DD is 7.5months and I stay home with her. We recently moved to a new country and closest family is 3 hours away. We don't know anyone else. And tbh, we are both sooo bored. I don't know other moms or anything and the mom/baby stuff is either during naptime or quite cliquey.
So I was wondering - if you're a sahp, what do you do with your kiddo all day? I need ideas cos mostly we end up sitting inside playing on her mat for hours on end and by the time DH gets home, we're both so over it. help!
squash / 13764 posts
Our daily schedule, LO is 19 months:
wake up around 6:30
breakfast around 7
play at home til 830
go outside (go to the park, grocery shopping, errands, playdates, classes) until 1030
quiet play til 11
nap from 11-1ish
lunch
go outside around 2--park, or grocery shopping if we didn't do it earlier, sometimes a playdate or a class.
dinner between 5:30 and 6
bath at 6:30
bed at 7!
This is all contingent on having nice weather, lol. On rainy days, time drags a lot slower, and we go to a museum or Barnes & Nobles.
I would get outside as much as possible! And try to meet other moms--try meetup.com or chat someone up at the playground, maybe there are drop in classes you can try out?
persimmon / 1355 posts
Mom friends will change your life. Seriously. We have play dates several times a week, and I'm so much happier now. Most of my friends are in a mothers club, but I have also met a number of moms at parks. Other things will do include: walks (sometimes I run) reading, baby pool, music class, errands (dd loves people watching), singing, going to the park, etc.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
We go on an outing every single day or else i go insane. So before morning nap we just play with toys and eat breakfast. Between naps we go to the grocery store or the park or for a walk or clothes shopping. And I only go for one thing a day so that there is always something to do the next day. Then after afternoon nap we do chores together while we wait for Dh to come home. Dishes, supper prep, folding laundry, dusting. I think you have to break up your day to keep from being bored.
apricot / 347 posts
@hilsy85: thanks for your schedule - that helps! I take her to the park sometimes but she's only 7months so we spend 30mins there and then it's kind of boring haha. we live in a really small town so no drop in classes and nothing on meetup. argh!
@Zbug: I want mom friends! how do you meet moms at parks? i'm seriously lacking in the just-go-up-to-people department
@Grace: how do you make those activities last so long?! if we go to the park or to the shops, it takes us like 30mins and then we're back home. eh.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
@imbali: lol - maybe I'm just inefficient? If P gets up at 11:30, I nurse, diaper change and procrastinate a bit. That gets us out of the house by 12. Then drive 10 min, check out stuff for 40 min. There has been a lot of plant shopping lately, so I look at all the plants and roam around a bit. Then 10 min to get home. Now it's 1. Then unpack, check out the buys, let P play for a few min. Then make lunch. That probably takes 20 min. Then eat lunch, which is another 20 min. That leaves 35 min to play before getting ready for nap at 2:15. In bed at 2:30. Honestly, maybe I'm just slow.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
Our sched:
8:00- dd wakes up .. I give her a bottle, breakfast, get her dressed ...by now it's usually 9:00. We go down to her playroom and play until about 9:30. Then we go to her room, read books, and I put her down at 9:45.
11:00 - she wakes up, I give her another bottle and then we head out for some sort of outing...either library, grocery store , beach, strollercize, baby group.... SOMETHING. It doesn't really matter what , I just need to get out of the house every day lol
12:30 - we head home , I give her lunch, and then we play outside or in her playroom again depending on the weather.
1:30- I put her down for nap 2 and I collapse on the couch, ha.
3:30 - she wakes up, I give her another bottle and we head outside for our daily walk
4:30... I usually put her in the jumperoo while I get supper ready. Dh is home by 5:00 and I am happy to have someone else entertain her 
I will say, as she gets older, it gets easier to interact and pass the time!! Some days are longer than others, especially days where it's rainy or we don't leave the house. Those days seem like they will never end.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
@imbali: when they are small, it is definitely harder - they aren't interactive enough to be involved for the stretching of time. I would bring a blanket to the park and just hang out there for as long as is comfortable. Scope out the other people there and do anything you can to work up the courage to strike up a conversation with another mom of a baby. Also, check out any local ex-pat groups - maybe it could be a place to find other moms. You could also linger any place you think other moms would shop (baby aisle at grocery, etc). Stroll through store naming items to baby and take your time with everything. Good luck!!
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
Daily routine for my 14 month old. It's been similar since about 9 months or so when she went to two naps.
Wake up
Breakfast
Clean up / independent play
Indoor play or run (with the stroller)
Nap (now at about 3 hours after wake, slowly moving later, used to be 90 minutes)
Snack
Out of the house: Weekly schedule is usually something like this:
--Monday: groceries
-- Tuesday: trip to local farm (they have a kids' barn)
--Wednesday: story time
--Thursday: music at library
--Friday: parent/child class
We come home for lunch, and then play inside until nap
After nap we have snack, and then go outside, either to the playground or just in the yard, and most days we also walk to our community garden where I get in about 15 minutes of weeding while she digs in the dirt.
Come home to get dinner ready
Dinner at 5:45 or 6
Bath, play and clean up. Bed by 7 at the latest.
I try to get out daily, as others have mentioned. There are a lot of free activities in our area, and I force myself to go even though I'm sometimes uncomfortable. We've paid for the parent/child class since she was 5 months old and it's been so worth it. Not only is it just a great learning experience for me, we've met a group of kids/caretakers through it and we get together with them sometimes multiple times a week. It offers a lot of opportunity for socializing for both me and her! We also used to take a baby yoga class, and met some people there.
Exercising daily helps my energy, and she enjoys the stroller ride. It's kind of a break for me, too because she just enjoys looking around.
persimmon / 1355 posts
@imbali: I'm totally that weirdo who just starts chatting with strangers. Usually, most women I meet are also bored and looking for some adult conversation
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
My LO is nearly 8 months so the same age & I work part-time so I am home with her all day Tues/Thurs/Sat/Sun. DH works on the weekends a lot. I feel like the days go by really fast without doing much!
I will say that before I started working 3 days a week I was a little bored but I find it very hard to go do activities while she is on 2 naps because the times just do not line up great.
Also she takes two 2 hr naps, sometimes longer so that keeps us stuck at home a bit more than others with babies that are awake more.
Typical day:
-7am wakeup, bring her to my room & chat & play with the dog
-7:15/7:30 nurse
-7:45 breakfast (this takes a while because she explores different foods)
- 8:15/8:30 we might play with toys or go outside
- 9-11 nap
- 11 she usually plays in her crib for at least 15 min after waking up so I leave her til she fusses
- 11:30 nurse
- 11:45 get dressed & do her hair (hair takes a while because it's very curly & long for her age)
-12 we might run an errand or meet Daddy for lunch, otherwise we play with toys & go on a walk
- 2:30 nap
- 4:30 wakeup & plays in her crib
- 5 nurse
- 5:30 dinner
- 6 if Daddy is home they hang out
- 7 bath
- 7:30 bedtime
honeydew / 7687 posts
@daniellemybelle: two 2 hours naps? I would've LOVED to be stuck at home with that problem, ha!
@imbali: I didn't see you mention the library? We spent a lot of time there when he was that age, and it's a great place to meet other Moms!
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
@scg00387: Ha, I do definitely enjoy that she is a good napper! It may be a little lazy of me too that I let her play in her crib for 15 minutes or so after each nap but she's happy so I don't bother her. So overall she spends more time in bed during the day than other babies her age. She is still up twice during the night though so I feel like I would trade STTN for slightly shorter naps!
apricot / 347 posts
@Grace: oh no, you're not slow or inefficient! you drive and probably don't live in a one horse town where the horse is dead 
i live about 5 steps from the shopping street with five shops on it, so that's why my errands are so ridiculously quick i think.
@Charm54: thanks for adding your schedule! I think you're right about getting older and more interactive. Also, my R wakes up at 5 and DH is only home at 6/6 30 so there are a few more hours to fill 
eh. i'm still amazed that your outings can take an hour and a half! so jealous
@Mrs. Confetti: thank you so much for your post - it's nice to hear that it may be an age thing that'll get better as she becomes more interactive. those are great suggestions to try!
@Silva: thank you also for adding your schedule. how do you make Wake up, Breakfast, Clean up / independent play, Indoor play or run last THREE hours?? I need your tricks! I try to go to mom and baby classes here but I live in a v small town so there are only one or two really and the same moms go to them...moms who have grown up in this town together and all know each other. so kind of difficult to get an in! yoga is a good idea though, i'll have to look for that
@Zbug: haha not a weirdo - i need to man up or meet a brave mom 
@daniellemybelle: two times two hour naps = heaven omg. That's also difficult for me, I have a LOT of awake time with my R so it's a lot of time to fill. Your day looks so good - I wish I knew how you made playing with toys and a walk last 2.5 hours, that's amazing 
so awesome. I'm glad that your time with her flies by.
@scg00387: one of the two mom/baby things is at the library, so we do go one day a week! maybe we should try hang out there more often, although I worry my R will destroy the books 
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
@imbali: she nurses in bed with me for about 20 minutes. She likes to snuggle in the mornings. Then diaper change. Then I make breakfast and coffee. Sometimes she needs her banana while I do this, sometimes she can wait. We eat together. Then I do the dishes (usually this includes dinner dishes because I'm exhausted) and start any laundry. Also do a quick sweep. She plays by herself while I'm doing this. If it's nice, I then get us both dressed, and we go for a 3 mile walk or run.
When all is said and done it's between 2.5 and 3 hours
clementine / 927 posts
@imbali: I am a new mom to a four month old ... so not a whole lot of experience to share! I am typically an indoor girl, but for some reason baby and I have been spending a significant part of each day outdoors. We go for walks to the nearby park, or just walk around the yard inspecting our garden and hedges. Sometimes we just sit on the grass with books and toys.
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