Thursday, July 19, 2018

Day in the Life with a 3.5 Year Old and a 3 Month Old

We're halfway through summer and so far, all is well in two-kid land. Adelaide is leaving newbornhood and becoming quite the happy baby. She's been sleeping like a champ at night lately (we'll see if it lasts!). Her naps are kind of all over the place. She tends to take nice, long naps when we go on playdates (must be all the noise that helps), but days where we stay closer to home she'll take 4-5 45 minute naps. Since she often sleeps well at night, she eats a lot during the day.


Emmett continues to be a model big brother who loves to snuggle on her (but not TOO hard) and usually understands when I need to take a nursing break. Summer school has been a BIG help - having 3 mornings a week off makes us all happier and more understanding on days he doesn't have school. And, he loves an excuse to play with his bestie Max. On days he's not in school, we usually have a play date so he can run all his energy out :)

I took Adelaide on her first Hike It Baby hike last week when it was ever so slightly cooler. It was great to catch up with friends and enjoy a shady trail! She slept through the whole thing like a champ. I also signed her up for baby swim class at Emler - just like we did with Emmett. She's enjoying it! I'll probably only hit a few classes (it's free plus a nominal registration fee), but I wanted to let her have the experience.


And, last month we did our first weekend family trip. We headed to my sister's new house in Houston. A slept like a champ there and back, and it was so great introducing her to her cousins, uncle Brian and my dad!






So here's a day in the life with Emmett at summer school!

7:30 a.m. I wake up and consider what to do first, but I hear Adelaide stir on the monitor, so that answers that question! She has been sleeping like a champ the last few weeks and we are SO grateful!! I grab her and say good morning - Emmett pops in too to say hi. He woke Luke up around 6:40 and they had been hanging downstairs. He heads back down to eat breakfast with Luke, I take Adelaide into bed to nurse and pump at the same time (baller status). I typically wake a little before her and pump first, but this works too! I get us both dressed and grab clothes for Emmett for the day, then head downstairs.

8:00 a.m. Breakfast time for me! Luke heads upstairs to shower, and Emmett wants to play in the backyard. I suggest he get started while I eat, and he counters that I should eat outside. I decide that's a great idea, so Adelaide hangs in her chair and I chow down on some leftover french toast, berries and coffee.

Strawberry thief!



8:15 a.m. A and I head inside to clean up breakfast dishes and make Emmett's lunch for the day. Then I play with Emmett in the back yard. We say bye to Luke and get E ready for school.
Lunch = strawberries/cherry tomatoes/tortilla/string cheese/applesauce.
Snack = bananas/animal crackers


8:50 a.m.Into the car and on the way to school! We're at a different one for the summer since his typical preschool doesn't have a summer program. This new one is only a mile away which is great (and that his best friend is in class with him!).

9:15 a.m. Adelaide fell asleep in the car on the ride home, so I put her in the stroller and we meet up with my friend Tiffany for a neighborhood walk.
USB charged stroller fan FTW!

10:00 a.m. We're back home and she has a nice long nurse. I munch on a couple figs (yay! Our tree produced this year. These are actually figs from a friend's tree though which were HUGE and delicious). Then we head upstairs to change her diaper and I take a few pics of her to celebrate her turning 3 months! I put her in the crib to play while I take a quick shower and get changed. Then we read books in her room - two of my childhood favorites, Angelina Ballerina and Madeline. She starts to get fussy so I nurse her again for a few minutes while eating second breakfast - PBJ overnight oats with berries. Then I empty the dishwasher while she parties in one of her baby chairs.





11:30 a.m. We head to Whole Foods for groceries and she falls asleep on the way there!

12:30 p.m. We're back home. She's still asleep so I unload groceries. I open my computer to catch up on a few things and time flies by until it's time to pick up Emmett.

1:20 p.m. We head to pick up Emmett. He had a great day at school and is all smiles. We get home and head upstairs for bedtime. We make it halfway through when A wakes up. I bring her upstairs but she gets progressively more fussy. We manage to finish all the books and I give him a kiss, then boogie on downstairs to nurse A.



2:10 p.m. We have a nice nurse while I watch Grey's Anatomy (I've been binge watching since she was born - don't judge me). Then I bring A into the kitchen and she watches me make chili and eat lunch - leftover ham and cheese quiche with broccoli. I put on my Pitch Perfect Pandora station and we have a dance party. I blend up a mango, some coconut milk, a squeeze of lime and a teaspoon of sugar and pour it into popsicle molds for a surprise treat later. I nurse A again and try to put her down for a nap in her rock n play, but she's not having it. I usually get at least a little nap overlap with these two, but it's not happening today. Oh well! I munch on a few rainier cherries for a consolation prize :)







4:10 p.m. We head upstairs to wake up Emmett. He's super cheerful and greets us both with kisses - too sweet! We head downstairs and I fix him a snack then we settle down to watch some Llama Llama. I nurse A again, and this time she does go down for a nap. Surprisingly, E doesn't ask to play outside like he usually does. We set up his train track and make block bridges around it.



5:55 p.m. Luke is home! We're all happy to see him. E suggests playing outside, but then I mention we're having chili for dinner and all of a sudden he's ready for dinner :D

6:15 p.m. We're all done with dinner. E heads outside, Luke washes up the dishes and I nurse A. Luke suggests a walk but E isn't interested. They play in the sprinkler and I throw A in a carrier to stroll up and down the street so she can catch one last cat nap and chat with a few neighbors.

7:10 p.m. I grab the popsicles and we all enjoy them in the backyard. So yummy!!


7:35 p.m. Time to head upstairs for bathtime. I bathe Adelaide in her baby tub while the boys wrestle, then E gets in the tub. She has a nice long nurse while Luke gets E in jammies/teeth brushed/read books. We make it in there for the last book, then say goodnight.

8:35 p.m. I can tell A isn't quite ready for bed. Last night we were able to put her down awake and she fell asleep no problem, but I think she needs a little more TLC tonight. I warm 2 oz of breast milk and give her a bottle, put her in a sleep sack and walk her around for a minute. She's asleep by 8:50!

9:00 p.m. I consider folding laundry (because hello family of 4, there's always laundry! sigh...), but opt for homemade lactation cookies and milk while I ice my ankles (they're sore from body jam last night) while I work on this post. Luke has a video game date with his friend Mike :)

10:00 a.m. I head upstairs and get ready for bed!

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Day in the Life with a 3.5 year old and a newborn

Greetings as a mom of two! I intended to do another post during my pregnancy, but holy 3rd trimester! The end was no picnic and I had little energy, so needless to say a blog post didn't happen. Emmett was a good sport, and thank goodness for school days and play dates! I had a tough time being on my feet for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time (I even resorted to doing my chopping, etc. for cooking sitting down at the table!). And part of the reason this time may have been harder is that I had a BIG baby! Meet my 10 pound, 2 ounce baby girl -- Adelaide!



My birthday buddy came into the world on April 17th. This girl is all rolls and cheeks and is sweet as can be. She loves to sleep and is already super into Emmett - and he loves her! He's been such a tender big brother, just as I had hoped.

So not only is this a day in the life, but it was my first day solo parenting these two all day while Luke headed back to work after 5 weeks of paternity leave. I got lucky, REALLY lucky, and know every day won't go this well.

7:45 a.m. I hear Luke in the shower. Emmett snuck into our room to wake him up at 7 and they had been downstairs chilling before Luke came up to shower. Adelaide is still snoozing, so I throw on clothes, grab clothes for the kiddos and head downstairs to have a cup of coffee and some breakfast. We don't have any oatmeal made and I don't feel like making a mess, so I have a mix of cereals, strawberries, blueberries and walnuts. Luke brings A down and I nurse her while he finishes getting ready for work.

8:50 a.m. We head outside to wave bye to Luke. E wants to play in the front yard and A is awake, so I put her in the baby carrier and we play for a bit.

9:15 a.m. I suggest a walk and E is all about it (which is NOT a given these days). I keep A in the carrier, and E grabs his balance bike. He takes me on one of the routes he and Luke have frequented these past few months on their bikes that I'd never been on with them. It was so fun having him lead the way! He is speedy on his bike, but did a good job of waiting for me or going back and forth. It was cooler than it has been out, but still muggy, so by the end of the 1.5 mile walk I am SWEATY!



10 a.m. I put A down and slice up some watermelon for us. Emmett LOVES watermelon and scarfs down 4 slices. I then take the world's fastest shower while A starts getting fussy.

10:20 a.m. I nurse A while E watches Llama Llama on Netflix - his new favorite show (along with Planet Earth II!). It's SO nice to finally have a break from Daniel Tiger after 2 YEARS :)

11 a.m. A nursed for a long time and is ready for a solid nap. We go meet his best friend Max at Jump Party USA and have a fun play date. The boys are well behaved (not a given) and I have fun catching up with Max's mom Anne and her baby Leo (A's future bf?!). While we're there, E has snacks and lunch so I don't have to worry about that later. I snack on apple slices and peanut butter balls. A sleeps through the whole thing!




1:25 p.m. We're home again and I manage to get E to head straight upstairs for nap time (yes, A is STILL asleep). After potty/brush teeth/book time, he says he's not tired, but proceeds to get in bed and fall asleep almost immediately. His naps have been ALL over the place, especially having Luke home the last few weeks, so this was super lucky.

1:45 p.m. I sprint downstairs to make myself a proper lunch (a girl can't live on peanut butter balls!). My friends brought use dinner the other night and included some of their AWESOME homemade sourdough bread, so I cut myself a thick slice, spread some butter and cooked it on the griddle. Then I topped it with apricot jam, arugula and a fried egg. I think of waking up A since I know she should eat, but do myself a solid and lay on the couch for 15 minutes with my eyes closed - not asleep, but a little restored at least!

2:20 p.m. A wakes up and we have a good nurse. I know if I try to put her down she'll be fussy, so we snuggle while she naps on me and I watch some TV (I'm guilt-binging Grey's Anatomy, which I stopped watch 10 years ago).

4 p.m. E is STILL asleep (NOT normal these days), so I go to wake him up. He sits down for some milk, strawberries and graham crackers while he watches more Llama Llama, and I nurse A. Then we play with her on the activity mat and build with magnet blocks. Benji will not be ignored :)



5 p.m. I throw baby A in a ring sling and we head to the backyard with big brother for some fun on the swing set. We eventually head to the front where we find an adorable baby gift from my cousin's family, and a big brother present for Emmett! He's been glued to the red truck they sent!
5:50 p.m. Hooray! Luke is home! We play in the front yard while dinner warms up. Since I was flying solo today, I dug into my stash of meals that I'd frozen and pulled out chili for dinner.


6:30 p.m We sit down to eat. Emmett loves chili (especially the Fritos that go with it ;) ) and we have a nice dinner. Then it's time for the boys to head outside to play. I nurse Adelaide inside and then rinse a few dishes while juggling a baby.

7:45 p.m. We head upstairs for tubby time a little late (oops!). E has a pair of mini kitchen tongs that are his favorite bathtub toy these days - he calls them his fish ;) It's been a few days since A's last bath, so we give her a bath in her whale tub on the counter. Then we all head to his room for jammies, brush teeth and book time. I read a few books, then Adelaide gets fussy, so she and I head off to get her jammies on and nurse while Luke finishes up bedtime with Emmett.

8:30 p.m. I think Adelaide is asleep after just 10 minutes of nursing, so I put her down and pump a bit. Well, turned out to be a fake out so I continue nursing and watching Grey's Anatomy. Luke and I were going to watch West World, but E's bedtime took a while and he needed to finish cleaning downstairs. Plus, we don't think A will stay up long, so we watch an episode of Brooklyn 9-9 while Luke finishes A off with a small bottle of pumped milk.

10:30 p.m. We finally get the lights out and go to sleep. It was a long night of nursing and I'm wiped! I luck out that she doesn't wake up until 3:30 which is a squirmy fake out and she doesn't actually need to nurse until 4:30 -- woot!