Two Under 2: A Day in the Life

Warning: incredibly long post ahead.

Also, I know I really need more pictures. I just did a whole 1-month-old “photo shoot” with Eliza, but none of them are on this computer.

Thirdly, the random pair of Christian’s little pants in this picture makes me laugh.

Where to begin?

I miss writing… I miss commenting on your blogs (although I’ve still been reading!). I have numerous thoughts to share, sleep-deprived though I am. I have great guest posts in an email folder waiting to be published. I plan to publish them beginning Monday (I hope!).

Life with two… well, it’s been busy, needless to say. Times like this are rare, when both of them are sleeping at the same time for more than 20 or 30 minutes. I have a sweet, riotous toddler who’s had some difficulty adjusting to the new state of things. I have an adorable, precious baby girl who would like to snuggle with me all day long, and I would love to do the same.

My days are quite a whirlwind now. I’m figuring out how to balance everything – the kids’ basic needs are taken care of first, of course, and then the less essential but important things with them like playing, going outside, etc. In between I have to fit in laundry, meal preparation, keeping things picked up, and a little cleaning. And finishing a task without several stops and starts is rare (does that make sense? Again, sleep deprivation…).

Speaking of sleep deprivation, Eliza’s been a little champ. She’s even gone one 6.5-hour stretch already. She basically wakes up once between 11 and 7, although sometimes it takes awhile to get her back to sleep. If I wasn’t so wired from forcing myself awake during the day, I might be able to get more sleep at night. But I feel very blessed she’s not waking me up every 2 hours at night. (Famous last words.)

I think I’m figuring out our new routine, even though 1-month-olds aren’t exactly predictable or schedule-able (new word!). Here’s how it looks:

7:00: Eliza wakes up and eats breakfast. A.J.’s up getting ready for work. (I’m not going to describe his exact schedule though.) I get Eliza and myself (hopefully) dressed for the day, and if I have time I make the bed and tidy up a little, depending on if she lets me.

8:00: Christian wakes up and eats breakfast. I juggle both kids’ needs and try to fit eating my own breakfast and drinking coffee in there somewhere.

8:30: Somewhere around this time Eliza falls asleep, usually while I’m carrying her around. I try to lay her in her glider, or I continue holding her while I eat breakfast. Christian watches his one half-hour movie of the day while I eat and/or clean up the kitchen.

9:00-10:00: I get Christian dressed and brush his teeth and mine. If Eliza’s sleeping, I clean up the living room and start laundry while Christian “helps” me.

10:00: Snack time – we’ve been having green smoothies every day lately. Christian loves it when I say it’s time for his smoothie. He rushes to the cupboard where I keep the blender and says, “Wow!!” because it’s noisy.

10:15-12:00: Kind of a whirlwind of playing with Christian and keeping him out of trouble, feeding Eliza and keeping her happy, catching up on tasks I’m already behind on, making any supper preparations, changing diapers, etc.

12:00: Lunchtime! Eliza’s often taking her second nap by this time, or she might be nursing or wanting to be held. Christian’s in his high chair in the kitchen and I take care of any dishes that need doing and chit-chat with him.

12:30: We hang around waiting for naptime. I try to read to Christian but he’s not having too much of it lately, other than the Bible stories A.J. reads him before bed. Sometimes if I have to feed Eliza at this time, Christian plays in the pack ‘n’ play or in his room with me, because he tends to be a little difficult right before his nap.

1:00: Naptime. Sometimes I get Eliza to sleep too, but more often she’s still awake for awhile and I have one-on-one time with her. She gets some tummy time, we “talk,” and eventually she’ll drift off to sleep. I eat lunch and usually drink another cup of coffee. I should nap and read my Bible during this time, but often I try to get things done or just remain unproductive because I’m so tired.

3:00: Christian usually wakes up by now. It’s snack time for him, and I wash my lunch dishes while he eats.

3:15-4:30: Another whirlwind time period, during which I entertain both kids, finish laundry, and if I’ve had a really crazy day, pick up the house and finish getting myself ready “for the day.”

4:30-5:30: We usually go outside. We don’t have a backyard, but we live on a tiny side street, so Christian walks up and down the street and pushes his dump truck. He loves it. I push Eliza in the stroller, following him closely and keeping him away from the busier road in spite of his vehement protests at being hindered from his chosen path. (Wow. Long sentence, anyone?)

5:30-8:00: I give Christian a bath before dinner if he got extra dirty outside. Or I get him started on his dinner. I used to cook in the evening but I’ve been using my crock-pot almost daily instead. A.J. gets home from work and Eliza’s evening fussy period begins around the same time. We juggle both kids, baths, eating dinner (sometimes in shifts), and keeping Christian from attempting all the forbidden actions he especially likes to try in the evening.

8:00-10:00: Christian goes to bed. Eliza kicks up her fussiness a notch. I’m unable to soothe her and A.J. takes about 30-45 minutes getting her to sleep (seriously, this happens almost every evening). By the time she’s finally asleep, we’re about ready for bed too. We finish any cleaning up that needs to be done and get ready to start all over the next day!

Whew… As you can see, it is crazy around here right now. The most challenging part for me is balancing enjoying my children and getting necessary tasks done. If I’m super task-focused, I’m stressed all day because I can never finish anything I start without being interrupted. But it’s not good for my family either for me to lounge around every day doing nothing but hanging out with them.

I have to keep the house running somewhat smoothly and give them plenty of quality time as well. I need a lot of grace to breathe and enjoy my sweet baby while I’m holding her, without focusing on everything that needs to get done… and then to do what needs to get done when it’s time, without getting frustrated that I can’t sit on the couch staring into Eliza’s eyes every minute of the day.

I think I should end this now! Happy Friday, everyone!