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I used to, I had a sitter that came 4 hours a week. She started when LO was about 5 months old up until he was 19 months.

At first, I asked for help, then I felt guilty about spending the money for it. My husband realized I needed the time and insisted we look for someone (both families are far away, so no family help possible).

I say do it. It will help you, really, even just a few hours.

If i could afford it I definitely would!! If I worked I'd probably have a housecleaner 1x month too.

I wish I could have childcare even just half a day during the week so I could take a break.

There are actually a time I called my mom to come watch DS so I could clean my house lol.

I do! I have a cleaning lady. My grandma wanted me to have her when my LO was born, and when my grandma passed away my mom kept paying for her. But honestly if my mom didn't pay we would, it's so worth it! I don't have time, plus I get really bad migraines so the cleaning chemicals kill my head. She comes every other week.

I personally don't feel like I need any other help. My mom lives close and can take off if I need a babysitter for when I have doctors apts, etc. And when we found out I was pregnant with LO we moved to a house with a fenced in backyard so I can let the dog out easily when needed instead of having to walk him all the time.

I am a SAHM to 3 kiddos, 1 daycare girl, and I am currently 33 weeks pregnant. I do not have help but some days wish I did! I keep a schedule of things I need to complete each day as if I were an employee. For example today Monday on my agenda was to deep clean kitchen, do laundry(this is an everyday thing), and vacuum which I also do daily. I also make sure the house is tidy every day. Keeping a schedule really helps me stay organized and generally I am all done doing everything on my list by 10am then I play with the kids and pick up after them all day because they are messy!

DH works three 12 hour night shifts a week, so he's home a ton. He does dishes on his off days and does tons with the girls. And then is almost completely absent for 60 hours straight. Weekends are rough without a break but I love how much he's home. I would go crazy without him.

I have a Mother's Helper come in about 9 hours a week. It allows me to get housework and errands done faster and more efficiently. When DD 1 starts full-time preschool, she'll still be around to help with DD 2 for a month or so. After that (she's going away to college), we'll probably just find a housekeeper to help out.

I have a 3 y.o. and an almost 5-month-old and no help and no family nearby. My oldest will be in preschool 3x a week in the mornings and then comes home for a nap so I'll get some break soon. July and August has been pretty rough with both kids all the time. But I do really enjoy hanging out with them and I still get some adult interaction with a couple of my friends who are also SAHMs. Our house is generally pretty clean as my husband helps out with vacuuming, sweeping/swiffering, and doing the dishes. Without his help our house would be a disaster.

When I had #2 I was desperately trying to find a part-time nanny but found that I haven't needed one. The key is to plan out your day the night before and have everything prepared if you're going out. That way, there's less of a mad dash out of the house to make appointments or lunch or play dates.

Would I love to have help, yes! But for now I feel like I'm able to juggle it all. And it helps that my youngest isn't nursing 1.5 - 2 hours anymore. It's more like 3-5 hours now. Whew! Makes a huge difference!

I'm a SAHM but DH is in medical school which means that even when he's home, he's up in his office studying, so I am ON, so to speak, all the time. We ended up getting a housekeeper that comes once a week because between taking care of LO, laundry, cooking, etc something had to give and that ended up being the house. When LO no.2 comes we might get a little more help for the first couple of months as well.

I wish! If we had room for it in the budget I would definitely have a cleaning lady come through once a week. Housework has definitely fallen behind since DS was born...especially on days like today when he won't nap and screams bloody murder if he isn't in my arms.

I think it gets more complicated when the babies become toddlers, quite honestly. Last year, it would have been no issue to bring my stroller into the hair salon while I got a cut. This year, there's no way my son would even entertain sitting in his stroller that long.

We're getting ready to move, and I have to deal with the packing, which is quite a racket and can't be done during naptime, so we're going to have to find a sitter to take my son out while we're doing the heavy duty packing.

I was a SAHM for the first 18 months, and I went absolutely insane. You've hit the nail on the head-- I was snappy and always on edge, and on bad days I had regular breakdowns. We have no family nearby so no chance of any free help. At 18 months we sent Wagon Jr. to daycare 3 days a week and I worked those 3 days. I eventually ended up sending him all 5 days after the first 2 weeks, and having those 2 days a week all to myself. I took them as a reward for doing it without help the first 18 months!

I eventually upped my work schedule to 4 days a week, and when I got pregnant with Lil Miss Wagon, I hired a cleaning crew to come once a month. Oh, and through all of this I almost never cooked. Once a week, or twice a week at the very most.

No help! I just have one LO and keep a pretty clean house. Cleanliness and organization are important to my DH, so I try to keep the house perfect and he keeps both yards pristine. Oh, and I cook three meals a day and pack his lunches! Phew!

I am not going to say it is easy because my LO NEVER (ever ever) sleeps longer than 40 minutes. Sometimes she will be awake for five hours straight. It definitely is exhausting. Hope she will learn to nap soon!

We've been managing the baby, housework and work ourselves OK for the first bit. But some days it's chaotic and messy. Those days make me crazy. It's not fun to chase the baby until she goes to bed and then spend your after-bedtime hours folding laundry and doing dishes. My husband has been reliably pitching in with the dishes since we got into a bit of a fight a few weeks ago (clearly I won), but most days it's still insane. When we're both back in the office and baby is in daycare, we will likely pay his sister to come once a week and clean for us. I can't keep up, and when we're both working 40 hours a week from the office (as opposed to from home, like we are now), I don't want to spend the few hours we'll have at night cleaning. Not every night, anyhow

Don't feel bad. I'm glad to hear there are lots mothers who have help!