The day normally begins around 7am. Hubbie goes off to work so I have to get up as the toddler is roaming free downstairs and cannot be trusted for too long on his own. So I get up and shower and dress and go downstairs (normally leaving the 8-month old still sleeping soundly in the bed after a 6am feed). I say good morning to toddler and give him a hug and kiss I make coffee and fix a big bowl of cereal for me and a small bowl for him (usually cheerios or rice krispes or weetabix). Sometimes I bring him to the big table in the kitchen, sometimes we sit on the sofa and watch Nick Jnr or C-Beebies and until I have eaten and had some caffeine I am really not very chatty.
After that I have to decide whether to tackle tidying the dishes in the kitchen or taking toddler up to get washed and dressed. I normally opt for the latter and carry him up the stairs (although he is getting more and more independent by the day and likes to walk up the stairs himself - all be it a slow pace). As we get upstairs toddler runs around the landing screaming "I want to see Jakey" and jumps on the bed so baby is now awake and crying. I get baby up and top and tail and dress him, then dress toddler and carry them both downstairs. Baby then sits in his high chair and has his breakfast. He is a self-led weaner - which makes eating weetabix very messy. When he is done I pick him up at arms length and back upstairs he goes for a wash-down before returning downstairs to the lounge to play with toys with his brother. I then tackle the kitchen - breakfast mess and sometimes dishes from the day before; empty dishwasher, re-fill it with everything that can go in it (which is virtually everything except the chopping boards and unfortunately the high-chair!). Put on some washing and I try and get organised before the toddler starts upsetting the baby. I know he just wants to play but doesn't realise how careful he has to be with a baby i.e. rugby tackle style cuddles are not good for an 8-month old! By this time baby is getting fretful for some milk so I sit down and feed him and remind toddler to sit on his potty for a wee wee (we have been potty training for 3 months now and this week he has actually started to do it without any prompting and no accidents).
By now it is around 10am and baby is tired so we either go out in the car to the shops or out in the buggy down to the high street so that toddler can let off steam and baby can nap. Today was supermarket shopping so when we got back it was unpacking bags and putting away before a nappy change and time for lunch. Hubby arrives home for lunch and I manage to sit down for half an hour and eat a sandwich, normally while giving baby a quick feed. After lunch we go out for a walk while hubby goes back to work. Toddler needs a nap but keeps nagging to go to the park. We stop at the park and I push him on the swing for about 10 mins and then he goes down the slide about half a dozen times before I say we have to go. I walk round the long way home hoping that he will go off to sleep in the buggy - normally he does if he is tired enough (and he normally is as he gets up around 6am). I walk home and they are both asleep - bliss! However, baby is a very light sleeper and as soon as I try to start doing some housework he wakes up and so I have to sit and give him a quick feed. This then makes vacuuming more difficult as the sound upsets him and so that is then put on hold for another day. If I have the energy then the battleground of toys in the lounge are tidyed up a bit while the toddler sleeps and then it's time for a coffee and a sit down to check e-mails. Then it's time to get the load of washing out and hung up (either in the garden or upsairs depending on the weather) another nappy change and decide what to do for dinner, by which time toddler is waking up. When he wakes I get him a drink and a snack and sit and read some books to him.
By 5pm I have to make a start on dinner so I hope that the boys play nicely in the lounge. Sometimes I have to put the baby in his bumbo or high chair in the kitchen so that I can keep an eye on him and he will chew on a biscuit until it is time for dinner. Hubby arrives home just before 6 and will play with toddler for a while - normally with the train track or cars. About 6.30pm we all sit down to eat. I still have to feed toddler a lot of the time, while baby will not be spoon-fed so all his food gets put straight onto his high chair table and he picks it up and eats it himself. After dinner hubby takes toddler up for his bath and I sit with baby while he finishes his dinner. When he is finished I take him upstairs to join his brother in the bath and they both get their pyjamas on ready for bed. We all come downstairs and watch TV or read books for a short while. Around 7.30/8pm I take toddler up to bed. He has a real routine that he does not like to waiver from. He sits on his potty for his final wee wee (or poo poo) and then I put a nappy on him. He has a solar night light ladybird so he has to put him on the radiator and put his cup of water down by his bed; he then goes and closes the stair gate that is at the top of the stairs (he doesn't realise that I will be opening it again to get down the stairs once he is asleep!); he then closes his bedroom door and gets into bed; I always say "night night sweetpea, we've had a busy day, love you very much" and if I don't say the busy day bit then he will say it instead; I then have to give him some milk for 15 mins, then I pull him off and tell him I have to go and see his brother and I blow kisses to him from the door and he blows them back and then he turns to the wall and goes to sleep. I then go back downstairs by which time baby is hungry and very tired. I sit and feed him and he falls asleep in my arms. Hubby carries him up to his cot where he will sometimes sleep for a few hours. More often than not though he will sleep for an hour and then cry and sit with us in the lounge until we go to bed around 10.30pm where he sleeps with hubby and I in our bed. This is a typical day for me.
After that I have to decide whether to tackle tidying the dishes in the kitchen or taking toddler up to get washed and dressed. I normally opt for the latter and carry him up the stairs (although he is getting more and more independent by the day and likes to walk up the stairs himself - all be it a slow pace). As we get upstairs toddler runs around the landing screaming "I want to see Jakey" and jumps on the bed so baby is now awake and crying. I get baby up and top and tail and dress him, then dress toddler and carry them both downstairs. Baby then sits in his high chair and has his breakfast. He is a self-led weaner - which makes eating weetabix very messy. When he is done I pick him up at arms length and back upstairs he goes for a wash-down before returning downstairs to the lounge to play with toys with his brother. I then tackle the kitchen - breakfast mess and sometimes dishes from the day before; empty dishwasher, re-fill it with everything that can go in it (which is virtually everything except the chopping boards and unfortunately the high-chair!). Put on some washing and I try and get organised before the toddler starts upsetting the baby. I know he just wants to play but doesn't realise how careful he has to be with a baby i.e. rugby tackle style cuddles are not good for an 8-month old! By this time baby is getting fretful for some milk so I sit down and feed him and remind toddler to sit on his potty for a wee wee (we have been potty training for 3 months now and this week he has actually started to do it without any prompting and no accidents).
By now it is around 10am and baby is tired so we either go out in the car to the shops or out in the buggy down to the high street so that toddler can let off steam and baby can nap. Today was supermarket shopping so when we got back it was unpacking bags and putting away before a nappy change and time for lunch. Hubby arrives home for lunch and I manage to sit down for half an hour and eat a sandwich, normally while giving baby a quick feed. After lunch we go out for a walk while hubby goes back to work. Toddler needs a nap but keeps nagging to go to the park. We stop at the park and I push him on the swing for about 10 mins and then he goes down the slide about half a dozen times before I say we have to go. I walk round the long way home hoping that he will go off to sleep in the buggy - normally he does if he is tired enough (and he normally is as he gets up around 6am). I walk home and they are both asleep - bliss! However, baby is a very light sleeper and as soon as I try to start doing some housework he wakes up and so I have to sit and give him a quick feed. This then makes vacuuming more difficult as the sound upsets him and so that is then put on hold for another day. If I have the energy then the battleground of toys in the lounge are tidyed up a bit while the toddler sleeps and then it's time for a coffee and a sit down to check e-mails. Then it's time to get the load of washing out and hung up (either in the garden or upsairs depending on the weather) another nappy change and decide what to do for dinner, by which time toddler is waking up. When he wakes I get him a drink and a snack and sit and read some books to him.
By 5pm I have to make a start on dinner so I hope that the boys play nicely in the lounge. Sometimes I have to put the baby in his bumbo or high chair in the kitchen so that I can keep an eye on him and he will chew on a biscuit until it is time for dinner. Hubby arrives home just before 6 and will play with toddler for a while - normally with the train track or cars. About 6.30pm we all sit down to eat. I still have to feed toddler a lot of the time, while baby will not be spoon-fed so all his food gets put straight onto his high chair table and he picks it up and eats it himself. After dinner hubby takes toddler up for his bath and I sit with baby while he finishes his dinner. When he is finished I take him upstairs to join his brother in the bath and they both get their pyjamas on ready for bed. We all come downstairs and watch TV or read books for a short while. Around 7.30/8pm I take toddler up to bed. He has a real routine that he does not like to waiver from. He sits on his potty for his final wee wee (or poo poo) and then I put a nappy on him. He has a solar night light ladybird so he has to put him on the radiator and put his cup of water down by his bed; he then goes and closes the stair gate that is at the top of the stairs (he doesn't realise that I will be opening it again to get down the stairs once he is asleep!); he then closes his bedroom door and gets into bed; I always say "night night sweetpea, we've had a busy day, love you very much" and if I don't say the busy day bit then he will say it instead; I then have to give him some milk for 15 mins, then I pull him off and tell him I have to go and see his brother and I blow kisses to him from the door and he blows them back and then he turns to the wall and goes to sleep. I then go back downstairs by which time baby is hungry and very tired. I sit and feed him and he falls asleep in my arms. Hubby carries him up to his cot where he will sometimes sleep for a few hours. More often than not though he will sleep for an hour and then cry and sit with us in the lounge until we go to bed around 10.30pm where he sleeps with hubby and I in our bed. This is a typical day for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment