I am still at this mom thing, some days are better than others. Not so much today when my toddler managed to paint the entire window seat with finger paint, but she is going all night without a bottle, so there’s that. In life I tend to over think and over complicate everything, including and especially motherhood, I always have. You can read all about that here. There is one thing though that I have done, a mom hack if you will that came about kind of out of necessity, that simplified everything for me. If you need to streamline the busy life that is motherhood, this one mom hack may be the ticket! Simplify the newborn stage through potty training and beyond!
So, do you want to know how I have managed to survive this circus so far? Stations. Stations, stations everywhere. This mom hack came about when I brought home My Sunshine. My little blond mama’s boy nursed constantly 24 hours a day. He was up all night, every night. He pooped after every feeding and would not sleep with soiled diapers in any way and his diapers leaked or had blow outs regularly. If I wasn’t nursing, I was changing diapers and jammies. I literally cat napped in 15-30 minute increments all night for months. I quickly discovered I needed to be stocked and ready for the night for survival, and so the first “station” was born. The nighttime station.
I took a large Easter looking basket with a handle and filled it with essential night time necessities. The first night I put the basket next to our bed and bassinet stocked with diapers, wipes, diaper cream, burp clothes, receiving blankets, gowns, and pacifiers. Oh if that little darling would have only taken a pacifier! I kept them in there to keep my hope alive and send him subliminal messages. For the record, it didn’t work, him taking the pacifiers I mean. But the nighttime “station” I had set up with this basket was a dream. I added to the basket as needed and I loved that everything was in one place and I could easily move these portable stations around.
The nighttime station worked so well that I implemented more stations around the house. I typically nursed in 3 places, the living room, the nursery rocking chair and in my bed. We had long nursing buffets as I referred to them and sometimes I would just hold him to ensure a full nap, one of my favorite things to do as a mom. But I found that I needed a lot during a breastfeeding session so I created the nursing station. For baby, I had blankets, burp clothes, nipple shields and pacifiers (never give up hope ladies) and for me, I had a blanket, water bottle, phone charger, snacks (think trail mix and protein bars) nipple cream and the magic nipple gels. If I sat there for an hour or two, I had everything I needed to stay warm, hydrated, comfortable and not starve to death. It was a miracle, I would have done anything to make things easier for me and creating stations was simple.
Back then the nursery also served as our guest bedroom so I did not have an official changing table. We used the bed, the floor, the couch or any other surface available. So I had changing baskets throughout the house. My portable changing stations had everything you would expect like diapers, diaper cream, wipes, extra onesies, changing pads and toys for distracting him once he got a little older. I have a munchkin in diapers now so we still have the changing stations, only My Wildflower has added books, babies and Care Bears to our supplies!
The stations make things so much easier with kids, that I have utilized them a lot throughout the years. While potty training, we had a potty training station in the bathrooms next to the little potties that housed stickers, skittles, a potty chart and books. When we were teaching him to sleep through the night, we had a bedtime station next to the bed with flash lights, his dog and blanket, tissues and a water bottle. We currently have a learning station for pre-k activities for my 5 year old. You could also have a homework station for your big kids with school supplies and wine for you. I mean snacks, snack for you.
These portable baskets I use as stations are the one mom hack that have simplified my life to streamline every day tasks and make things easier and more effective because mothering is hard. Being up all night with a newborn is exhausting, squeeze in every last second of sleep. Diapering is messy work, especially after chasing down that squealing toddler, you don’t want to have to hunt for supplies too! Think about the crazy in your life, what can you simplify? Now get organized and create your own stations mama!
Find more tips here or enjoy a good laugh!