- Know what things might be consistently helpful to you, and make a list. Keep in mind that it will be up to your helpers if they actually do them, but sometimes just having a list of things to do without asking a parent who is trying feed/diaper/snuggle a newborn is all these helpers need to both stay busy and get things done that you will find helpful. -- Most of these things should be non-baby related. Keep in mind WHO you are writing this list for and what types of things they might be interested in doing. Here is an example of our list. We know the majority of our help will be from my mom or my aunt, but my dad will also likely be here some weekends too...
- Load/Unload the dishwasher
- Do a load of baby laundry or towels-- we prefer to do our laundry ourselves.
- Make sure we have the essentials in the pantry/fridge. This should be another list -- maybe on the back of this one.
- Mow the yard
- Pull weeds
- Water the pots on the patio and grass as needed
- Organize incoming mail into bills/urgent and what seems to be junk mail/ads/coupons
- Take out garbage-- leave a list of where garbage can be found throughout the house.
- Iron Hubs' work shirts
- Make sure various diapering/feeding baskets (living room, master bedroom & nursery) are stocked with diapers, wipes, burp cloths, receiving blankets, etc.
- The other tip we were given that it is totally ok to have rules for when visitors come. Our instructor suggested making a cute note and posting it on the door. Sometimes this will be better received if you write the note as if it is coming from the baby (ies). Some suggestions we were given about this note were....
- Let visitors know how long you'd like to keep visits to- 1 hour or less was suggested.
- Place a basket and chair on your porch... ask visitor to remove their shoes and leave them outside- in an effort to both keep germs out and cut down on cleaning for you.
- Leave a bottle of hand sanitizer on the porch also, ask visitors to also wash their hands before coming in.
This may all seem like A LOT, but I'm starting to realize more with each passing day that having all of this in place when the time comes will be SO helpful for everyone involved.
3 comments:
This is a great list! Sounds like you're really getting organized. If I may, I have a few suggestions when I helped out friends of twins...
1) Have a list of recipes (on a printed card or in a binder) which can be easily made by guests. I'd often go over and cook a meal either to be eaten at that time, or later (even frozen for much later). Aunts/Mothers/Sisters/close friends may want to coordinate this.
2) Have a print out for how to work your washer/dryer/dishwasher/lawnmower/vacuum/oven. Some people get very nervous using other people's electronics.
3) If you plan to have a sleep schedule/feed schedule for the twins, make sure it's posted. You don't want to have someone making a lot of racket (mowing the lawn or clanging about in the kitchen) when everyone is trying to sleep. The friends I helped, actually had "quiet hours" of the day. During those times, we all knew that quiet activities were the best.
You're doing a great job!! Keep it up!
I think limiting the length of a visit is a very good idea. After N was born, I figured people would just drop by for short visits, but some people seem completely clueless about this!
These are all awesome ideas!
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