Hacks – Bottle Service

Quarantine Activities: How to Keep Your Toddler Occupied for More Than Five minutes

“Silence is golden. Unless you have kids, then… silence is just suspicious.”
LifeCake

Toddlers have a very short attention span. No matter how expensive, or interesting, their new toy may be — it’s unlikely it will captivate them for more than five minutes.

So, unless your activity involves playing with electrical outlets or any other forbidden fruit, finding something to entertain your baby with at length can be difficult.

Nonetheless, when in quarantine, a difficult task that may give you an hour of peace is worth the challenge. And, given how fascinated toddlers are with household items, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep them busy.

The key is to give your toddler access to things they want to play with (but shouldn’t) in a controlled environment.

SENSORY PLAY

Sensory play is a great way to keep your toddler busy, and rice is the cheapest, easiest way to engage in this type of activity.

It’s as simple as emptying some rice into a wide dish, and giving your toddler a plastic spoon to aid their imagination.

A few suggestions: if you have an outdoor patio, you may consider doing it outside. This activity can get messy. Also, the wider and heavier the dish, the less likely your baby is to tip the entire thing upside down.

Lastly, while using a larger item like beans or noodles may seem less messy and easier to contain, it’s important to remember that these could pose more of a choking hazard than small grains of rice.

WATER PLAY

There are few things toddlers love more than splashing in water (when hygiene isn’t involved), and if the weather permits, then this is a great option to keep your kid busy.

A water table is a toy actually designed for this purpose, but they can be costly and impractical in a small outdoor area. For this reason, you may consider using a blow up pool, a baby bath tub, or even a large bucket filled with warm water.

Add a few empty cups to the bucket, maybe a hose, and watch your baby leave you alone for a solid 30 minutes.

BOXES

Babies love cardboard boxes, and if you have some to spare, the possibilities are endless.

Your toddler may enjoy something as simple as hiding in the box; stacking them and knocking them down; using them as tunnels or even just sitting in a box while you slide it across tile.

If you need some inspiration, there are literally whole websites dedicated to the craft of toddler boxing: https://kidscraftroom.com/cardboard-box-activities-art-crafts-kids/

How To Work From Home with A Baby

Being a mom means kids banging on the bathroom door like SWAT, asking for a drink, while you’re in the shower. And Dad is in the kitchen.
@SarcasticMommy4

Working from home with kids is no easy feat– whether you’re completing your schoolwork or attempting to juggle a remote job with parental responsibilities.

While there’s no pause button on your baby, and shushing them is a temporary measure sure to be met with screams, there are certain steps you can take to make the situation a little more bearable.

Establishing a work space is critical to ensuring that you can manage your workload. Attempting to complete your job in your kids playroom, or in bed, makes getting into the work mindset all the more difficult (which can, in turn, hinder your productivity).

Your work space doesn’t have to be an office. You could set up a little desk in your bedroom (see the makeshift standing desk in the image above). You could also designate a section of your dining table, or your kitchen, to being a “work only” zone.

Regardless of where you work, it’s important that you are able to separate being a parent from being a student or employee. By isolating yourself in your corner, you can participate in conference calls, timed quizzes and other critical responsibilities without interruption.

Asserting boundaries once you designate your work space is also key to helping you successfully complete work. Tell your kids, or your partner (or both, preferably not in the same tone) that once you’re “at work” you shouldn’t be interrupted.

You may not be able to complete a full 8 hour shift, because, well, baby is your timekeeper now. However, you should aim to create a schedule that fits your child’s routine. For instance, you may work in 2-hour blocks, then spend the interim hour nursing, playing with or comforting your baby.

Lastly, investing in noise-cancelling headphones is a necessity. There isn’t much explanation needed for this; your baby is loud. This is a fact.

While working from home may seem like an impossible task, it’s overall manageable providing you organize your time well, isolate yourself from your toddler’s terror, and remember to clock out when the day is over.

One of the biggest pitfalls of working from home is that you can’t physically leave your workplace when your shift is up, and you may be tempted to continue working well into the quiet hours of the night.

The general consensus is, if possible, don’t. Turn off your computer and remember to a practice self-care if possible. Work-life balance is a cornerstone of virtually any reputable company or college, and this applies to working from home as well.

Baby Hacks That Don’t Lead To Compromise

“Not all who wander are lost. Some are just moms. In Target. Hiding from their children.”
@jocieopc

Being both a parent and a student can be a juggling act at times, and many parents often feel as though they have to cut corners in order to fulfill both roles. While compromise is at times unavoidable, this isn’t always the case.

There are some cornerstones of parenting that are important to individuals, and while you may have fought a losing battle when it came to naming your baby (one day it won’t sting as much) you shouldn’t have to compromise when it comes to raising your kid. Parenting is, literally, a job as old as time. For this reason, it’s become somewhat of a streamlined position over the years, aided in part by cool, new technology.

Feeding

Feeding is an aspect of parenting that you don’t really consider before you have a baby, but that becomes your main topic of conversation (second to poop, and sleep or lack thereof) moments after birth.

Breastfeeding/bottle feeding/formula feeding is a beast best tackled in a separate post, but the general consensus (one hopes) is that a baby fed by any means is best.

However, to touch on the topic briefly, as a student who may be attending college, the prospect of bottle feeding to match demand may seem daunting.

In an effort to save you lots of time in the future, try to pump (after consulting with your pediatrician; they typically recommend beginning around 3 weeks before you go back to school) as much as you can during your sabbatical in order to create a stockpile.

When baby begins solids, you suddenly have a whole new set of chores to perform. For this reason, many student/parents negate their instinct to make fresh baby food and choose to purchase pre-made food instead.

Purchasing baby food from the store is a valid and often necessary option, however, you shouldn’t compromise on what you would prefer to do because of a lack of time.

Investing in the right equipment is an excellent way to ensure that time is on your side when it comes to feeding baby. Baby blenders, like this Baby Bullet, come equipped with a recipe book, a blender with two attachments, food storage containers and a freezing tray. You can even purchase comprehensive baby food makers, that steam and blend your food at the same time, in an effort to cut back on prepping steps.

To save even more time, you may consider pureeing you baby’s food in bulk, and freezing a batch alongside your refrigerator set. You could also purchase organic, pre-cut fruits and vegetables to use in the recipes. While more expensive than whole produce, this option is still cheaper than buying baby food jars or pouches.

Cloth Diapering

Cloth diapering is a contentious topic. However, if your concern for the environment or your baby’s skin trumps your aversion to sh*t, then don’t let time dissuade you from following through with your decision.

Cloth diapering doesn’t have to be time consuming, and one hack that will save you insurmountable amounts of time is investing in a poop sprayer or purchasing disposable liners (which take away from the environmentalism somewhat, but only slightly).

In a nutshell, attempting to scrape solid crap off a cloth diaper can be very time consuming when compared to simply trashing a diaper. These options will save you precious minutes, and lots of disgust.

Alternatively, you could also participate in a diaper washing service. While more expensive, this is a luxury that you may feel is justified over time.

Screen Time

When final exams become a priority, or assignments become dangerously close to being overdue, many parents turn to the TV or an iPad as a means to placate their children while they study. If this is the easiest and best option for you and your family, then you should by all means choose it.

However, if you are determined to avoid screen time for your kids, but are struggling to find a few peaceful hours to focus on your schoolwork, then you may consider investing in a playpen.

Toddlers and infants can, for a brief period of time, entertain themselves if they have no option but to do so. Containing them to a small space with plenty of toys will provide ample separation and distraction to occupy your child a few times a day, allowing you a little time to (hopefully) get a lot done.