All The Info, All In One Place

I have the great honor of helping my baby sister with her new baby this morning. I just put BOTH of them down for a nap, got the laundry going, and now it's time for me to get some work done.

I noticed that the first item on my sister's shopping list (ready for sending her husband to the store the moment he arrives home) is a notebook.

Pre-baby, she didn't really need one. Work was always regular hours, she had Outlook at the office, and her cell phone for any other reminders. Plenty of free time at home meant that she had time to check the pantry and fridge to make grocery lists lists, no need to arrange childcare for workouts, and a spotlessly clean house.

Now, with a half week old baby, notes have become a necessity.

And keeping track of those notes is where the notebook comes in. I use a planner, but it is the same theory.

There is a place to note feedings and changings and when the baby last got a bath. (That all seems simple, until you add in the complete lack of sleep, recovery from delivery, and rotating caregivers helping out who don't know what has already been done.) There is a place to note doctor's appointments and medications and schedules of who is helping out when. There's a place to list immediate shopping needs, like more picture frames or foods that can be eaten without requiring cooking or dirty dishes. (Picture frames don't seem important until pictures are cluttering up all your surfaces and getting spilled on.)

Of course, it's not only moms of newborns who need a place for information and planning. My school aged kids have karate, playdates, school holidays, and other activities. I'm also a writer, substitute teacher, and an attorney. We are busy.

I could do lists all over the house. But they get lost and scattered.

Having one place for everything (planner, notebook, Evernote - whatever works for you) is a lifesaver.

Etcetera.