I've been trying to get on somewhat of a schedule for the past 2 months and it has just started happening a few weeks ago! Andrew and I are both J's on Meyers Briggs. We thrive on structure and routine and dependability, and most kids do too. But it was way harder than I thought to get any kind of routine down with a toddler and a newborn! These days, everything revolves around Owen's feedings, which are 2.5- 3 hours apart. Since he was feeding so often at night at the beginning, it was incredibly hard to start his first feeding of the day when I wanted to, consistently, when I was so sleep deprived... which would throw off the rest of the day too. Anyway, we are finally settling into our new normal as a family of four. Here's a typical weekday for us...
6.30am ish- Owen's first feeding. I've been trying to use this nursing session to read my devotional app, John Piper's "Solid Joys," and pray for the day... because I don't know when else to fit something like this in. We've talked about having Andrew watch the kids for 30 minutes in the morning so I could spend good time in the Word, so maybe that will happen soon. I need it. Moms in this stage of life, how do you fit it in??
7.00am ish- Andrew gets Graham out of the crib, where he's usually been jabbering and bouncing around and playing on his music table through his crib slats for about 15 minutes. Kid loves his crib. Pretty sure he thinks it's a musical trampoline. Andrew changes G's diaper while I put Owen in the swing downstairs and start getting breakfast ready- usually scrambled eggs these days, or if I'm running late, Andrew will grab one of these incredible veggie
Magic Muffins that I always have on hand now, along with fruit. We all eat together, and about halfway through the meal, Graham will point and grunt at the
Jesus Storybook Bible. Andrew will read the story for the day, reminding us of God's "Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love"and then pray for our day. I love love love this time.
7.45am ish- We all head upstairs and get ready for the day. Owen goes down for his first nap. I may or may not take a shower. :/ Makeup and accessories are a joke at this point in my life. I'm doing good to have on any clothes without spitup anywhere on them. Seriously. Owen is a spitup machine. I remember thinking I needed to wear a poncho when I burped Graham as an infant. Guess Owen got the spitup gene too. What was I saying? Oh yeah. I also try to remember to throw in some laundry at this point, make the bed, thaw out meat for dinner, etc. Cloth diaper stuffing happens here too, every other day, since we are always completely out by this point. I usually spot something in the house that has been neglected for weeks and become grossed out by it, so I'll pull out the vaccuum or dust spray or whatever, and attempt a quick fix.
8.30am ish- Andrew heads to work. I give Graham some uninterrupted attention, doing whatever he wants- usually reading books or playing the "bucket game," his favorite, which basically ends up with every toy in his room thrown all over the floor. Embrace the mess, right??
9.00am ish- Owen is awake and hungry. I put Graham in his crib for some play time, giving him a few options of toys and books. He loves it. I nurse Owen as I watch the Today Show. Love me some Savannah, Matt, Natalie, Al, Willie, Hoda, you name it!
9.30am ish- This is usually when we get out of the house. Playdates, walks in the neighborhood, running errands, etc. is the norm. Owen usually naps through most of this. Graham and I love whatever adventures we go on at this time. We are practically best friends with the Trader Joe's sample lady, and Target cashiers gush over Graham's curls and dimples every time. We love our neighbors and the neighborhood hot spots for kids- the library, community gardens, pretzel shop, etc. Graham is a huge fan of splash pads, the zoo, parks, etc. too. We also go to MOPS at our church, and I've been meaning to check out another library storytime since our music class ended.
11.45am ish- Back at the house. This is usually crisis mode for the next 15 min. We're all hungry and cranky at this point. I scramble around getting lunch ready... I quickly learned that Graham and I have to have the exact same meal each time we eat together, or else he'll completely reject his and try to eat all of mine. He's making me healthier. :) Then we all eat at the same time, even Owen. Not my favorite option, but having Graham contained while I nurse is pretty crucial, so I make it work. Graham usually eats for the first half of the nursing session, and then I sing ridiculous songs and recite his favorite books that we've all accidentally memorized, to keep him entertained and happy in the high chair through the last half of Owen eating. Pandora helps. Then I let Graham run around and play with whatever while I wash dishes, fold laundry, supervise Owen's tummy time, stop Graham from tackling Owen, etc. Graham has become clingy-er since Owen came on the scene, so sometimes this type of stuff is done with Graham on my hip. The best is when I have Owen in the Ergo and Graham on my hip. Whew. Love my boys, but whew!! PS. The Ergo saves my life every day. O spends hours in it, just like Graham did. They love the snuggles, and I love getting some stuff done!
1.15pm ish- Family naptime! I put both boys down for their naps. After I put them down, I check my to-do list and try to do a few random things before I lay down... start the crockpot for dinner, throw cloth diapers into the washer, etc. Then I usually get about an hour nap. Glorious!!! Much needed for this mama. Simultaneous naps has been my daily goal since Owen was born, and I will do anything to make it work! Some days I feel like I should clean our disaster of a house or do something productive instead of sleeping, but Andrew reminds me it's a discipline to nap sometimes. I need it, and you know what they say. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! I realize my attitude totally sets the tone for our home's atmosphere, and sleep is a big part of that!
3.00pm ish- Feed Owen again. Try to catch up on texts, emails, etc.
3.30pm ish- Graham is usually up around this time. I usually give him a snack at this point (smoothie popsicle). This time slot between naps and dinner is kind of need of the hour. If I need to cook, get out of the house, give Graham extra attention, whatever, that's what we'll do. Sometimes this is the hardest time of the day. Andrew, where are you?! Owen naps for about an hour here.
5.30pm ish- Dinner is in the oven or crockpot by now, and Andrew is home from work. All is right with the world. Hubs to the rescue! He chases Graham around, and the whole house is filled with giggles as I nurse Owen.
6.00pm ish- Dinnertime. One night a week, we have community group, but most other weeknights, we just stay home. Some of our favorite dinners lately- homemade pizza,
hummus chicken,
crockpot Italian chicken soup,
crockpot chicken parmesan,
baked chicken fajitas, crockpot salsa chicken,
crockpot pizza pasta,
black bean soup. Andrew and I catch up about our days and try to re-connect as we figure out how to handle a toddler's picky eating, tantrums over nothing, random outbursts of screaming, etc. We're still figuring out this parenting a toddler thing. It's not easy... but he sure brings us so much joy. Little Grahammers really is my little sunshine. He and Owen are so completely precious to me, and so worth all the exhaustion and hard days. After dinner, we give baths some days, or I wash dishes as Andrew plays with his boys. Owen goes down for his nap around 7.
7.30pm ish- Graham's bedtime. We might have the shortest bedtime routine ever. We change his diaper, put on his pj's, and brush his teeth. Then Andrew prays for him and Owen, we sing one song, and put him down. That's it. He goes in his crib easily, because like I said earlier, I think he things it's a musical trampoline. Ha.
7.45pm ish- I nurse Owen, usually as we watch Seinfeld these days. :) We're usually wanting to collapse on the couch by this point of the day, but sometimes we have people over to hang out. It's pretty hard for us to go places at night, so it's awesome when friends will come to us. We try to give Owen some sweet snuggle time and attention here, since we have rare moments with just him.
10.00pm ish- I nurse Owen for the final time of the night and then practically fall asleep on the way to bed.
3:00am ish- This is usually when Owen wakes up hungry. He is only waking up one time a night these days-- praise Jesus!! The nights of getting up three times were pretty miserable. O has slept through the night once, two days ago, til 6am!!! Hoping this starts to be normal soon!
And then we start it all over again the next day. Wouldn't have it any other way. Love my boys!!
