9 Ways To Get Stuff Done When You Have A Newborn

As a mom, it’s hard to get stuff done when you’re caring for a baby. Get 9 tips to help complete your to-do list. Includes a free printable Newborn Schedule.

I scooted onto my chair at the table where a plate of piping hot food sat waiting for me. My stomach growled as the yummy smells enticed me to dive in.

Then I heard it.

“Waaaaaaaaaa!”

How does she always know when I’m about to eat? I moaned as I left the deliciousness right where it sat and went to scoop up my newborn baby.

The meal would have to wait.

I can’t tell you how often I’m about to do something– whether eat, clean something up, or just check another item off my to-do list, when I’m sucked away by the needs of one of my children.

That’s the nature of mom life!

But as much as we love to care for our kids, we moms gotta get stuff done once in a while!

Use my tried and true tips below to help you accomplish your daily goals, even with a newborn baby in the house.

1- Use An Infant Sleep Schedule

An infant sleep schedule, also known as a baby routine, gives you pockets of time when you know your newborn will be napping.

Though I don’t recommend going exactly “by the clock,” using a routine helps you have predictable windows in your schedule where you are free to get stuff done.

In addition, implementing a gentle routine at a young age can often help your child sleep through the night within the first few months of life.

When baby and mama are getting more rest, your daily productivity soars!

I share a sample of what a first-month newborn schedule could look like, and you can grab it free at the end of this post!

2- Put Baby In A Safe Space

You can get a lot done by putting baby in a safe space for short spurts at a time. They can play, bounce, or check out the scenery while you cook, clean, shower, or even read a magazine. (What?! Who has time for that?! LOL)

Safe Spaces include:

• Crib or Pack n’ Play
• Bouncer– place the bouncer by a window (out of direct sunlight) to let them see what’s outside.
• Baby swing 
• Play gym– You can set this on the bathroom floor and take a shower– mom win!
• Rock n Play

3- Use Short Bursts

Sometimes you only get a few minutes of downtime in the craziness when you have a newborn.

Capitalize on the brief pauses and get something done… empty the dishwasher, change over a load of laundry, or wipe down the counters.

5 minutes of productivity here and there adds up to a lot of tasks checked off your (long) list.

4- Get In A Routine

Start a new habit of doing the same thing each day at the same time.

For example, I try to start a load of laundry each morning during the week. Then when I get a break in the day, I can change it from washer to dryer.

My husband and I often end up folding clothes after the kids are down for the night.

I purposefully take a break on at least one weekend day, so sometimes that means doing two loads in a day.

But at least the habit of doing a load each morning keeps dirty laundry from piling up too badly.

This has been a work in progress in different houses, because each time we move with the military, the laundry is in a different location and I have to start a new routine. Once my washer and dryer were in a detached garage on the back of the property.

I was pregnant at the time, so laundry really stacked up during those months!

5- Wear the Baby

I’m not huge on baby-wearing but it does have its perks.

Reasons I don’t wear baby around the house much are:

• It hurts my back
• It throws her off her sleeping routine, and
• It’s hard to bend over or sit down without waking the baby

Still, there are times when it’s necessary.

For me, the main time I wore my third newborn was when everything was chaos in the house and I didn’t have time to settle her down before I solved whatever disaster was happening with the big girls.

I also use my Ergo Carrier in the grocery stores, traveling, or if I’m gone from home all day and need a guaranteed place she’ll nap away from her crib.

6- Bring Baby Along

0-3-month-old babies tend to be extremely portable. We could always take our newborns out to dinner or to visit friends and they would sleep in the car seat.

I also took them to the grocery store or on other errands.

After about three months, our kids became more wakeful and would fuss and require a lot more attention.

If you have your newborn on a schedule, you will have a lot more success taking them out because you’ll know what time of day is best to go.

I show you a sample of exactly what a baby routine looks like in my free download, “First Month Newborn Schedule.” It’s in my free resource library, and you can get the password at the bottom of this post!

7- Use Nap Time To Get Stuff Done

People always told me, “sleep when baby is sleeping.”

But being the productive (sometimes overproductive) person that I am, I would always get busy on my to-do list as soon as the newborn zonked out.

I mean, when else can you get anything done???

Ok, so now as a mom of three– who’s had two c-sections– I will say, it is UBER important to get your rest!

For your own sanity, for your body’s healing, and let’s face it… for everyone else’s sanity too. (wink)

8- Ask For Help

Somes you just need an hour or two to yourself to get stuff done without worrying that baby will wake up early from a nap.

Time to bring in the reinforcements.

Ask a family member, friend, or hire a babysitter to watch baby for you.

I know sometimes the thought of leaving your newborn is too scary. The good news is, you can hire a mother’s helper who can help with chores around the house or care for baby while you’re still home.

I’ve used Sittercity.com and found great babysitters. (You do have to weed through them a bit).  Care.com is another site friends have used to find sitters.

9- Access Childcare At The Gym

It might be worth signing up for a gym membership just for the childcare.

I know several moms who go to the YMCA for the sole reason that they can take a nice long shower while their baby was in the kids’ room.

In Virginia, I used to go to the gym and use the wifi for blogging while my oldest played.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES FOR GETTING STUFF DONE:

Sometimes you have to get creative to get stuff done.

And hopefully next time you’re sucked away from your to-do list by the needs of your baby, you’ll be able to get right back to it by putting these tips into action!

GET MY FREE “FIRST MONTH NEWBORN SCHEDULE” TO HELP YOU FIND TIME TO GET STUFF DONE!

*this post may contain affiliate links. That means I get a portion of the commission for the referral, but you don’t pay a cent more– thank you for supporting my small business!