A Day in the Life

I have always enjoyed reading “A Day in the Life” posts from other bloggers and since this is a special time in my life with the birth of my son I thought I’d do one of my own. So, here is a glimpse into the life of this stay at home mom with a 26 month old daughter and a 7 week old son.

Disclaimer: This is very long but I think I’ll enjoy reading it later so I want to include as much detail as possible. I apologize for its length.

12:45 AM – Alvy woke up for his first feeding. I picked him up out of his crib and put him in bed with me to nurse. While I was awake feeding Alvy, Evie woke up almost hysterical, “Mommy! Mommy!” I sent Jason upstairs to comfort her but she wanted nothing to do with him. I leave Alvy (who was almost back asleep) downstairs and go up there to figure out why she was upset. While I’m calming Evie down I hear Alvy downstairs crying, mad because I took away his midnight snack. I go back down to our room and finish nursing him then go back to sleep around 1:30.

I wake up several more times in the night to feed Alvy but never look at the clock. Since he co-sleeps with us after his first feeding I just latch him on and go back to sleep.

6:30 – I wake up as Jason is getting ready for work. I sneak out of bed without waking the baby and sit in the living room for a few precious moments of alone time with just my thoughts and a cup of coffee.

6:48 – Alone time over. Alvy wakes up. Evie wakes up two minutes later. As I’m changing Alvy’s diaper he smiles at me. It melts my heart. I take them both into the living room and turn on an episode of WordWorld for Evie to watch so I can nurse Alvy without her climbing all over me. As I’m nursing I put together my grocery list.

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7:25 – I make breakfast. Eggs, fruit and toast.

8:00 – I leave the table to get myself and Alvy dressed. When I come back I discover that Evie has fed most of her breakfast to the dog.

8:20 – The baby is fussy and it’s time for his nap. I take both the kids upstairs so I can attempt to lay Alvy down. As I rock him to sleep Evie plays in the gameroom across the hall. I try to explain to her that she needs to be quiet so he can fall asleep. Apparently I didn’t explain well enough.

8:42 – I finally lay Alvy down in his crib and am able to get Evie dressed. I spend a few minutes picking up after breakfast.

8:50 – Alvy wakes up. I change his diaper and sit back down in the glider to start the nap process over. I realize I may never make it to the grocery store and I really need to wash a load of diapers today.

9:05 – I lay Alvy down. As Evie and I leave his room she trips over a toy and wakes him up. I give up on the crib nap and decide to take them to the park instead hoping he’ll fall asleep in the stroller. I put him in the carseat and he starts screaming. Before we leave, I grab a second cup of coffee and my shopping bags, just in case I make it to the grocery store while I’m out.

9:28 – At the park I nurse Alvy while Evie plays. I watch her climb onto and off of the rocking pony all by herself for the very first time. I love seeing her achieve these small but important victories. She gives me a huge smile, she’s so proud of her accomplishment.

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9:48 – When Alvy is finished eating I lay him in the stroller. He’s not asleep but he’s not crying either. I park the stroller in the shade near the playground where I can see him and take the opportunity to play with Evie. I realize that she still has jelly on her face from breakfast.

10:17 – Alvy starts crying so we head back to the car. I change his diaper and decide that I don’t have enough time to go to the grocery store before he needs nursing again but I don’t really want to go home either.

I decide to go to Target even though I don’t really need to buy anything. It’s a good opportunity though to try out the ride along board that I bought Evie for the stroller. Alvy sleeps in the carseat while Evie and I shop. She loves her board!

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11:00 – I buy four t-shirts that are on sale then we leave Target. In the car Alvy starts crying. When we get home I quickly make Evie some lunch, a peanut butter and honey sandwich and a second attempt at fruit. I put her in her highchair in the living room and turn on the second episode of WordWorld for the day. She eats.

Meanwhile, Alvy is still crying in his carseat which is now sitting in the laundry room by the back door. I pick him up and rush upstairs to change his diaper then I sit down to nurse.

11:45 – Both kids are full and happy so I decide that now is the perfect time to take them to the grocery store. I run upstairs to change Alvy’s diaper and off we go! The shopping trip was uneventful. Alvy fell asleep in the sling, I got all my shopping done and Evie got to “push the button” (a game the store provides for the kids that she’s really too young to play properly).

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1:05 PM – We leave the grocery store and make the 10 minute drive home. When we get home I unload the groceries.

1:20 – I take both kids upstairs, lay Evie down for a nap and change Alvy’s diaper. Then he and I go downstairs to my bedroom so we won’t disturb Evie. I swaddle him up and get comfy sitting on the bed, ready for a long nursing session. I turn on the TV and begin an attempt to put him down for a nap.

Just after I sit down the doorbell rings. The foot pod I ordered for my Garmin arrived! Luckily, the doorbell didn’t wake Evie and Alvy wasn’t asleep yet so no nap damage done. When I went to the front door to get the package I noticed the dog vomited in the floor. I choose to ignore the vomit for the time being.

Back into the bed I go. With Evie in bed upstairs and Alvy quietly nursing I get some much needed quiet time.

1:40 – The baby is asleep in my arms. I lay him down in the crib in our room. He wakes up as soon as his head hits the cold crib sheet. I walk out of the room hoping he will settle back down to sleep.

1:47 – He doesn’t. I crawl back in the bed and begin nap attempt #2. While watching TV, I see Rachel Ray using a metal whisk on a nonstick skillet. It makes me cringe. You’re not supposed to do that!

2:00 – Finally, I’m successful at laying Alvy down for a nap! Not knowing how long he’ll sleep I dash into the kitchen to prepare for dinner. While I’m chopping vegetables, I realize I still haven’t eaten lunch. Getting the veggies cut is more important than lunch though so I continue dinner prep.

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2:30 – Time for lunch, a homemade pimento cheese sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread with baby spinach and more fruit. (I keep a bowl of cut up fruit in the fridge, lest you think I am cutting up fruit for every meal).

2:39 – Lunch is gone! I spend a few minutes picking up the kitchen so I have a clean place to cook dinner. Then I go upstairs to get Alvy’s dirty diapers. I lug the diapers downstairs and put them in the wash. Realizing that I need to be ready to go to the Y when the opportunity presents itself, I sneak into the bedroom to change into my running clothes. I also clean up the dog vomit.

3:01 – Alvy wakes up ready to nurse again. While I’m nursing I begin to think about the oatmeal cookies that I made last weekend and how those little balls of cookie dough are just sitting in the freezer. I spend 35 minutes surfing the internet on my phone while Alvy naps in my arms and forget about the cookies…almost.

3:36 – I put the baby in the swing so I can mess with the diapers. Since he’s happy there I spend a few minutes on the floor doing hip strengthening exercises.

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4:03 – Evie has been asleep for almost three hours! Nap WIN! I go ahead and put the diaper bag in the car and lay Alvy down for some tummy time.

I hear loud thunder and look at the radar; it’s been a bad week for thunderstorms.  I worry the thunder will scare Evelyn. We had a bad thunderstorm yesterday that made her wake from her nap frightened, I don’t want it to happen two days in a row.

4:22 – Evie wakes up from her nap. The thunder gets louder and I realize our trip to the Y will likely get delayed. I need to nurse Alvy before we go anyway so I decide to give it another 20 minutes and see what happens.

4:50 – Now is the time to make a break for the Y! I run upstairs to change Alvy into a disposable diaper and we walk out the door.

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5:07 – I check the kids into Child Watch and get on the treadmill. I spend a little over a half hour starting at the word “honesty” written on the wall, pretending it is the word “dedication” because that’s what it took to finish that run.

It’s only my third post-partum run since I got clearance from my doctor to exercise last week and is by far the most difficult to date.

6:02 – I walk back into Child Watch to pick up the kids. Alvy starts crying immediately when he hears my voice as if to say, “MOM WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???”

6:15 – We get home and I immediately start feeding Alvy.

6:35 – Time to make dinner. Evie plays quietly with the extra pots and pans at my feet while I make shepherd’s pie. Cooking goes smoothly until…

7:05 – …Alvy has a meltdown and dinner isn’t even close to being done. Jason still isn’t home and I have no choice other than to alternate letting him cry and picking him up and shushhing him every few minutes.

7:25 – Jason gets home. I put dinner in the oven and race to the couch to nurse Alvy who, at this point, is convinced that the world is ending and he’s never going to eat again. I give Jason the task of grating some cheese to put on the shepherd’s pie, which I neglected to do.

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7:50 – We FINALLY sit down for dinner.

8:10 – I watch Evie take her first ever bite of a leafy green, which she declared, “Yummy!” Funny enough, I almost didn’t give her any salad because I was sure she wouldn’t eat it. This was a good day for firsts.

8:20 – Alvy is exhausted and fussy, more than ready to be put to bed. I leave Evie and Jason in the kitchen so I can change his diaper and put him in pajamas. While I nurse Alvy down to sleep Jason cleans the kitchen and Evie finishes her dinner.

8:37 – Alvy goes to sleep and I lay him in his crib. He is OUT. Evie and I go upstairs to put on her pajamas, brush her teeth and play for a few minutes before bed.

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9:00 – Jason joins us upstairs. He throws a foam golf ball across the game room. Evie chases it and brings it back to him in her mouth like a dog. I decide that I need to find her some more human friends. She spends too much time with Baxter.

9:03 – We take Evie into her room for bed. Jason tells her goodnight. I read her four books and spend five minutes cuddling her. That’s our routine every night.

9:27 – I kiss Evie goodnight and go downstairs to take a shower. It’s the first time I’ve showered in four days. I’m embarrassed at my lack of personal hygiene but right now I don’t have the time or energy to shower every day. It’s just too much work.

9:53 – After a shower I feel like a new person. I sit with Jason on the couch for about 12 seconds before I give into temptation and go into the kitchen for two of those oatmeal cookies which I eat still frozen and raw.

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10:23 – It’s time to turn in for the night. We go to bed and watch an episode of Top Gear before turning off the TV for the evening. I fall asleep around 11.

11:23 – Alvy wakes up. An awakening at this time of night is not normal and I just assume he’s already hungry. When I pick him up to feed him I realize he’s had a diaper leak and is soaking wet. I make my 15th and final trip up the stairs to get a fresh diaper and a pair of pajamas. After cleaning him up I lay him beside me in bed and nurse us both to sleep.

THE END.

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