Delegate. If you can't delegate to your spouse, a friend or a family member, why not hire someone to take care of certain things? I had a nanny as a child and it was wonderful for me. I can only imagine how much more wonderful it must have been for my mother!

When my children were very young, a wise man told me once that our children tend to isolate us when they are young, but once they reach school age they tend to socialize us in that all of our kids activities will get us out of the house and interacting with other parents in our same age group. As a "modern" dad who gave the infants their baths and washed the baby clothes, looking back on those 24 hour a day responsibilities looks very different from 20 years down the road. I'm sure that my children and I bonded in a special way. In 1985, my three month old baby girl would wake up at 5:00Am and only go to sleep resting on daddy chest. I think she could hear my heartbeat. It was special then, and still is.

While I may not have any good tips, my advice is that along with the good tips you get from others, be patient, and cherish your bonding time with your youngsters. I think it will mean more to them (and you) than we could possibly know.

If you mean specifically for yourself with the 2-3 week old and the 1.5 year old running around, those are tough ages because the first is totally dependent and the second isn't quite to the independent stage yet.

A trusted family member or close friend that could give you a break occasionally would be a good way. Maybe once or twice a week?

Some parents set up a babysitting co-op. You watch their kids in exchange for time when they can watch yours, etc. There is one in my area though I'm not a part of it. I was thinking about it. I found the co-op and a play group through the momlikeme.com local chapter. I think they are everywhere. If not in your area, you might think about starting one.

Now you might be like me and think that play groups are stupid (that is the pre-child-me speaking). But, since there aren't many kids in this area and she needs a bit of socialization, I bite the bullet and go. I don't think they are as stupid anymore and have met some nice people.

Another idea is if there is a trusted teenager in your area, that you could have her (I don't know many boys interested in playing with kids but maybe) come in a play with the 1.5 year old for an hour or two maybe once or twice a week. My neighbor's 12 year old comes in on Tues and Thurs to play with my daughter. It gives her a break from me because mom sometimes doesn't want to do all the running around. Since my daughter still has attachment issues, I'm usually in the room working or in the next room so she can see me but the neighbor kid really does the playing and if needed, feeding. (Though my daughter is now almost able to feed herself just about anything with a spoon. She still needs work with the fork though.) So, you would still be in the house, but maybe if you schedule the teen there while the newborn is napping, you can have a bit of time to yourself.

Thats about all I can think of for the moment.

Once my kids got to a certain age, 5 years old or so, I started having them go to their rooms for about 8 pm. I didn't give them bedtimes but by 8 they had to be in their rooms to read or another quiet activity. 8pm became my favorite time. It was my quiet time and it was when i can get on the phone, computer, watch a movie, etc.