Your short-cuts and secrets

[alicesmum]

Have you got any short-cuts or secrets you can share with other mums to make life that tiny bit easier???

Just thinking, we mums might think some of the things we do are so obvious, but other people might not have thought of it!

Here are my two to begin with (may be a bit lame, but here goes):

1. Line the high-chair with an old towel. This makes it easier to shake out the crumbs and also means bub's skin doesn't stick to the plastic cushion-cover in the hot weather!!!

2. (This is a bit bad but...:o ) feed bubs dinner in the bath if it's getting late or they are being a bit grumpy and you doubt your chances of getting them to sit still in the highchair!!! It also saves cleaning up the floor and highchair afterwards! :D

Looking forward to trying out some of yours!!!!!!!

Rachel :)

[lukaelmo]

Hmmm this is probably not anything new to anyone but I thought I'd join in the spirit of the thread ;)

I have bathed bub exactly three times since he was born...

Tee hee, he gets showers with me instead.

I pop him on the floor in the bathroom while I have my shower, and then I get out and get back in with him.

He loooooves it. And I don't have to run a bath and worry about me getting all wet.

Anyway, when he can sit up then maybe I will do the bath thing too...

[cobysmummy]

* im a cloth user so all the nappies are already folded and place near the change table...
* i have a spare chux cloth handy in the kitchen to wipe up coby... (different colour to the one i clean the dishes with)
* have the formula scooped out into the dispenser when he goes to bed ready for the next day.. (so much easier than trying to level the scoop with bub in the arm screaming they are hungry!)
* keep some cooled boiled water in a jug on the bench coz of course they will need their water refilled just as you have boiled the kettle :rolleyes:

thats all i can think of at the moment... this will be interesting to see others tricks...

[Shazbutt]

Yup, when i was a clothie with DD1, i folded all mine out of the basket, ready to use too.

And i have the jug of boiled water on the bench too, always ready.....

Make your bottles for the next day up the night before...and have them in the fridge ready. Or just have the water measured out in the bottles on the bench, then all you have to do is add the formula.

I used to keep a little bag on the back of the high chair with wipes, a cloth, and some spray for the high chair.....ready to clean bubs and the chair when you're finished.

[reAllytee]

Ooooh some of these are great ! :D
Ummm lets see what i have ...
I also make 2 bottles up before going to bed & refrigerate is really good for those mornings bubs decides 4am is an appropriate start to the day :rolleyes:

Buying those formula dispensers for when your out is great i got mine for $2 at a cheap shop but you can get em at woolies for not much more.

I also keep two bottles of water in the fridge one small in case bubs wants a cold drink on a hot day replaced everyday so all you need do is add the teat & the other for those times you need a bottle made up & the kettle was just boiled !!

Keep a few tins of pre-made baby food for those times you just cant be stuffed doing anything let alone cooking for bubs or have just had a nightmare of a day !!

If bubs is really messy & you cant be bothered wiping them down etc throw them in the bath or you both have a relaxing shower together. I prefer the feeding them in the bath idea though :p

Use newspaper on the floor below their highchair saves washing the floor when they are having finger food after they are done out it goes with the recycling !

When bubs was still having nite feeds i used one of those thermo mugs filled with boiling water & would keep his bottle in that for his next feed meant i didnt have to wander downstairs half asleep & organise a bottle plus we didnt have the money to buy a bottle warmer.

Keep a stash of items you really need at your parents place or in-laws that way you dont have to take everything everytime you visit as they have say bibs, spoons, food, nappy wipes etc. ( As we all know we tend to visit a lot well sorta heheh ;) )

Oh & just for everyday stuff if you have a two storey house keep a washing basket at the bottom of your stairs to fill with things that need to go upstairs that way your not making 50 different trips just one big one when either the basket is full or when you are ready to go upstairs.

[Moorish]

Oh I have HEAPS but this is just the wrong time of day for me!
I do have one right now.

Once every month or two, make up 3-4 pots of different baby food & store in small containers or old baby food jars in the freezer. Then all you have to do for each meal is pull one out & reheat. You also have a variety to choose from too.
By the way - there's a great product I bought a Woolworths (Safeway) that's like a HUGE ice tray but it's designed to freeze baby food in. Once frozen, you then pop them out & store them in freezer bags - GREAT IDEA!

[cwsmum]

I may be stating the obvious here...but I fold all my washing as I take it off the line, then all I gotta do is put it away when we go inside.

[Mamaduke]

cwsmum got me thinking...
One of my friends gave me this idea about the washing...
fold up and put away straight off the line. Buy one of those little ironing boards from Ikea (which is just the right size for kid's clothes) and iron the night before, for the clothes the next day. She also keeps one pair of pj's for each of the boys ironed in their drawers just in case someone comes for dinner and stays a while, then the boys will have nicely ironed pjs and the visitor won't think that they're not being taken care of properly!!?!:confused: (her words, not mine!)

Another one is...
after dinner let the doggie inside and voila! floor clean!

[reAllytee]

cwsmum - Yep thats a goodie thats why i get stroppy if my partner decides to be nice & take it off the line for me cause then not only is it not in order but it isnt folded !!!!!! Yes thats right people i have my line sorted into rooms & persons :p
carlyb - ROFLMAO !!!!!!!!!! Now i know why i miss my labrador !!!! She was good for eating the scraps & i couldve used her for the floor !!!!!!! :p

Oh oh has anyone seen those baby jumpsuits that have like a mop head attached so you can put bubs down let them crawl around then ta-da clean floor !!!
I think its great a little bit of slave labour never hurt any child :p ;) JKS !!!!!

[the_queen]

* I'm with carlyb, when Vallerie was learning to feed herself, I would let the cat in so it could eat the scraps that fell on the floor.... :o
* Also, I bought a heap of those $2 vinyl table cloths, and they would go on the floor under the high chair - take it outside afterwards, hang it on the line and hose it off. Or, if I couldn't be bothered, just chuck it out.
* Once I left Vallerie (age 2) with my 20 yr old sister while I quickly ducked down the shops. It was almost lunch time - I told her "there's a little tin of Oops in the pantry, she'll either have that or a vegemite sandwich." When I got back, my daughter was eating her Oops, COLD, straight out of the tin with a spoon. I gave my sister "The Look", to which she replied "The Wiggles advocate cold spaghetti..... and this way, there's no bowl to wash up!" LOL (ps it's those tins with the peel off lids, not sharp on the edges)
* Every now and then I'll buy a big pack of paper plates from the $2 shop, and we'll use them at lunch time instead of creating more dishes for me to do. (Bad for the environment I know....... but I don't do it every single day....)

[draught]

Even thought my girls are beyond mushy food I still do icecubes of pureed vegies - they make excellent pasta sauces and can be mixed in with tuna or bolognaise to up the vegie content.
I also freeze bolognaise ice cubes - means there is always a dinner in the freezer for those nights when time has got away from me.

I put a woollen matress protector between the sheet and the overall mattress protector so that if there is an accident, only the woollen one needs washing and the other one is there ready to just have a sheet over it for the rest of the night (in case there is another accident or vomit etc) - cuts down on the change time for midnight sheet changes and keeps the mattress clean.

I buy the next years clothes in the end of season sales (saves money and gives me time to plan to make sure there are enough pants, skirts, t-shirt etc as they are growing.)

[willsmum]

If we cook anything that is freezable (is that a word?) we make extra then freeze in meal size packs (pasta, shepherds pie etc) ready to take to work for lunch or for kids lunches.

I also sort and fold washing as I go and have two clothes driers (rack type ones) one for each of the kids so I don't have to sort them out. And grown up clothes can be hung on coathangers then on the line to dry. Saves having to iron an awful lot of things, makes heaps more room on the line, and you just grab the hangers and stick 'em in the wardrobe.

I keep stashes of nappies and wipes at the g-parents house and they also have a stash of spare clothes too for emergencies.

[onabreak]

I use the green Coles enviro bags for some of my daughters toys. She has a bag full in her room and if she wants to play with them I just have to pick it up with the handles and carry it out to the lounge room for her to play with. So much easier than carrying a box plus if the bag gets ripped it's only $1 to buy a new one.

[Shazbutt]

* Once I left Vallerie (age 2) with my 20 yr old sister while I quickly ducked down the shops. It was almost lunch time - I told her "there's a little tin of Oops in the pantry, she'll either have that or a vegemite sandwich." When I got back, my daughter was eating her Oops, COLD, straight out of the tin with a spoon. I gave my sister "The Look", to which she replied "The Wiggles advocate cold spaghetti..... and this way, there's no bowl to wash up!" LOL (ps it's those tins with the peel off lids, not sharp on the edges)

Too Funny! LOL:D That'd be my sister...she's 22.....Though having said that, i don't think i would leave my kids with my sister.....:o she's still so much a kid herself.

[sugar n spice]

I make up 4 bottles of cooled boiled water when i have run when i have one left that way im not running around trying to clean and cool down a hot bottle. So i always have 4 cooled boil bottles of water that way all i need to do is heat and add formuala . + boile water wont go off if i go out like formula would.

[our little treasures]

THESE are really good I have some but have to think, ..... I have very bad mum brain at the moment..lol

[alicesmum]

just remembered another one:

i have trouble getting DD to eat a range of veggies (e.g., carrots, zucchinis and brocolli can be tricky) so i hide them in mashed pumpkin, mashed sweetpotato or mashed potato. aren't i mean!! :p I grate the zucchini or carrot before i cook it and hide it!!!! she loves it!!

i know it's probably an obvious one, but i thought i was pretty clever figuring it out all on my own (i'm really not intuitive in the kitchen!).