[blparent] how to handle a baby while you multi task

[Bernadetta]

Hina,
I know it's tough supervising an exploring baby while trying to manage 
the home and everything else.
Do you have a play pen you can put him in for a few minutes at a time 
when you really need to turn your attention to something else? Put a 
few toys in there with him and he might be able to distract himself 
with those for a little while. I personally hate using confined areas 
like play pens because I believe it stunts a baby's development to a 
certain degree, but I also understand that sometimes the supervising 
adult needs a little time to do something necessary around the home 
too. Also, perhaps you might invest in a baby swing; Those can occupy a 
baby for a while as well. If your baby can sit up fairly well at this 
point, they also have these things called excersaucers. They are little 
bouncy seats where the child is surrounded by various fun toys and can 
use his legs to jump up and down safely in the seat.
A carseat is usually not an advisable option because its not built with 
the intension of putting baby in it comfortably at home. But if that's 
the only option you have, I suppose it will have to do for now.
Remember though, the child needs to have that time on the floor to 
crawl, to explore, to develop both physically and mentally. I have an 
eight month old and he loves nothing more than to play on his quilt on 
the ground.
I have hard wood flors too, and he's learned how to keep his head up 
firmly enough without seriously bumping himself, but I would  never 
leave him unattended, even now, on a hardwood floor without any extra 
layer of protection.
All these safe devices that are designed to confine your baby while you 
multitask are great when you need to use them, but I do advise not to 
use them accessively. You shouldn't leave the baby in any of them for 
an extended period of time because they get frustrated and have less of 
an opportunity to explore, all of which, as I previously said, impacts 
their development negatively.
How about doing some of your housework while the baby is down for a 
nap? I know how tiring it is to come home from work, have to do 
housechores and take care of a baby at teh same time. Sometimes, it's 
very tempting to relax while the baby is napping, but I've found that 
it's less stressful for everyone to get the chores out of the way at 
least a little bit while the baby is sound asleep. Perhaps schedule 
some of the baby's naps for when you think you might need to do some 
other things.
I hope that helps, at least a little.
Bernadetta