If you’re taking care of your baby full time and you don’t have the luxury of a nanny or babysitter, no matter how much you enjoy the pleasure of rocking your bundle of joy, there will be moments when you will feel like all of your time goes to your child and none of it is left for yourself.

In addition to that, there will also be times when no matter what you seem to do, your baby will be restless the crying turns into wailing and frantic flailing of both their tiny arms and legs. You will know you’re in this stage when they are too young for tantrums, but they aren’t exactly in the sleep-eat-poop-sleep routine anymore either.

1. Be sensitive to their signals – watch out for signs of early restlessness such as slight or soft grunts of discontent, sucking incessantly, more frequent arm and hand movements, etc. you know your baby more than anyone else does so you’ll know whether they will ask for anything anytime soon.

2. Make good use of your time - during periods of quiet and contentment, squeeze in doing items in your to-do list. Offer them distractions like educational shows, mobiles, colorful toys with music or sound, or wear them in a sling. If they are sleepy, put them to sleep first.

Meet basic needs first. After you are sure that you’ve met everything, then can easily be distracted. Take advantage of the calm but still remain alert to early signals (as above) when they will be needing you again soon and you need to pause your activities again.

3. Attend to baby’s needs in the early stages – as previously explained, meet baby’s needs first. Doing so will help prevent their moody periods from escalating to greater intensities later on.

Once they start exhibiting anything, drop off what you’re doing again. Let’s face it, babies under 1 year old really are demanding in the sense that they require our fulltime attention. This is just one of the facts of being full-time mommies.

Caring for a baby full time is no easy task. You need patience, sensitivity, and good time management. It’s okay to feel stressed and tired, remind yourself that this isn’t forever and that babies grow fast.

Cherish this stage along all the highs and lows it brings. This is part of the package, but whenever your baby looks up at you and smiles for meeting their needs, you know none of sacrifice is wasted and that it is all worth it.