Getting Stuff Done With An 8 Month Old

[Emma1979]

shower before you get her up.... as soon as you hear her wake jump in the shower, she is fine to spend 5-10 minutes waking up and babbling in her cot... its amazing the difference it makes if you manage to be showered before they get up!! you can always get dressed/do hair later....

at that age my dd began to only eat finger foods, so when she was in her high chair i would zip around the kitchen getting what i could done, and in and out the laundry, put a load of washing on etc.... you can steal a bit of time by finishing off her meals with finger foods, ie sultanas, cruskit, pieces of cheese etc - means you don't have to be sitting in front of her spoon feeding...

it gets easier!! once they start understanding language you can keep them busy by asking them to do things, ie where's teddy, give teddy a kiss, where's your puzzle, where's your book etc.... a sneaky way to keep them out of whatever you are trying to get done... we taught our dd the names of objects around the room and her toys from about 7 months, so by the time she was 10 months we could 'entertain' her by asking her where things were.... now at 13 months she understands EVERYTHING we say, we have actually had to start spelling out the names of things so she doesn't hear what we are saying (ie bottle, teddy, bananas in pajamas etc)...

good luck enjoy your bubba you are moments away from having a toddler but i must say i think it just keeps getting funner and funner the more they grow.

(i realise funner isn't a word )

[mrscricket]

I give DS his breakfast of Weetbix then put him in the high chair in the bathroom and he munches on some toast and saltanas while I shower. I then put him in his Jolly Jumper in the doorway while I do makeup, hair etc - which also tires him out so he will have a nice big sleep . I do stuff like cleaning bench tops etc, toilet, bathrooms while he is in bed. Stuff like changing the linen on the beds etc I usually pop him in front of our full length mirror and he plays with the 'baby' in the mirror while I do it. He 'helps' when I fold the washing - I give him some little things like socks to mess around with
DS is also happy to play by himself but I also like to play with him and interact at stages during the day. I have filled some little containers with dried pasta and we stack them like blocks and he knocks them over and shakes them. Today was raining and horrible here so I put some bread outside for the birds and he watched them for ages through the glass window. We were also given a helium balloon on a string at a shop yesterday and he is obsessed. He has been pulling on the string and watching it float around. Simple pleasures I guess but will defiately getting him another when this one goes flat! He also likes those touch and feel board books at the moment - we lay down on the floor and look together, feeling the different textures.

[mbear]

I do a lot of my housework at night when all girls are in bed.....but if ive got a cake or dinner, or dishes to do (no dishwasher in this house ), i bring the highchair into the kitchen and give her some toys, or some sultanas and chat away to her whilst i do what i have to do.

If i need to put washing away i will pop her on the bed , pillows around, with some toys and sing/chat to her whilst i put the never ending piles of clothes away .


having siblings is a great distractor too....but thats not instant now is it ????

[lee75]

I use to shower when DS was sleeping, but if he was awake I would put him in his cot with his musical piano, and he was happily play with that for ages, and our bathroom is next to his room, so I could hear his lovely music!!! I wasn't too concerned doing this as I wasn't in the shower for a long time

[Erin_25]

I shut off the doors to the rooms I don't want Charlie in whilst in the shower, bring him into the bathroom & he usually stays & chats to me & plays with his toothbrush etc....if he wanders off then I know it's not too far. If he's too cranky I just undress him & pop him in the shower with me, he loves it & I get to have as long as I want. Though atm I am trying to get up when DH does for work & shower etc then before Charlie wakes up. I find I function better if I'm all fresh & feel nice.
I wash throughout the day, just fill up the basket & DH helps me hang it out at night. I always do dishes etc in the kitchen when Charlie is having a snack or playing in his draw or tupperward cupboard. He too love the vaccum cleaner so no probs there, clothes get folded when he's asleep & that's when I tend to my BB addiction LOL.

As for playing, any interaction will teach them. Even just simple telling them what you are doing, playing peekaboo...I often pop a CD on & dance around the room with Charlie like a dill & he loves it.

[nox]

I have just bought security gates for the lounge to hall and halfway in the kitchen. It means ds can freely roam but I know all the really dangerous places are not available to him. Although because there is still a large space I have to watch. It does leave me pretty free to be in the kitchen with some of his toys.
Easing I do when he's sleeping and folding I do with him while he plays. The rest getvfit in....sometimes and sometimes not!!
I make sure we are out at least once a day. It can just be walk around or a lunch with other mothers. I have found playgroup and mothers groups great. I try to talk to him all the time. We lay around and play with his toys too. I have just joined my toy library which can help. Also like everyone else -- a lot of reading and signing!
But the going out has been the best thing for us.

All best

[~*Niadalla*~]

I have the portacot set up in the lounge room for such occasions. LOL
DS does not sit still, and is now attempting to walk everywhere. He loves being in his highchair with something to eat.
I try and do a few things when he's asleep aswell.
DS loves playing on his own. I am forever talking to him, or singing to him, trying to repeat all the sounds he makes, playing peek a boo, and hiding things to see if he can find them.
I give him empty bottles, boxes, wooden spoons, pots and pans to play with aswell.
He's happy and healthy, so I must be doing something right hey