Dear mommies of little darlings, How do you keep your baby occupied while you cook/do some focussed work? I have an active little 9 monther, and like all babies her age, she is the little explorer, seeking adventure in the nooks and crannies of the house...happily ignoring her toys. She doesn't like sitting in her high chair for more than 5-10min, even with toys, nor sitting in the walker. While I'm managing to somehow do my chores and cooking, I'd love to be able to cook/work for half hour stretches at least for an hour, in the day. When she is awake. I am planning get back to work in a few months, and need to brush up on my skills, and do some background prep. An alternative childcare arrangement is not an option..
@Bubbles- I feel you. From 8- 12 month babies get clingy, face separation anxiety. That is the reason for your DD to follow you to the kitchen. Same story with my DS- when he is awake he wants to see me every single min during his playtime. I arranged my day schedule around his. When he sleeps I get cooking done and when he is awake he just needs to be near me- I sit in the living room while he plays. Keep breakfast/lunch simple. By 11 I would have started to prep for dinner and when my DS takes his second nap- Dinner would be ready. Is your DD on routine ? If she is it helps big time to plan accordingly and prep items. I am going to share my DD and mine routine- 90% of the days this is how our day goes. 10% like last week ( teething trouble) - everything will go haphazard. MY DS Schedule- 5:30AM-6:00AM- Awake in the crib/ talking babbling. 6:00-6:30AM- Wake up and place him in the activity chair 6:30-6:45 AM- First formula feed 6:45AM- 8:00- Activity chair/ rhymes running 9:00-9:30AM- feed solids to DS 9:30AM-11:00AM- 1st naptime 11:00-11:30AM- Second solids lunch 11:30-1:00PM- playtime 1:00-1:30PM- Second formula feed 1:30-3:00PM- Second naptime 3:00-3:30PM- Third solids lunch 3:30-5:00 Playtime. At 4:30Pm he usually gets cranky (sometimes needs extra formula feed) 5:30 PM -bath time prep 5:45PM- 6:00- bath time 6:00-6:30- Third formula feed 6:30-7:00- Storytime along with bedtime My Schedule- 6:30AM- Wake up/ feed the baby 7:00-8:00Am- Coffee time/ Prep for breakfast (hard boiled eggs)/Prep H’s lunch (salad)/ Prep my DS solids. 8:00-9:00AM- Exercise ( missed exercise on no sleep days) 9:30-11:00PM- Finish up breakfast/ prepare for dinner/ one household chore. 11:00-1:00PM- Play with DS 1:30-3:00- Rest if possible or one household chore ( if I didn’t get to do earlier) 3:00-3:30- Feed DS 3:30-5:00- Playtime 5:30-6:00M- Get ready for bath/Bath/ Feeding 6:30-6:45PM- Storytime/ Finally to bed. 7:00-9:00- Dinner/talk/TV time 10:00-My bedtime. I do one household chore during the week- Monday- Change bed sheet/ roomba in bedroom Tuesday- Wash all the towels/kitchen towels/ carpets Wednesday- Keep the bathrooms clean Thursday-Laundry both DS and mine Separately Friday- Kitchen stove/ microwave/ pooja room Sat/Sunday- No household chore. I run Roomba every day between 7-9AM.
keep some utensils, stack of glasses, or idly stand , and one dabba with so many spoons and small items etc in one kitchen cabinet which is far from stove. open it for baby and let baby play with those. You can keep two coffee tables, so she can't come close to stove. Often change items in the cabinet. anything not harming baby and something colorful, even her plate, spoons, sippy cup all can go as her play items for a while.
* small items not too small that kid can swallow, it should be bigger than her mouth. At this age they keep everything in their mouth.