The holiday season is in full swing, and odds are good that I’m not the only one wondering how I’m going to get it all done. Shopping, entertaining, gift-wrapping, gift-giving, baking, and more … all on top of the usual cooking, cleaning, and working. This year, I’m trying to manage it all with a newborn in tow. So let’s not also forget the breastfeeding, diapering, breastfeeding, bathing … and did I mention breastfeeding?

I jest. Surely. I am the first to say that breastfeeding my baby makes my life more manageable, not less. That it is more convenient than formula-feeding, not less. But at this time of year, as I slide the cookie sheet into the oven, set the timer for eight minutes and swoop my baby into my arms for a quick bout of breastfeeding, only to deposit the not-quite-satisfied babe back in his father’s arms eight minutes later as I retrieve the cookies from the oven before starting the cycle all over again … well, at this time of year, it doesn’t seem quite so easy. So, in the spirit of the season, I offer these few tips that have helped me. I hope they help you and your family, too!

Simplify. Let’s start with the biggie (which also happens to be the hardest one for me). Think about your holiday traditions and habits. What’s really important, and what could you do without this year? (Do I really need to make so many different kinds of cookies this year?) Certainly, I will feel less pressure trying to meet my baby’s needs if I am not pulled in quite so many directions or feeling quite so pressed for time.

Prioritize. If there are things you don’t want to give up, maybe you don’t have to. Organize your wants into things you’ll do for sure and things you’ll do “if there is still time/desire.” (Oatmeal raisin cookies and Whirligigs were relegated to the “if” list this year. Whirligigs, being new to me and, therefore, especially intriguing, have been done. Oatmeal raisin? Well, it turned out to be not so important.)

Plan steps. Think about how you can break large tasks into smaller steps, so that you can make progress even when you don’t have a lot of time or are expecting to be interrupted. If you’re baking, it might help to pre-measure your ingredients and combine them as time allows. Or you might split a batch of dough and bake just a cookie sheet’s worth at a time. It may sound inefficient, but it can enable to you make the most of even just a few available minutes.

Enlist help. If you’re used to doing it all, this can be a hard one. But there’s no rule that you need to be the one to do everything this year. (Or, frankly, any year.) Pour a glass of wine (It’s ok when breastfeeding, just don’t go crazy with it!) for you and your partner, then sit down to wrap presents together. Ask your partner to pull the cookies from the oven while you finish nursing your little one. (My 4-year-old was an indefatigable cookie helper, as well as an essential momentary distraction for baby when I needed “just one minute.” Plus, we had fun!)

Use naptimes. Make the most of naptimes. I won’t tell you to “nap when baby naps.” We’ve all heard that, and it can be so hard to do! I’ll just say plan for them, and use that time to do what you’ve identified as your priorities. (However, you do get extra bonus points if “sleep” is one of your priorities!)

Keep perspective. Above all, the holidays are about family. (Not cookies.) But with all of the hustle and bustle of the season, it can be easy to fall prey to frustration when the baby needs you “again.” If you can value each of these interruptions as reminders of what’s really important, as my friend Kathy suggests, you will probably feel a little less stressed. At the very least, you can be glad that breastfeeding means you spend a little time with baby in your arms—rather than sterilizing bottles and nipples, measuring and mixing formula (or, if you’re traveling for the holidays, trying to make space for that gear in your bags).

This will all be over soon. We’ll be one Christmas closer to our children no longer believing in Santa Claus, not feeling quite the same sense of wonder, and ultimately leaving home. Thinking of it that way, perhaps we should all hold our babies just a little bit closer for a little bit longer this holiday season!