For the stay at home mums who are responsible for their kiddos for the whole day, how do you do it? What are some tips for maintaining your energy and sanity while looking after your kids the whole day, day after day?
For reference I have a 10 month old and a 2 year old and my husband works 12 hour days. I’ve had help from family so far but now I’ll mostly be by myself.
How do you limit or avoid physical and mental exhaustion?
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Your baby's are young so I definitely understand. I'm like if a lazy parent when I get too tired I lock the babiee in the room with me put the baby in the pack and play and have the two year old on the bed with me and put on miss Rachel so I can take a quick nap. I have the pack and play right next to my bed. My kids usually know never to touch the baby but my second youngest is four not two so I'm not sure how that would work for you. But literally naps. Try and lay them down for naps as much as you can. And have them go to bed everyday at the same time that way you have a little time for yourself.

Activities. Your going to library time, there doing swim, your trying out new park and I don't care how tired the husband is, when he is home he gets those babies. Butt changes, entertaining, and you get a brake to do you.

Remember to eat and drink. We put ourselves last so often, the least we can do is fuel our bodies so we aren’t running on empty. When I do remember to eat and drink enough, I find I have more energy for the even little things like keeping a conversation going with my daughter mid play or to get the cleaning done around nap time. It also keeps me sane to get outside every day and as often as I can. Less mess indoors = less time trying to catch up with housework at wake times. I only have 1 though so idk if that’s practical for you.

Set up a routine for your week that allows you out of the house and clean as you go. It is better to pick up a small mess than letting it get bigger. It can get lonely after a while so during those days find an outing for you and find other moms to be with.
My husband works the same hours, plus Saturdays, and I more or less have a routine to on the daily to make sure that the kids are entertained as well as myself. Yes my husband helps out as much as he can, but realistically I don't get expect him to do much but just love on our kids because they and he need that. He only gets maybe 2-3 hours to create memories with them before bed, and by the time he gets home I will have everything taken care of.

I mostly just get physical and mentally exhausted 😂

I’m on the same boat… I have a 9 month old boy and a (almost) 2.5 year toddler.
I try to give them as much time outdoor as possible.
As of right now they usually wake up by 7 am so normally we get up, play in the backyard for about 2-3 hours, have breakfast and then go back outdoors for another hour or two before the sun gets unbearable.
Then we come back inside for some arts and rafts and do that for another 2 hours.
We do some light cleaning and they both “help”.
If the weather allows it we either go to the park after that or run errands and by the time we’re done, dad is finally out of work, so we come home and we just chill as a family.
I normally reserve the real cleaning for after they’re asleep and try to be as present as possible.
It’s exhausting but I’ve noticed that not worrying about trying to keep everything tidy in daytime has reduced mental exhaustion as well as it allows me to be more involved with them.

That’s not say I just let them roam wild and if there’s a spill or a mess, I do (of course) pick it up.
I’ve also started taking supplements like Vitamin B, Zinc and Calcium along with my Postnatal and that has also helped.
-sorry for the long thread. Hope it helps 🐣