Being a stay at home mom to two babies has been the absolute hardest job I have ever done! Mind you I have been in charge of the education and well-being of up to 25 kids for a year's time. But these two little babies have kicked my butt! It has quite literally been grueling! It's mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting at times.
I think what makes it so hard is that I don't feel like I accomplish very much in a day's time. As a teacher, I always felt productive. Coming home after teaching, I felt productive at home by cleaning the house and cooking dinner. Now sometimes the only thing I am able to accomplish is keeping the babies alive. The biggest event of my day might be cutting their fingernails or Lyla pooping on my face (don't ask).
BUT I am so in love with this job. Although it's the toughest job, it's also the best job I have ever had. I am so unbelievably lucky to get to stay home with my babies and spend their every waking (and sleeping) hour with them.
I thought it might be fun to capture a glimpse of what an average day is like for those who might be curious and for me to remember what things are like right now. After typing out what our morning was like, I decided I couldn't keep this up all day. So here's a glimpse of what a typical morning looks like for us right now:
1:30am- I randomly wake up and wonder why I haven't heard any babies. So I get up, go to the nursery, and go put my finger in front of each baby's nose to make sure they are still breathing. They are, in fact, alive. So I go back to my bedroom.
1:32am- Upon returning to my bedroom, I find that Jazzy has stolen my spot in bed, so I curl up around her so as not to disturb her. She puts up with a lot these days, so I decide she deserves a comfy spot in bed. I eventually drift back off to sleep.
3:02am- My boobs wake me up, so I go downstairs to pump. I assemble my parts and get hooked up.
3:10am- As I'm pumping, I hear Lyla cry on the monitor. It never fails that someone starts to cry as soon as I start pumping. So I unhook my pump, but keep the parts on my boobs and go get her. I have to carry her downstairs holding her out in front of me to avoid the pump parts. I manage to get one of her bottles out of the fridge while holding her and not disturbing the pump parts. I prop Lyla up on a pillow next to me and hold her bottle with one hand, while using the other hand to reconnect the pump and continue pumping.
3:20am- I finish pumping and Lyla finishes her bottle. I disconnect the pump parts and take Lyla down to the diaper mat on the living room floor to change her diaper because she smells poopy. Upon taking off her sleep sack, I find there is poop all up her back and all over her jammies.
3:21am- I sneak upstairs to the nursery to get clean jammies and a sleep sack without waking up Archer. I'm successful! Yay!
3:25am- I come back downstairs and give Lyla a modified bath by wiping her down with baby wipes. I get her situated with a fresh diaper and her new jammies and sleep sack.
3:30am- I take Lyla back to the nursery and put her back in her crib, while crossing my fingers she goes back to sleep.
3:31am- I go back downstairs, put milk I just pumped away in the fridge, decide I'm starving and thirsty, eat some string cheese and chug some water.
3:35 -4:20am- I go back to bed, curl up around Jazzy and keep looking at clock, wondering why Archer hasn't woken up yet.
4:20am- I finally start to doze off to sleep.
4:24am- Archer starts to cry, so I go get him quickly in hopes that he doesn't wake up Lyla.
4:25am- I take Archer downstairs and give him a bottle.
4:35am- I contemplate putting Archer back in his crib, but decide against it because he seems wide awake. Instead we snuggle on the couch. I kiss his chubby little cheeks while he grins. He touches my face with his sweet hands and grabs at my glasses. I wipe away a tear or two while thinking about how lucky I am to have such a sweet boy.
5:02am- Archer seems to be getting sleepy, so I decide to take him upstairs and lay him down in his crib with his pacifier in his mouth.
5:03am- I go back to bed.
5:04am- I hear Archer cry, so I go get him and bring him back downstairs before he wakes up Lyla.
5:06am- Too late. I hear Lyla babbling on the monitor, and decide to go get her. If Archer and I are up, she might as well join the party.
5:07am- When I go to the nursery, I find Lyla is upside down (we prop up one side of her mattress) in her crib reaching for her nightlight through the crib slats. I tickle her side and she smiles and I smile and forget about being exhausted. I shed another tear or two because I'm so lucky to have such a sweet girl.
5:10am- I bring Lyla downstairs. I put Archer and Lyla on blankets on the living room floor to play together. They don't so much as play, but smack each other in the face and put their feet all over each other. They both also want the same Baby Banana even though there are two exactly alike. I manage to get Archer interested in some baby keys.
5:15am- I go to the kitchen to feed Jazzy, let her outside, and make some hot chocolate.
5:20am- I sit down to enjoy my hot chocolate, take two sips and then both babies start to cry.
5:21am- I go hang out on the floor with babies.
5:45am- Both babies start crying because they are tired. (Lyla rubs her eyes when she's tired and Archer has his tired cry.) I try to put them both in the Rock N Plays downstairs. Neither one are having it and continue to cry.
5:46am- So I decide to put them in the exersaucers.
6:02am- It's time to feed Lyla, so I get her out of her exersaucer, get her a bottle and feed her.
6:03am- As soon as I start feeding Lyla, Archer gets crabby. Adam comes downstairs and gives Archer his pacifier.
6:15am- After Lyla finishes her bottle, I get outfits for the babies from the nursery to wear for the day. I come back downstairs and change Lyla's diaper and changer her clothes.
6:17am- I take Archer out of the exersaucer and dress him for the day.
6:18am- I put both babies on blankets on the living room floor. They are being good, so I run upstairs to go to the bathroom and put in my contacts.
6:19am- I take a slug of my cold hot chocolate.
6:20am- I put Lyla in an exersaucer.
6:25am- Archer gets tired of the floor, so I entertain Archer on the couch.
6:26am- I decide the babies look too cute in their outfits to not take a picture, so we have an impromptu photo session. I act like a fool to try to get them to smile, take about 20 pictures and only get one that is a keeper.
7:03am- Archer starts to get fussy and I decide he isn't going to wait until 7:25 to eat (we are on a loose 3-hour feeding schedule), so I give him his bottle.
7:15am- I change Archer's diaper and put him in an exersaucer.
7:16am- Lyla gets tired of being on the floor, so I put her in the swing for a nap.
7:17am- I realize I never ate breakfast, so I get some smoothie juice, string cheese and knock off Ho Hos from Aldi. Breakfast of Champions.
7:19am- It's time to pump, so I get all my parts and get situated.
7:25am- Archer gets crabby, so I try to shake toys in Archer's face to get him to be happy while still pumping. Eventually he eats a cloth book and is happy again.
7:40am- I take another drink of my cold hot chocolate and decide to give up on it. I go in the kitchen to put the milk I just pumped away and dump my cold hot chocolate down the sink. I notice Lyla is awake in swing, trying to reach the animals on her mobile. So I duck down behind the counter and sit on kitchen floor to put away the milk so she won't see me and want to be picked up. I manage to stay hidden.
7:45am- I put Archer in a Rock N Play and he finally goes to sleep without a fight.
7:46am- I sneakily check on Lyla and see she's asleep.
7:47-8:16am- I decide it would be a good idea to write a blog post about what my days are like. While I'm typing, I realize I didn't finish my smoothie drink, so I finish it. I decide I can't keep up with this all day long, so I'll just give a snippet of my day in this blog post. I realize I should have taken a shower or brushed my teeth instead of working on this post. I also wonder if it's too early to eat lunch.
8:17am- Archer is stirring in his Rock N Play...
Shout out to all the stay at home moms! It's not easy work, but it sure is important! And shout out to the working moms! I can't imagine the song and dance that has to happen each morning to make it out the front door. Keep on keeping on, moms!
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