Just a reminder that we have a [Monthly Community Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/barrie/about/sticky) where we relax the rules about advertising and off-topic posts.
* Stuff that isn't directly related to Barrie, like national news or general chit-chat
* Questions about local businesses and services
* Classified-style ads: buying and selling, help wanted, garage sales, etc
* Fundraisers and donation drives
* Plugs for your personal project or local business (within reason)"
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/barrie) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You are drowning bc you have a newborn. You will get through this. You will learn that crying means they are breathing. I bet you are doing amazing! But it doesn’t feel like it. Overwhelmed for sure. Know it’s normal. If you have money to spare, bring in a personal cleaner/helper like the one that posted already. Not a company, they are too strict. Tell her what you specifically want her to take off your plate. You want someone who will pick up the grocery order ready at Walmart, or do a couple loads of laundry. But honestly, you got this. It’s okay. What you feel is normal.
Btw for Walmart one can also opt for home delivery. You can get Walmart’s membership for $98 annually and all deliveries will be free. Completely worth it and cheaper than asking a hourly helper to pick up from Walmart.
Very true Walmart delivery can be great. Read my history where I give $10-20 cash tip and was destroyed at how “cheap I am”. I cancelled Walmart delivery. Now the drivers get nothing extra from me.
Have you thought of hiring a doula? Many of them do postpartum care. I know of one specially who does postpartum care and she's in the Barrie area.
They can do things like help with chores, watch the baby while the parents nap, spend time with the mom for emotional support, help with breastfeeding, and so many other things.
Honestly I hired a doula for my second and was underwhelmed for how much it cost.
Do you have friends and family that can offer support? This would be ideal, but not always possible.
A house cleaner once a week might help if you have the means.
I have a 7 month old and a 3 year old and let me tell you, it’s rough man. But… you do find your groove… sorta of.
Honestly, right now I would focus on mental health for you and your partner. Can you find some time for both of you to get a break, take care of yourselves etc?
Anyway… I feel like I could write a novel here and I feel a bit like I’m babbling.
But make sure momma is doing ok and stick together. The first three months are rough.
When I had my second child when my first was only 18 months old, I found a neighbourhood highschool girl to come in and help in any way, like sometimes it was to watch the baby in the kitchen while I snoozed or did laundry etc…. This was in the late 90s
You can also reach out to people you know with teenagers who could be looking for some cash for a few hours work. We do that now as we have two kids. A couple hours a week goes a long way !
Are you looking for a nanny, or a cleaning person? I have a rec for a great cleaner (we use her for our office, but a couple people now using her in their homes) but she won’t watch your kid
Honestly looking for someone with a little more flexibility than a dedicated cleaner. Not a nanny, but someone who’s able to do some kitchen prep work (not necessarily cook), laundry, and odd tasks around the house.
You can try contacting My Only Sunshine Laundrette. They have a wash-and-fold service where you can drop off dirty laundry and pick it up later that day or the next. The guy who owns it is very nice and the prices are reasonable by laundromat standards. Don't bother putting the clean stuff away, just keep it neatly folded in laundry baskets. You could even have separate baskets for you, your wife and the baby.
To help keep the kitchen clean, I recommend using paper plates, bowls, etc and plastic utensils. There are compostable kinds that you can put in the green bin instead of the trash. Have simple or pre-made meals that don't require a lot of cooking or clean-up.
You can also get toilet bowl cleaner pucks that go in the toilet tank and release cleanser with each flush so toilets do not need to be scrubbed as often.
Buy a bunch of containers of Lysol wipes and put them in strategic locations around the house so they are always within easy reach. You can use them to clean just about everything and it's much easier to clean up as you go. You can also take a few seconds every morning to wipe down the bathroom sink, counter and shower after you finish getting ready so grime doesn't have a chance to build up
You can hire a cleaner. If you search the group for cleaner recommendations you'll probably find some good ones.
You can look at some premade meal options like Factor or a less fancy option like [RVH meals to go](https://www.rvh.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MealsToGo-withIcons.pdf). Saves time shopping for groceries, cooking and cleaning. Really good for overwhelming days.
You can save some time going out with using grocery delivery, I like to use Voila because they run like a genuine delivery company, no tips expected, they have refrigerated vans, delivery is in the time window you select, don't have to worry about the shopper finding your items (everything I order comes and only once in two years was there a substitution) and don't have to be on standby for the shopper. Worth it to save the headache of hit and miss of instacart or doordash shoppers.
If you need more help, there's always nanny services. Some only deal with kids, others will do some housework. You'll need to discuss what you want before hiring one.
You can't post threads like this on Reddit you're about to be flooded with scammers, and etc desperate people.
Try hiring someone as a maid service, and only use word of mouth not Reddit.
I remember the idea that I couldn’t just do what I wanted or needed to do when I had a new baby was such a hard thing for me to learn and the sooner you lean right into it, the better everyone will feel. It’s supposed to be like this. Baby is priority - everything else a distant second. It feels weird but that’s how it’s meant to be.
Best advice our midwives gave us when they came for a home visit after the birth of our second kid and the house was a disaster -
“If your house was clean then I would question your priorities”.
Just a reminder that we have a [Monthly Community Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/barrie/about/sticky) where we relax the rules about advertising and off-topic posts. * Stuff that isn't directly related to Barrie, like national news or general chit-chat * Questions about local businesses and services * Classified-style ads: buying and selling, help wanted, garage sales, etc * Fundraisers and donation drives * Plugs for your personal project or local business (within reason)" *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/barrie) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You are drowning bc you have a newborn. You will get through this. You will learn that crying means they are breathing. I bet you are doing amazing! But it doesn’t feel like it. Overwhelmed for sure. Know it’s normal. If you have money to spare, bring in a personal cleaner/helper like the one that posted already. Not a company, they are too strict. Tell her what you specifically want her to take off your plate. You want someone who will pick up the grocery order ready at Walmart, or do a couple loads of laundry. But honestly, you got this. It’s okay. What you feel is normal.
Btw for Walmart one can also opt for home delivery. You can get Walmart’s membership for $98 annually and all deliveries will be free. Completely worth it and cheaper than asking a hourly helper to pick up from Walmart.
Very true Walmart delivery can be great. Read my history where I give $10-20 cash tip and was destroyed at how “cheap I am”. I cancelled Walmart delivery. Now the drivers get nothing extra from me.
Welcome to the party, pal. First year is tough.
😆 sure is
Have you thought of hiring a doula? Many of them do postpartum care. I know of one specially who does postpartum care and she's in the Barrie area. They can do things like help with chores, watch the baby while the parents nap, spend time with the mom for emotional support, help with breastfeeding, and so many other things.
Honestly I hired a doula for my second and was underwhelmed for how much it cost. Do you have friends and family that can offer support? This would be ideal, but not always possible. A house cleaner once a week might help if you have the means. I have a 7 month old and a 3 year old and let me tell you, it’s rough man. But… you do find your groove… sorta of. Honestly, right now I would focus on mental health for you and your partner. Can you find some time for both of you to get a break, take care of yourselves etc? Anyway… I feel like I could write a novel here and I feel a bit like I’m babbling. But make sure momma is doing ok and stick together. The first three months are rough.
When I had my second child when my first was only 18 months old, I found a neighbourhood highschool girl to come in and help in any way, like sometimes it was to watch the baby in the kitchen while I snoozed or did laundry etc…. This was in the late 90s
I did this for a few families as a teen. Or just take the toddler to the park or whatever, just an extra set of hands.
You can also reach out to people you know with teenagers who could be looking for some cash for a few hours work. We do that now as we have two kids. A couple hours a week goes a long way !
Are you looking for a nanny, or a cleaning person? I have a rec for a great cleaner (we use her for our office, but a couple people now using her in their homes) but she won’t watch your kid
I just discovered [care.com](http://care.com) ! you may be able to find what you're looking for there.
Second that, though I never used it (found a neighbour) there seemed to be a good roster of full service caregivers available.
Hey thanks for the recommendation! I’ve never heard of it but this is what I was looking for
Won't help to hear but working long hours is never going to match up well with a family. Changed my outlook on the life side of work life balance
What kind of work? Cleaning? Yard work?
Mainly cleaning and laundry. Yard work not so much, my wife likes to do that anyway I’m sure she will rather do that than fold and put away laundry.
[удалено]
Honestly looking for someone with a little more flexibility than a dedicated cleaner. Not a nanny, but someone who’s able to do some kitchen prep work (not necessarily cook), laundry, and odd tasks around the house.
You can try contacting My Only Sunshine Laundrette. They have a wash-and-fold service where you can drop off dirty laundry and pick it up later that day or the next. The guy who owns it is very nice and the prices are reasonable by laundromat standards. Don't bother putting the clean stuff away, just keep it neatly folded in laundry baskets. You could even have separate baskets for you, your wife and the baby. To help keep the kitchen clean, I recommend using paper plates, bowls, etc and plastic utensils. There are compostable kinds that you can put in the green bin instead of the trash. Have simple or pre-made meals that don't require a lot of cooking or clean-up. You can also get toilet bowl cleaner pucks that go in the toilet tank and release cleanser with each flush so toilets do not need to be scrubbed as often. Buy a bunch of containers of Lysol wipes and put them in strategic locations around the house so they are always within easy reach. You can use them to clean just about everything and it's much easier to clean up as you go. You can also take a few seconds every morning to wipe down the bathroom sink, counter and shower after you finish getting ready so grime doesn't have a chance to build up
You could try workaway.info
You can hire a cleaner. If you search the group for cleaner recommendations you'll probably find some good ones. You can look at some premade meal options like Factor or a less fancy option like [RVH meals to go](https://www.rvh.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MealsToGo-withIcons.pdf). Saves time shopping for groceries, cooking and cleaning. Really good for overwhelming days. You can save some time going out with using grocery delivery, I like to use Voila because they run like a genuine delivery company, no tips expected, they have refrigerated vans, delivery is in the time window you select, don't have to worry about the shopper finding your items (everything I order comes and only once in two years was there a substitution) and don't have to be on standby for the shopper. Worth it to save the headache of hit and miss of instacart or doordash shoppers. If you need more help, there's always nanny services. Some only deal with kids, others will do some housework. You'll need to discuss what you want before hiring one.
You can't post threads like this on Reddit you're about to be flooded with scammers, and etc desperate people. Try hiring someone as a maid service, and only use word of mouth not Reddit.
I wasn’t looking for applicants from Reddit, I was looking for recommendations of maid service or where to find something like a maid service.
Ha ha ha ha!!!! - Dad
I remember the idea that I couldn’t just do what I wanted or needed to do when I had a new baby was such a hard thing for me to learn and the sooner you lean right into it, the better everyone will feel. It’s supposed to be like this. Baby is priority - everything else a distant second. It feels weird but that’s how it’s meant to be.
Best advice our midwives gave us when they came for a home visit after the birth of our second kid and the house was a disaster - “If your house was clean then I would question your priorities”.
Try Kijiji