My new little one likes me (she really likes me), and she is our last baby. As a result, I spend much of the day carrying her around in one arm while attempting to do all of the things I have to do to keep our household running with the other. For the last three months, I’ve been keeping track of which things I manage to do with one hand and which ones have to wait for two-handed times. Here’s a short list of things I can (and can’t) do while holding my baby.
Things I Can Do

Thanks to my smart phone, some things are pretty easy to do while nursing or holding a sleeping baby, like ordering groceries, replying to emails, and even loading the dishwasher. I can also update family on the East Coast about how we are doing (aka, post cute baby pictures to Facebook), brush my hair, and (usually) go to the bathroom with babe-in-arms. Honestly, much of what I do is make lists of what I will do when she’s content to be set down or held by someone else. I’ve also figured out how to hand-wash dishes, vacuum, and start a load of laundry with her on my hip, though these activities are so much slower that I usually put them off.
Things I Can’t Do
I’ve also discovered a few things I just cannot do without setting her down, including folding laundry, dressing myself, opening mail, putting my hair in a ponytail, fastening a necklace, or putting on earrings that have backs. That’s in addition to the obvious two-handed activities like driving, cooking, and bringing in heavy boxes from Amazon (because online shopping is so much easier than taking a wailing baby to the store).

It’s not that I can’t put her down, but I never know how long she’ll be happy in her swing or playing on the floor. I don’t know about you, but I find it really hard to do anything of substance while trying to tune out the sound of a crying baby.
So for now, I’ll just snuggle my baby and do what I can with one hand. As I know from watching her big sister grow, this won’t last forever. Before I know it, she’ll be squirming and begging me to put her down.
P.S. Apparently, I can also write blog posts with one hand, as I discovered while typing this in the notes section of my phone. Go me!
It’s nice to see you are able to write now, on top of all of the other things you are doing 🙂
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