling and washing the pump parts after every session, just put the wholebottle/valve/horn setup in the fridge between uses. You are going to mix all the breastmilk you get together and the cold will keep everything safe and sanitary whether it is in the pump part or a bottle. You can also stick the parts in a ziploc if you want the extra separation from food. Then you can just pull it apart and wash it completely once a day instead of 6. It’s totally a tip I got for work, but it applies just as well at home for what you are doing.
And if you get tired of me telling you things, please tell me to shut up. I’m just trying to pass on the good info I got as a new mommy.
You definitely don’t need to shut up. That is an awesome tip — and one I’ve been using already after the lady at A Woman’s Work (where I rented the big pump from) told me the same thing! It definitely made life easier than cleaning all that stuff every single time.
So maybe my “did do” list needs to be updated a bit, lol. We do clean the bottles after each time though.