I don’t know how mums of two and more kids do it, there is probably more crying in the house. I admire the women, if there is no crying… because with this little fella, you know when I’m holding him and when I’m not. He just doesn’t like being alone (or as my husband likes to call it, he has ‘abandonment issues’ already). So if I leave him in the bedroom to get dressed and apply make-up (yes, this mama needs make-up to make up for the lack of sleep on some nights;), he will usually start crying or at least sobbing. I can take it for a moment, but when I see he won’t soothe himself this time, I’d just rather pick him up. It’s easier doing things with one hand (or whilst having him in a sling) than having to calm him down.

So here is my humble recipe how I make it work:

Dressing up: I put the little one on our bed (yes, the big bed he gets to share with the two big people who keep kissing him), bring my clothes and lay them next to him. Then I proceed to put the clothes on. I keep talking to him describing what I’m wearing and I show him each piece – he gets a dose of vocabulary and likes when something is flying above his head. Sometimes I touch his face with the fabric, he squeaks with delight!

Make-up application is interesting. We have a rather large wash basin area – without it this trick would not be possible. I sit him down on a towel (so it’s not cold for his tush) and support his back with my stomach. I hold him with one hand and the other use for make-up application! He loves watching himself and mummy in the mirror and when he gets wiggly, he gets to hold bottle tops or brushes. And I again keep taking to him or sing songs to keep him entertained and make it our mummy-and-me time!