Writing Around Your New Baby

Infants are an adventure into life. They flip households, morals, finances upside down. They even pull into question the practicality of that really great car you’re almost done paying on. Everything that was important before fades, replaced with the gurgles and smiles of the child that has entered your home. And if you happen to be a writer, the schedule you once had a great handle on disappears. Between balancing Baby, work, the necessities of a clean home and the relationship with your partner, the itch to write may take a back burner. So for those of you bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived new parent/writers out there, here are a few suggestions that may help in your new adventure.

A lot of writers recognize that there is a prime writing time for them. This is the hour of gems, when inspiration bursts to life around them. If your Baby happens to be awake at this moment and your significant other is unable to attend the child, don’t let that inspiration fade! A very easy way to keep working toward your writing goals is to read your manuscript to your child. It’s just like bedtime stories only more personal. (Unless your manuscript has an age rating, in which case you might try skipping over the parts you don’t want them to hear.) In addition to spending time with your baby, you’ll also have a chance to edit and tweak things as you read. 

This next tip might be tedious but it can have great results in the editing process. Print off one page of your work and carry it in your pocket. That way if you find some lag time either on your lunch hour at work or simply waiting for a prescription to be filled at the drug store you can whip that page out and edit just that one page. That way when Baby is finally asleep for the night you can plug in your corrections and move on to writing something new.

Some people mention that physical activity helps their inspiration process for writing. This can be anything from jogging to tennis and can help push them around any writers block they might be struggling with. If this is something you normally do, then find a physical activity that can include your Baby. Walking, stretching, indoor exercises can all be done while your baby is awake. This will leave you with that precious time when Baby is asleep to get the real meat of your writing done. Plus, if you walk with your Baby then the chances are in your favor that they’ll zone off to sleep.

Depending on your child’s age, invest in a motorized swing, papason or bouncer. If your luck resembles mine, then the motorized part of the swing will break three days after purchasing it. This was easily overcome by tying a long bit of fabric around the base of the seat and leading it to my desk. The point is the comforting motion that can help appease your baby while you work.

Be flexible! Aside from the universal 2AM feeding time most babies do not stick to any given routine. Watch your child and learn their habits. They will change frequently but if you can identify the routine then you can work around it. Also – if you happen to be the birth mother – don’t plan on getting much writing done for the first few months after Baby’s arrival. Exhaustion from the birth and the adjustment time for your newest family member will require that you just give yourself a break.

Each new stage your Baby grows into will present its own challenges and memories so don’t forget to record these treasured moments with your child. If writing is in your blood then you already know that experiences such as these will only bring depth and understanding to your work.