Writing with a Baby

This is my second week back to writing after having my first baby. So, I thought it might be fun to blog about how my writing schedule has adjusted with a newborn. I have to admit, having a “sleeping” baby is a great motivator to get things done NOW because you never know when he might wake up.

I’m such a new mom (I’ve had the title for only 4 weeks) that I’ll probably be laughing at this post in the coming months as I keep adjusting to his schedule…or lack thereof. With that said, below are the little tricks that I’m currently using for keeping my writing deadlines on track with a newborn:

Write during a nap time. You know that phrase that everyone tells a new mother, “sleep when your baby sleeps?” Well, as a writer, I’m re-phrasing it to “try to take at least one nap with the baby and use the other nap time for writing.” I’m sure as he gets older, nap times will lessen, but for now, his life seems to mainly consist of eating, changing and sleeping. I’m going to attempt to make the most of his current sleepiness and then adjust as we go along.

Coffee. I’ve missed you, my dear friend. Welcome back.

Wear Baby in a wrap. During his more wakeful times, I tuck him in his baby wrap so he feels like I’m holding him, but secretly am typing away. After two weeks of working on his “endurance” of being in the wrap (or in his mind, in a straight jacket), he is content for an hour!

Coffee. It’s not bad to have a second cup, right? It’s been nine months.

Nighttime writing. Having trouble going back to sleep after meeting those late-night needs? (For me, it’s hardest to fall back asleep after the the 4:45/5am feeding.) Try keeping your notebook on your nightstand for brainstorming scenes for your next writing session.

Coffee. It’s the only thing keeping me awake during writing sessions after these long nights.

Dictation during feedings. I don’t think I quite realized how much a baby EATS constantly. Something fun to try is dictation while feeding. This takes a bit of set up on the front end with planning your scenes in advance with bullet points and pieces of dialogue. But, in the 15-25 minutes of each feeding, you can get a ton of dictation done. Some people use their computers, but I like to use the “note” app on my phone and dictate that way. (For me it’s a lot easier to dictate into a phone during feedings and not a computer.)

I’ll be writing a post on dictation next, but for now, click here for a great article on dictation by Becky Wade.

For all writing parents out there, I hope the above tips help you. If they don’t, I at least hope they made you laugh 🙂

My little writing buddy, Baby Hitchcock: