Day 25 Photos/Day 80 Words

May 6 was Day 25... We're so close to the finish line now!

{wrap: sweater sleeve   headband: hem lace and hand-singed, hand-sewn flower, made by me}

And today, June 30, is DAY 80. Two and  a half months... Eighty months. It's flown, it's dragged... it's been a major time of adjustment and awareness...

I thought since we've made it this far with two kiddos, and since in many ways she is still in the routines of a newborn, I should take some time to document our typical Day in the Life before we move along and things change so much that I forget what these early days consisted of. So...

Our Typical Day, circa June 2011

Noah- 3.5 yrs. old

Lucy- 2.5 months old

Mama- freshly 34 (eek!)

Morning:

I wake up with Lucy, both of us in the living room, between 6:30-7:15am. She has been sleeping, swaddled tightly, in a co-sleeper bed on one leg of our sectional couch, and I have been sleeping on the other leg of the couch, usually with my hand blearily holding a binkie in or near Lucy's face. 

Joe wakes in our bedroom at 6:00 or 6:15, often to the call of Noah's voice--our 3.5 yr old who is still unaware that he can pop out of his toddler bed and come out on his own. Joe usually gets Noah, then brings him back to our room and lets him watch a cartoon on his iTouch while he finishes his snooze.

Joe showers, then he and Noah head downstairs to round up some breakfast. 

Typical Noah brekky-- Honey Nut Cheerios

A few variations-- poached eggs, or bran muffins, or toast/peanut butter

Typical Joe brekky-- cereal like frosted shredded wheat

his variations are similar to Noah's. 

As Noah eats breakfast, Joe assembles not only his lunch, but prepares a cute lunch for Noah and myself as well. He started doing this at the start of June, as a new idea for cutting costs and adding convenience to my SAHM life. It was all Joe's idea, and such a sweet offer. He even bought cute bento-esque boxes for us to make the whole thing more fun, and super portable. 

Meanwhile, Lucy and I are beginning to rouse, finally. Lucy nurses usually as soon as she wakes. We call Noah into the room and he gets to turn the sound machine (set to "rain") off for us. Usually he and Joe are in the room when I first unswaddle Lucy. We get some AWESOME morning smiles and cute stretches from her in the morning, so it's a fun thing to be there for. 

If Lucy has woken early enough, I get to hand her over to Joe before he has to leave for work, and I get a shower. Otherwise, it's a crapshoot when I might get that kind of time to myself. With Noah, Lucy, and I still in jammies, we bid Joe farewell and he heads off to work at UMSL at 7:35am. At this point, we usually indulge in some cartoons to ease into the day. We have a LOT of couch time these days...

Noah's current favorite show: Yo Gabba Gabba on Netflix. (He has only JUST discovered this show in the past 3 weeks. He is an insta-fan.)

Other favorites: Backyardigans, Super Why, Dinosaur Train, Bugs Bunny

MidMorning:

At some point between 7:35 and noon, I manage to get Lucy dressed for the day and Noah dressed for the day. MAYBE myself dressed for the day. Ha! There are various diaper changes for both kids (nope, the 3.5yr old is nowhere NEAR potty-trained), nursing every 2.5 hours for Lucy, and maybe a mid-morning snack for Noah and I. 

Activities we might do during the 8-1pm stretch:

* Cartoons, as mentioned

* PlayDoh or coloring for Noah while I edit photos or do some work

* Playing upstairs in Noah's "carnival" (the landing area play area) while Lucy lays on a blanket and is cheerful for brief moments

* Run necessary errands if we're feeling brave (otherwise, I put them off til Joe is home and I can go alone or with just Noah)

* Play dates, if we're feeling brave

* Hang out in the yard and water the plants, play with the hose

* Go for a walk with the new double stroller (to be introduced in a later post. It has a name. I love it.) or with Lucy in a sling.

* Necessary chores (often with Lucy in a sling. She loves the vacuum so I reserve that chore for one of her bad mornings. Insta-nap. Awesome.)

Lucy naps between 2-3 hours in the morning stretch. This can be either in small chunks (i.e. 45 mins/1.5 hrs./1 hr or some kind of variation) or in two big chunks (like  1 hr nap, then a 2 hr nap.) If there is one thing I am feeling confident in as her mother, it is that if it has been more than an hour since her last sleep, she is probably ready to sleep again. So if she's fed and changed, and still cranky, she wants to sleep. I trust this implicitly, and it has not failed me yet. She goes to sleep immediately once I begin the nap-prep routine with her. 

She is often held or slung for her morning naps. 

Midday:

Noah and I try to get lunch in around noon. We love having Joe's prepped lunches because we can take them with us if we're on the go, or just have food READY as soon as Noah is hungry. Lunch is low-key... But always has dessert. 

We often have another hour or so after lunch to play before Noah's naptime. 

Afternoon:

Noah naps around 2:00pm. Even at 3.5 yrs old, he is still a champion napper. He has not fought a nap for months, and often is out for the count for 3 hours. We ALL love this, him included. His nap routine is much the same as it's been for a long time: we go to his room and turn on his sound machine. We read 2-3 books aloud, then I sing him 2-3 songs and leave the room. The only addition to this routine is Lucy. If she's awake and calm, she gets to come along. If she is sleeping, I might put her down in another room so I can give Noah all my attention and both my hands. And if she is screaming, I have learned that it is okay to put her down in the other room for the 7 or so minutes it takes to get Noah's routine done. This has only had to happen three times so far, and the first time was hard for me... But I realized that Noah needed to know he was a priority sometimes, too... and since then it has been easier. Plus, it is very rare that it has to happen. 

Once Noah is napping, Lucy and I get some snuggle time of our own. I feed her, then often it is time for her big nap as well, lasting 2-3 hours. I get her to sleep and this nap often ends in her carseat or co-sleeper bed, and I am free to move around. I'd say about 3-4 times a week, I give in and nap as well-- about an hour for my very own-- and the other times I work on photo editing, cleaning, or just reading/chilling out in the silence. 

Evening:

Joe comes home around 5:15pm. Often he comes home to everyone sleeping. He might even get 15-30 minutes of his own downtime before anyone wakes. Noah is up usually between 5-5:30pm, and Lucy and I are usually awake by then as well. Joe has also taken charge of dinner as part of his Food Project, so he makes sure to play with Noah/hold Lucy a bit, but then gets down to the business of dinnertime and we all orbit around him a bit, happy to have him home. I might nurse Lucy in the room adjoining the kitchen, Noah might help out with cooking or go outside a bit...

Dinner is around 6:00 or 6:30pm, and is usually simple... The less time spent prepping food, the more time together as a family. 

Post-dinner, we often go outside. We have a teensy garden this year, so we water the plants, play with the hose, perhaps go for a walk... Lucy loves the outside, so if she's having a fussy evening, taking her outside is often one of the solutions. Another common pastime for Joe in the evening is to join Noah upstairs in his play area and indulge Noah in his fanciful imaginative play. "Bad Robots" is the current favorite game. 

Bedtime:

Noah's bedtime begins at 8:00pm. He is totally over the BATH, and prefers showers. He gets a shower every other day, and is THRILLED on the days he gets to "skip a shower". When he is in the shower, he still plays with toys like buckets and tubes and things, and loves to clown around. Post-shower, Dad helps him brush his teeth and get into jammies. Lucy gets a bath every few days, usually before Noah's shower. 

After shower/bathtime, Joe and Noah (and if Lucy is cooperating, she and I) sit in Noah's room and read books. then we all have family prayer and Noah says a prayer of his own, and then Joe takes Lucy and I stay to sing to Noah and turn off lights. Noah loves to find ways to keep me there as long as possible, including asking me to repeat songs, let him sing them back to me, hold his hand, get one more drink of water, etc. When I finally extricate myself and am at the doorway, he has taken to asking, "What do you have to go do?" and I make it sound as boring as possible so he's not tempted to whine and say he wants to join me... So I say things like, "Feed Lucy", "put on my own pajamas", "got to bed 'cause I'm super tired", "do chores", etc... Even if I really am going to go downstairs, eat cake and watch tv with Joe--MUCH more fun!

After Noah is taken care of, Joe and spend most evenings on the couch. I nurse Lucy, we watch some tv...

Current TV shows I'm DVR'ing (and Joe is tagging along with): 

So You Think You Can Dance

Bachelorette

America's Got Talent

Current Show We Are Watching On Netflix together:

LOST

Lucy is usually asleep by 9:30 or so, and Joe and I smooch goodnight and go our separate ways by 10:00pm. This odd arrangement for the time being is working really well for us, but is something I NEVER imagined would be my life. Joe sleeps on the couch with Lucy/cosleeper the first part of the night. If Lucy wakes before 1:30am, he is to give her a bottle and put her back to sleep, then come get me the next time she wakes (around 3:30). If she wakes AFTER 1:30 (usually around 2:30am recently), he just comes and gets me then. We switch places and he gets the bedroom for the second half of the night and I get Lucy duty. Lucy usually sleeps a good solid chunk from 9:30-10:00ish to 2:00-2:30ish. Then when I take over, she will usually wake to nurse every 2-2.5 hours from then on-- typically about 2-3 total feedings. I can't complain-- this sleep thing is WAY better than with Noah at this point. 

Things I might do while nursing in the middle of the night:

* read a Kindle novel on the iTouch

*check in on Facebook/Twitter/emails/message boards/Pinterest on my iTouch

*play a game on the iTouch

*lay my head back and sleep, accidentally letting Lucy graze for 45 minutes a side instead of 10-15 minutes a side.

And that.... Well.... That is our life right now. With VERY little variation. And has been for over a month now. It'll shift and morph over the next couple of months, so I wanted to grab it and document it before it did so.

It's all good. Good days. Bad days. Baby smiles. Toddler brilliance. Passing smooches and hugs with Joe. Summer gardens and shorter to-do lists... Tis life. 

We're living as best we can. 

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