Keeping your SANITY

So, if I have learned anything it is 1) I cannot get hardly anything done with a baby around 2) Either he wants what I have or he wants me. So I have figured out some helpful tips for those situations where you can't take a step forward without first taking four to the side and two back.

One of the tricks I have learned is that if I am cooking or reading, or opening mail and he is dying for my attention, I either give him the cardboard box I am cooking from, or a spoon, pot, or anything I am touching in the kitchen that is safe for him to play with. If I am going through the mail I just throw him a cardboard advertisement or the equivalent, paying mind to the fact that he can devour it if he wishes, or just hoard it in his mouth (NOT GOOD).

When I am reading it is quite a bit harder. And to be honest I haven't found a good way to read more then a paragraph or two while he is awake...(even though as I say this I am writing blog and he is happily playing with a chair leg 4 feet away). So I guess you have to choose your moments VERY carefully. However, when you are caught in the usual moments where you can't even begin reading, what I normally do is grab him one of his books, however this doesn't keep him occupied long, because he always seems to want mine more. Anything that you have found that works better when it comes to reading let me know!

Another little trick I tried one day was taking an ice cube and letting him toss it around in the kitchen while I cooked. He would flip it around and chase after it, (I can imagine this would have worked real well when he was still only sitting and not crawling) But he still had fun playing with the ice. One precaution is be careful not to trip or slip on the baby or the ice while you are moving around. You kind of have to keep an extra third eye out.

Mmm and since he has been moving around ALOT more these past couple months, it has been difficult to get his diaper changed. He is always wanting to roll one way or the other, or crawl away. So I have been handing him a diaper, and this keeps him busy. Because HEY! he has the same thing as mommy! I also let him grab on pretty much whatever else he is wanting at that point - even if it is my ipod or cell phone. It lets me change his diaper 50 times faster. Then we just move on to something else.

I don't know about your baby, but mine is usually happy any time I give him a chunk of bread to chew on, or a cantaloupe skin, or some baby puffs. He is an eater, and is most often happy when he is doing just that, eating. He is my big chunker. Sometimes as well, if he is particularly unhappy for no reason at all, he just needs to get outside, go for a stroll and see some different scenery. Great time to walk to the library and get a book you probably wont get a chance to read. :D