Soror Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I'm considering trying to hire some kind of help to make our days go more smoothly but I'm trying to think what will be the best use of money. As it is I'm often tired from sleep deprivation and end up often schooling while holding a fussy baby. I'm thinking of perhaps seeing if a local teen hs'er would be a mother's helper, so I could perhaps have a few hrs a few days a week or such that I didn't have to multi-task and we all could focus with at least a bit of quiet. I'm also considering maybe trading w/ a local mom to see if I could watch hers and she could watch on opposite days or such. What are your thoughts? Of course the idea of having my house cleaned is nice but that is a much easier task to do w/ a baby then trying to teach. I can keep the house clean enough right now. I'd be nice to be cleaner but I'm really ok with the standards I am keeping. However, I'd really love to bring our level of hs'ing up, it seems there is only so much to do while simultaneously entertaining a baby as well, who I am having difficulty with keeping asleep for naps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I don't know how old your baby is, but I've heard that some postpartum doulas will stay over for a night and handle baby care so you can get a decent night's sleep. If the sleep deprivation is really starting to take a toll, you could look into something like that. It's amazing how much harder everything is when you're exhausted. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I hired a homeschooled teen to come over twice a week for 2 hours each time to play with my 4th child from the time he was 18 mo until age 3. We did school during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 The baby is 7 months now. My level of sleep deprivation is generally at the livable level, although it seems I am on the edge quite often from one reason or another, not too long ago it was cutting teeth and then there are growth spurts and such and when you get *just* enough sleep it doesn't take much to knock you down and she still nurses at night so help at night wouldn't be worth much. Once they night wean they are dh's to deal with, I don't get up with any other children, otherwise I might have already jumped off a bridge :) Come to think of it I don't know if a teen would be able to handle her. I had a girlfriend watch her for a meeting the other night. I was in the same building and within 30 minutes she bumped her head (crawling) and wouldn't be consoled until I got up there, she immediately calmed when she seen me though and was perfectly fine w/in 5 minutes. Of course if I had someone here and that happened it wouldn't be that big a deal, unless it was a regular occurrence in which case I'd be paying for nothing. Sigh. I guess it doesn't hurt to try though. I really need a better schedule but so far that has eluded us as it seems to be constantly evolving. Now, I wonder what would be appropriate pay. Maybe I could have her play w/ the 3yo and baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I think a teen to watch the 9, 6 and 3yos while YOU nap with the baby would be just the ticket! If not, then playing with the 3yo and baby while you get some focused time with the two orders would probably be nice. But I really think you should hold out for the nap....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weederberries Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 We had a local teen come help when my youngest was 3. I planned little activities (lacing cards, counting games, books to read, etc) so he felt like he was doing school while I gave my full attention to the other two kids in the school room. I definitely think a teen who could come entertain the baby would be money well-spent. Perhaps 2 days a week just with the baby and 3 year old and one day a week all of the children so you get a nap. Over the summer, we have a teen coming to play with the kids two days a week. She even helps me during school hours, but I have the rest of the day to myself to run errands or accomplish some of the tasks on my endless home-project list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Having a mother's helper for the 3 year old and baby would be my vote. I used to pay a middle schooler $10 to come over from 2:30-5 and play with my toddler and it was great. It was before I was homeschooling and I tried to get paid work done then, but even if I just paid bills or made phone calls, it was stuff I couldn't count on him napping through. I'd love a cleaning lady, but the money goes a lot farther when it's a 13 year old tossing balls to a little guy in the backyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2TheTeam Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I'd love to find a teen HS'er to be a mother's helper. I have 6 who are 7 and under. I'd love to be able to have someone play with the twin 3 year olds and my 8 month old while I did school with the olders. My husband and I have talked about it several times. I just don't know where to find someone and I don't really want to spend the money....but it would definitely help. Here is what I want to do...I want them to come from 10am - 1pm. They can occupy the kids from 10 - 12, then from 12 - 1 while I feed the kids lunch, they could fold my laundry and do light house work, like vacuum. I had someone do this several years ago before I was HS'ing. It was awesome then. The best of both worlds. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 I'm listening and contemplating. If I could figure out a routine at least it would be great right now I guess I don't even know what time I'd want help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2TheTeam Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 You need to figure out a time when baby is generally not sleeping and it is often mayhem. That is the best time to have help. It's not all that helpful to have help when the baby is sleeping or when you are usually not schooling anyway, if doing school is the goal. You want your help to be worth it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 When is it not mayhem :) That is the problem we are working on adjusting the schedule so it is in flux right now. I prefer to get up early but in pregnancy and right after that was impossible. Now, we are shifting earlier but we haven't got settled yet. I'm hoping to get some practice w/ summer school to maybe figure this out. Also, dh generally gets off early (3:00) so if it is really bad I can nap when he gets home but it looks like his schedule is going to get much busier this summer and fall. Hmm, I need to write it out and try to see what is doable. Right now we are doing a really light load for summer so I need to figure out how much time everything will take when we start in earnest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2TheTeam Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 When is it not mayhem :) That is the problem we are working on adjusting the schedule so it is in flux right now. I prefer to get up early but in pregnancy and right after that was impossible. Now, we are shifting earlier but we haven't got settled yet. I'm hoping to get some practice w/ summer school to maybe figure this out. Also, dh generally gets off early (3:00) so if it is really bad I can nap when he gets home but it looks like his schedule is going to get much busier this summer and fall. Hmm, I need to write it out and try to see what is doable. Right now we are doing a really light load for summer so I need to figure out how much time everything will take when we start in earnest. I have 6 kids all 7 and under, including a 7 year old, twin 5 year olds, twins who are 3 and my youngest who is 8 months. Believe me, I get the constant mayhem and sleep deprivation! We had the same problem with the time shift from getting up earlier to later after the baby ws born. It's an on-going issue here though because I'm not a morning person. What I had to do recently was start waking the kids up at 8am no matter what time they went to bed even if they were going to be tired. That way, they would be able to go to bed earlier that night and get up earlier the next day. It wasn't easy for me, but the kids took to it well. It definitely helped. I'm planning to start getting them up even earlier when the days start to get shorter (so a few months from now ;)). Even though I'm not a morning person, we do better when the day gets going earlier. I'm trying to adjust even though my body is fighting it. :glare: The other thing I'd suggest is if baby isn't on a regular napping schedule yet, I would work on that. If baby isn't getting good consistent daytime sleep, it will affect his mood....causing fussing. I often school while holding or nursing the baby. I don't like it. It's just the way it is. And, of course, there are definitely days and weeks where I feel like I just can't handle it. It might be the kids are acting up, I'm exhausted, or my hormones are getting the best of me. I just have to keep plugging. We do school year round so we can be more relaxed and allow for getting derailed often by both children and my mood (because of lack of sleep or hormones or whatever). We have 12 months to get done what usually takes 9. It helps a lot not to be on a tight schedule. But, we still try to stick to our schedule. You'll get in a rhythm and routine. It just takes time to adjust to the needs of a new baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 I am a morning person but it takes a bit to adjust. Right when the baby was born I wasn't up until 7-7:30 and then sending the kids to watch tv, which I hate, but I was trying to cope. In the last few months we've moved to a schedule of the kids waking from 7-8am and me waking from 5:30-6am. However, since trying to get them to bed earlier now they are waking up at 6 and I am awake around 4 or so nursing and up about 5. I had hoped when we moved the bedtime earlier they would sleep more but that isn't working. So, I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it. However, perhaps it will make naptime easier as that has not been going good for the 3yo (as a previous post mentioned). Naps were (usually) decent for the baby until she started crawling and stopped liking the swing. I can get her to sleep but these days I cannot keep her asleep for anything. I have the best luck with the kids pushing her around in the walker until she falls asleep. I know if I can get the sleep figured out it will be a big help. I need to stick w/ the earlier bedtime first. I do think it works much better for us. I like to be done by lunch and if we don't get up at a decent time we don't have enough time to get everything done. We usually do year round as well. We've already started some of our new programs to make our transition easier and lessen what we will need to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I would definately try to find help with the baby....I have a girlfriend that comes over and helps me with cleaning house/organizing house and some housework (laundry-etc) and I pay her a little of course....and sometimes we "trade" sitting when that's needed (I watch her daughter-she watches grandpa and my son).... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airforcefamily Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I've done both house cleaning and a babysitter. The babysitter worked out a lot better. After several months she decided to focus on extracurricular activities and was no longer able to babysit and I haven't found anyone else. Having a maid was ok but really was a pain sometimes. She charged nearly three times what the babysitter did and I had to have everything cleaned up before she got there then figure out how to entertain all the kids while following them around picking up every single little thing so the maid could clean. Picking up is the time consuming part anyway and after awhile I got to the point where I didn't know why I was going to all that hassle to pay someone when I had to do all the hard work and do it on their schedule anyway. For example, I had to take everything off the counter and off the floor of the bathroom before she would clean it. I'm not someone who thinks bathtubs need to be scrubbed down weekly and she wasn't willing to change her standard routine so I was spending ten minutes putting everything in a box, taking the box to the closet, then bringing it back out after she left plus paying around $10 for the time she spent cleaning the bathroom. All in exchange for having an already clean tub re scrubbed, the floor quickly mopped, and the cleared counters, sink, and toilet wiped down. For the same amount of money I could pay someone to watch the kids for over an hour, spend 15 minutes getting the bathroom up to my standards, then have lots of time left to clean other things, do schoolwork with the older kids, or relax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtney_Ostaff Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 I hired a early childhood education college student to come and play with my then-18-month-old for two hours a day, twice a week, so I could get some work done at home. (I work at home.) Sometimes I didn't work, I just napped, and it was bliss. I paid $10/hr, and it was worth every penny. Separation wasn't so much an issue, because I was in the house, just working. Sometimes I'd even work in the same room. I don't do this now (she's 5), because she's better at entertaining herself for hours on end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 You know...I had a postpartum doula business, and I homeschool, and I'm going to be out of a "job" (homeschooling job, LOL) sooner or later... I wonder if there are moms around here who might hire someone like me? HMMMM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Well, I've been thinking more and I believe I will approach my mom about coming over every other week to help one day and the same w/ the inlaws, so that would get me 1 day a week. I need to talk to the hs mom who lives close by to see if perhaps her daughter would be interested in helping a day as well. However, in the meantime I'm working on tweaking the schedule here to see how manageable I can make it. It is actually working out ok to have the girls up early (6am) because then they will nap. So, this week I worked on cleaning early and starting our day early. I think it will be good if I work w/ the girls first and then w/ ds. I was also thinking if we continue on this schedule and they nap I could do some of our one on one subjects in the afternoon while they are napping. Ds can do some math on his own. Generally he does a bit of some type of practice on his own and then I introduce any new concepts as needed. Grammar, spelling, writing and latin are one on one subjects. We are doing writing and spelling now in the am, neither of those take too much time. Both ds and dd are working on penmanship together, so that simplifies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I am hiring a teenager a few hours per week this summer. She is leading the kids as they do some big cleaning projects, and keeping them entertained while I get some prep done for next year's school. They have cleaned out all of their toys, washed windows, etc... The kids enjoy working with her and she is having fun too, I think. She was here the day my kids had their last minute prep to do for their science fair and she saved.the.day! She rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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