A Day In The Life
I've had several people ask what our days are like now that June and Evie have arrived. Now that we've gotten into a bit of a routine, I thought that I would give you a little run down of what we do around here normally. So, here you go....this is a little glimpse into the life of a mom a 5 year old and newborn twins.
6:30am-My day begins. Actually, I'm not the first one up around here. Nolan gets up around 6:15 and gets Georgia up. He is in the shower by now and Georgia is sitting down for breakfast. I get up to help her get dressed and make her lunch.
7:30am-Nolan and Georgia are out the door. I usually turn on The Today Show and catch up on some AM news. This is also the time when one twin wakes up, give or take. And now begins our AM nursing marathon. You see, I haven't mastered the skill of nursing both babies at the same time, so I'm still doing one at a time. It works for me. And I get cuddle time with each baby every morning. That is the bonus of nursing one baby at a time. Yes, it takes a bit longer, but that one on one time is so awesome!
8:00am-I eat breakfast. I know that I better eat when I get the chance, otherwise it won't happen until after I get Georgia from school.
8:30am-Usually the other baby is awake by now and I'm nursing again. My early riser is either playing in the floor or in her bouncy seat while I'm feeding and cuddling her sister.
9:30am-The early riser usually wants a snack now...so more nursing!!!
10:00am-The sleepy head now wants a snack....you guessed it MORE NURSING!
10:30am-Time to get dressed! I change and dress each baby. This is when I would try to give a bath if its needed.
11:00am-Both babies are usually HUNGRY at this point and ready for lunch. I take a break from breast feeding and give them each a both of formula or if I have pumped breast milk, I will bottle feed that to them. I can bottle feed both girls at the same time. I sit in the middle of the couch and there is a baby on each side of me sitting in her Boppy. Also, this is when The Today Show goes off and so I usually turn the TV off.
12:00pm-Time for another diaper change. The babies are either playing or taking a nap or fighting sleep. Why do babies and kids fight sleep? Don't they know how AWESOME sleep is. No, they don't! Anyway, if it's a good day, the girls will take a nap now. Sometimes if they are playing, I will turn on the local noon news just to see whats happening around town. I've been watching more news recently.
12:30pm-Time to shower and get dressed. I know, it seems late in the day to just now be getting dressed. Since I'm breast feeding most of the morning, it's just easier to do that in my PJs. It never fails that when I try to shower, one or both of the babies will start crying as soon as I start my shower. Now, if I've already taken a shower the night before and all I need to do is freshen up and get dressed, no babies will cry all day. WHATEVER!
1:00pm-Time for my lunch....if I'm lucky. Sometimes its a bit later before I get to eat. You just never know how the day will play out.
2:00pm-If June and Evie haven't woken up yet, I will wake them for another bottle feeding. And I'll feed them both at the same time again. It really just saves so much time. After they eat, I check their diapers and we get ready to get Georgia from school.
2:40pm-Time to walk out the door to get Georgia. Both girls are in their car seats. Thank goodness they like their seats and the car ;)
3:00pm We are waiting on Georgia to get out of school. Sometimes I come early to get Georgia so I can have time to eat lunch or just have some quiet time and read a book or magazine or check my email! The twins almost always fall asleep on the drive to Georgia's school.
4:00pm Georgia starts her homework, if she has any. And if the twins are awake they each nurse.
5:00pm I start dinner or at least try to. I usually get a phone call around this time from Nolan letting me know that he is on his way home...yea!!!
5:30pm Nolan gets home and usually needs to give the girls a bottle while I'm finishing up dinner.
6:00pm Between now and 6:30pm I try to get dinner on the table.
7:00pm Both Nolan and I try to clean up after dinner. Most of the time, Nolan is stuck finishing the job while I am nursing the twins. That's just the way it goes. Georgia gets a bath if she needs one and gets ready for bed.
8:00pm Georgia's bedtime (I can't say that she is always in bed by this time, but we try). She usually gets a short story or two before she goes to sleep. Sometimes both Nolan and I get to tuck her in, sometimes it's just Nolan because I'm still feeding the twins. I hate that. I really like to tuck her in! And every once in a while I tuck Georgia in while Nolan finishes cleaning up the kitchen.
8:30pm Nolan and I hold babies and have some down time either watching TV (we are really into The Voice right now) or catching up on email and Facebook. We have been using our phones more and more to check email and Facebook. It's just easier when you are holding a baby. Lately they have been laying on the floor or sitting in their bouncy seats. It's nice not to always be holding a baby :) I know that I will miss this time, but right now the free moments I have are much welcomed.
9:30pm The twins usually start to get fussy and it's time for their bedtime feeding. Nolan will give them a diaper change and put them in their PJs. I usually lay on the couch and nurse one while he is cuddling the other. When the first twin gets done nursing, Nolan makes her a bottle. I start nursing the second twin while Nolan gets the other swaddled and rocks her. Most of the time, the twin who isn't nursing will take at least part of a bottle. When I'm done nursing the second twin, we switch. Nolan takes the second twins and repeats the process. I get to lay on the couch and cuddle the first twin. After the second twin finishes her bottle, Nolan rocks her until she is about asleep. Then she goes to bed. If the other twin isn't asleep cuddling with me on the couch, Nolan will rock her for a little bit and then put her to bed. This entire process takes a while, but it's now our routine and it works well for us. If both girls are still awake at 11pm, we will turn off the TV if it happens to be on and dim the lights in the living room.
11:30pm-Both girls are usually in bed by now. Hopefully they've been asleep for at least 30 minutes at this point. Nolan and I are doing the last few things that need to be done before we get ready for bed, like washing bottles, starting the dishwasher, doing laundry....whatever.
12:00am-Hopefully, we are both getting into bed by now. Sometimes a baby wakes at this point and needs a little rocking to settle down. Occasionally, that baby will want to eat again. So either Nolan will give a bottle or I will nurse.
Both babies have been sleeping from about 11:00pm until 7:30am. It's gotten SO MUCH BETTER. There for a while, I was waking up about every two hours to breast feed. And while I can do this laying in bed, it's not like I get to sleep through it. So, being up for an hour or so a couple of times during the night doesn't make for much sleep. It's kind of what you sign up for when you decide you want to have a baby, but that doesn't make it any easier or those nights any shorter!
We have more of a routine on the days that I'm home. The twins and I do get out and about....we don't like to stay at home all the time. Every Wednesday I go to help out in Georgia's class for 1 hour and I am back to doing some photography. My mom watches the twins for me if Nolan's not at home. It's a whole other process trying to leave the house without the twins. But I make it work.
So this is just a little glimpse into our world right now. Its always changing and always BUSY!
6:30am-My day begins. Actually, I'm not the first one up around here. Nolan gets up around 6:15 and gets Georgia up. He is in the shower by now and Georgia is sitting down for breakfast. I get up to help her get dressed and make her lunch.
7:30am-Nolan and Georgia are out the door. I usually turn on The Today Show and catch up on some AM news. This is also the time when one twin wakes up, give or take. And now begins our AM nursing marathon. You see, I haven't mastered the skill of nursing both babies at the same time, so I'm still doing one at a time. It works for me. And I get cuddle time with each baby every morning. That is the bonus of nursing one baby at a time. Yes, it takes a bit longer, but that one on one time is so awesome!
8:00am-I eat breakfast. I know that I better eat when I get the chance, otherwise it won't happen until after I get Georgia from school.
8:30am-Usually the other baby is awake by now and I'm nursing again. My early riser is either playing in the floor or in her bouncy seat while I'm feeding and cuddling her sister.
9:30am-The early riser usually wants a snack now...so more nursing!!!
10:00am-The sleepy head now wants a snack....you guessed it MORE NURSING!
10:30am-Time to get dressed! I change and dress each baby. This is when I would try to give a bath if its needed.
11:00am-Both babies are usually HUNGRY at this point and ready for lunch. I take a break from breast feeding and give them each a both of formula or if I have pumped breast milk, I will bottle feed that to them. I can bottle feed both girls at the same time. I sit in the middle of the couch and there is a baby on each side of me sitting in her Boppy. Also, this is when The Today Show goes off and so I usually turn the TV off.
12:00pm-Time for another diaper change. The babies are either playing or taking a nap or fighting sleep. Why do babies and kids fight sleep? Don't they know how AWESOME sleep is. No, they don't! Anyway, if it's a good day, the girls will take a nap now. Sometimes if they are playing, I will turn on the local noon news just to see whats happening around town. I've been watching more news recently.
12:30pm-Time to shower and get dressed. I know, it seems late in the day to just now be getting dressed. Since I'm breast feeding most of the morning, it's just easier to do that in my PJs. It never fails that when I try to shower, one or both of the babies will start crying as soon as I start my shower. Now, if I've already taken a shower the night before and all I need to do is freshen up and get dressed, no babies will cry all day. WHATEVER!
1:00pm-Time for my lunch....if I'm lucky. Sometimes its a bit later before I get to eat. You just never know how the day will play out.
2:00pm-If June and Evie haven't woken up yet, I will wake them for another bottle feeding. And I'll feed them both at the same time again. It really just saves so much time. After they eat, I check their diapers and we get ready to get Georgia from school.
2:40pm-Time to walk out the door to get Georgia. Both girls are in their car seats. Thank goodness they like their seats and the car ;)
3:00pm We are waiting on Georgia to get out of school. Sometimes I come early to get Georgia so I can have time to eat lunch or just have some quiet time and read a book or magazine or check my email! The twins almost always fall asleep on the drive to Georgia's school.
4:00pm Georgia starts her homework, if she has any. And if the twins are awake they each nurse.
5:00pm I start dinner or at least try to. I usually get a phone call around this time from Nolan letting me know that he is on his way home...yea!!!
5:30pm Nolan gets home and usually needs to give the girls a bottle while I'm finishing up dinner.
6:00pm Between now and 6:30pm I try to get dinner on the table.
7:00pm Both Nolan and I try to clean up after dinner. Most of the time, Nolan is stuck finishing the job while I am nursing the twins. That's just the way it goes. Georgia gets a bath if she needs one and gets ready for bed.
8:00pm Georgia's bedtime (I can't say that she is always in bed by this time, but we try). She usually gets a short story or two before she goes to sleep. Sometimes both Nolan and I get to tuck her in, sometimes it's just Nolan because I'm still feeding the twins. I hate that. I really like to tuck her in! And every once in a while I tuck Georgia in while Nolan finishes cleaning up the kitchen.
8:30pm Nolan and I hold babies and have some down time either watching TV (we are really into The Voice right now) or catching up on email and Facebook. We have been using our phones more and more to check email and Facebook. It's just easier when you are holding a baby. Lately they have been laying on the floor or sitting in their bouncy seats. It's nice not to always be holding a baby :) I know that I will miss this time, but right now the free moments I have are much welcomed.
9:30pm The twins usually start to get fussy and it's time for their bedtime feeding. Nolan will give them a diaper change and put them in their PJs. I usually lay on the couch and nurse one while he is cuddling the other. When the first twin gets done nursing, Nolan makes her a bottle. I start nursing the second twin while Nolan gets the other swaddled and rocks her. Most of the time, the twin who isn't nursing will take at least part of a bottle. When I'm done nursing the second twin, we switch. Nolan takes the second twins and repeats the process. I get to lay on the couch and cuddle the first twin. After the second twin finishes her bottle, Nolan rocks her until she is about asleep. Then she goes to bed. If the other twin isn't asleep cuddling with me on the couch, Nolan will rock her for a little bit and then put her to bed. This entire process takes a while, but it's now our routine and it works well for us. If both girls are still awake at 11pm, we will turn off the TV if it happens to be on and dim the lights in the living room.
11:30pm-Both girls are usually in bed by now. Hopefully they've been asleep for at least 30 minutes at this point. Nolan and I are doing the last few things that need to be done before we get ready for bed, like washing bottles, starting the dishwasher, doing laundry....whatever.
12:00am-Hopefully, we are both getting into bed by now. Sometimes a baby wakes at this point and needs a little rocking to settle down. Occasionally, that baby will want to eat again. So either Nolan will give a bottle or I will nurse.
Both babies have been sleeping from about 11:00pm until 7:30am. It's gotten SO MUCH BETTER. There for a while, I was waking up about every two hours to breast feed. And while I can do this laying in bed, it's not like I get to sleep through it. So, being up for an hour or so a couple of times during the night doesn't make for much sleep. It's kind of what you sign up for when you decide you want to have a baby, but that doesn't make it any easier or those nights any shorter!
We have more of a routine on the days that I'm home. The twins and I do get out and about....we don't like to stay at home all the time. Every Wednesday I go to help out in Georgia's class for 1 hour and I am back to doing some photography. My mom watches the twins for me if Nolan's not at home. It's a whole other process trying to leave the house without the twins. But I make it work.
So this is just a little glimpse into our world right now. Its always changing and always BUSY!
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