How do you organize your baby's routine?

I'm really wondering how all of you moms out there stay organized. It's weird. You see, I seem organized, but I'm actually terribly disorganized. For example, when I was in grade school, I would always run out of hot water in the shower. Like every time! So finally my mom suggested that I go about showering in an organized fashion. You know, wash your hair first thing, then wash your body, then get out. It was a complete revelation to me. Do you realize that before she clued me in, I was just hanging out in there looking around, singing, dancing and enjoying the warm water? By the time I thought to wash, the water was already running cold. Unbelievable!

Now, I feel the same way as a mother. I'm just enjoying my little baby, hanging out with her on the grass by the lake, loving her to pieces, and instead of running out of hot water, I run out of time. Like everyday! So I want to hear all about it moms: How do you organize mealtimes, bedtimes, shopping, cleaning, cooking, and so on? 

Chez nous, things just seem to get worse. One problem is that I like to cook. Over the past few days we've eaten dinner at later and later times. Tonight was the last straw. J got home late from skiing, completely exhausted. Coco wouldn't go down. Finally, I ended up eating the most beautiful, puffy, gorgeous soufflé I've ever seen in all my life, all alone. At 10 pm. Oh dear! :( So clearly something has to change here.

But first let's talk about the soufflé.

The soufflé not only looked good, it was absolutely delicious. Of course I had planned to have it ready when J got home at 8:30. But then, between Coco's fussing and trying to put her to bed several times and other interruptions, it ended up taking several hours to make. I enjoyed it nonetheless. After all, only truly wonderful things start with shallots and that much butter.

Murphy's Law, the only law that seems to govern my life these days, was in full effect and everything came together effortlessly given that no one was watching (or even eating it) besides me. When I opened the oven to take it out, I was awestruck. Now, let me just add here that this was my very first soufflé. I'm proud of it, even if it was a complete fail in every other way.

So back to the routine problem. How do you moms do it? If I'm honest, I find the whole issue of routines repulsive. Naturally, this is part of the problem. And it is absolutely ridiculous because as a Montessori teacher, I know how important structure and routines are for children, and everyone! Yet somehow, it feels like imposing structure on my life at home defeats the whole purpose of freedom. Tonight's soufflé incident got my attention, however, and if structure means I get to eat dinner with my husband and go to bed at a reasonable hour, I'm in. 

Please help! I need your tips, tricks and favorite book recommendations, pronto! Otherwise J will keep going to bed hungry, I'll continue eating alone and Coco will grow up in chaos and have dark circles under her eyes. And we can't have that! ;)

Thank you for chiming in on this one! I really can't wait to hear your thoughts. xo

Our favorite newborn and baby products.

When I was pregnant, we got a lot of advice on what we absolutely had to have for our baby, but not everything was a perfect fit for us, of course. Now that we've been parents for nearly seven months, we have a few must-haves of our own that I'd like to share with you for what it's worth. I can't promise you'll love these, but I feel compelled to share because these are things that really worked for Coco, made our lives easier and fully justified their price tags! 

Mustela products smell so insanely good, I had a hard time believing they could actually be good for Coco's skin. We use quite a few of their products, but my favorite of all is the Cold Cream with Nutri-protective. It keeps Coco's skin so perfectly soft, healthy and kissable and clears up even the reddest of drool rashes! 

We put Fisher Price Rainforest Lullabies on repeat on very low volume at nap time and bedtime and I swear it helps Coco stay asleep longer. The music is blended with nature sounds and it's so soothing and calming. 

The Bugaboo Cameleon is the best city pram ever! If ours broke tomorrow, I'd order a new one before I drew my next breath. We really could not live without it. It's amazing, so smooth, easy to maneuver, ultra-comfortable for Coco, attractive and just awesome! We love it. LOVE. IT.

We started out with a changing pad on top of a dresser because we didn't know if we'd actually use a dedicated changing table or if it would just take up a lot of precious space in our tiny apartment. Plus, there weren't many attractive front-facing options out there to choose from and none of them was affordable. Let me just say that the Stokke Care is completely rad! I love having a dedicated changing table with all of Coco's lotions and potions at hand and I'm happy to say that this changing table is as functional as it is beautiful. I've never regretted purchasing it for one second!

The Boppy Pillow totally lives up to its reputation. The only thing I have to say about the Boppy is to buy an extra cover so you never have to be without it. Seriously. It's that good!

Finally, what's not to love about a bouncer seat that doesn't take batteries?! The Baby Bjorn Babysitter Balance is 100% baby-operated. ;) We love the way Coco looks when she really gets herself bouncing in hers. She kind of curls up and then hurls herself backward. It's adorable! She sits in this while I cook, while I shower, while I eat. It's called a "babysitter" for a reason.

Do you have some of the same baby stuff on our list? What are your must-haves, or maybe your must-nots? (Tomorrow I'll be sharing the list of baby products we should have skipped! ;) In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your favorites!

Organizing: Martha Stewart Special Edition

Have you seen?! Martha Stewart has a new Organizing Special Collector's Edition on newsstands now! I was slightly giddy when I bought it at Hudson News in the Seattle airport on the way back to Switzerland last month. (Hint: You can also buy it from Amazon if you don't live near a newsstand. ;) It was like serendipity. There I was, wiling away the time on our layover, thinking about all the stuff I had brought back with me in our suitcases and wondering where on earth I'd put in once I got home. It's true. I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't even fully unpacked yet! But how can I? The majority of what we brought back was baby stuff for Coco and I had to go through her armoire and dresser and sort out the clothes that no longer fit to put away (sniff!) and clear out space for the new stuff before anything would even fit in there. It's a big job. And with a baby, it's a job you're doing every twelve weeks or so. My goodness!

We've only been living in this apartment for eight months and it's not a finely tuned machine as of yet! I always find it a challenge, and it typically takes time to find organizational systems that work in a new space, but this time has been even harder. I'll tell you why. Our miniature, 150-year-old European apartment has a total of zero closets. ZERO! Unless you consider the itty-bitty medicine cabinet a closet. It's kind of an organizational nightmare. We have sideboards, wardrobes and dressers, but we need more. Or do we? 

Martha's first line of attack in the Organizing Special is to cut the clutter. Good point, Martha! Then she offers tips for every room in the house, including kids' rooms and entryways, two areas that I really want to focus on intently. This is going to be the most exciting spring cleaning ever. Not least because this is the first time that J and I have actually stayed in the same apartment for more than one year. Isn't that just nuts?! It wasn't always because we wanted to move, in fact, it was usually circumstances, like moving to a new state or country, or getting a job as managers of an apartment building meant we had to move across town, but it's beyond nice to finally feel settled at last! I find it rather fitting that we are settled down now that we have a baby. Sigh!

So, that said, I'm positively aflutter about this getting organized business. What are your favorite strategies in home organization?