Yesterday it was just me and the kiddos. It had been a glorious 2.5 weeks having Jacob home, but sadly he had to go back to work. Both Jacob and Hunter were sick over the weekend, so going into Monday I wasn’t sure how it the day would go. If Hunter was sick and miserable it would be challenging cuddling him all day along with Zoe. Thankfully he was on the mend. 🙂
I forced myself out of bed around 7:15am to shower (necessary since it was skipped the day before), knowing Hunter would be waking around 8am. Zoe had just been nursed back to sleep (my favorite way – side laying on the bed) and was swaddled up on my bed. Once I was in the shower it was tough to get out, the warm water was so nice! Instead if crawling back into bed for a few minutes I went upstairs and drank coffee + cooked up some custard oats for Hunter and I.
At 8am I could hear Hunter happily talking to himself. Got him up, we read a book, he went potty and we started on breakfast. Zoe’s awoke so I brought her up. She nursed while we ate, then they both chill at the table while I prep dinner in the crockpot. I loved how they were both happy hanging out at the table for 10ish minutes.
Very slowly I got everyone ready to leave the house. Everything is much slower holding a baby in your arms. Zoe wore one of her dresses I made her. See how happy she was about it! 🙂
I had these grand plans to run about three errands AND go for a walk, all before lunch. I went to Fred Meyers to make a return and pick up coffee, avocados, bananas and chocolate chips (the important stuff). I had to carry Zoe since she was crying the whole time in her car seat, then it started sprinkling so we went home and skipped the walk. Plan fail. It all worked out though since Zoe needed to nurse again and it’s easier at home than making Hunter sit for 30 minutes in his car seat.
Zoe nursed and drifted in and out of asleep. I prepped a quick lunch for Hunter and I. We were at the table by 12:15pm chowing on some BBQ chicken, cheddar and romaine sandwiches on this bread along with grape tomatoes. We ate, I cleaned up a bit while Hunter played, then we read and played together for a bit before he went down for his nap at 1pm. Zoe was sleeping during all of this. So thankful!
Shortly after Hunter went down she stirred a bit so I changed her diaper, nursed her again and put her in the bassinet since she normally takes a good long nap during that time (2-3 hours).
I should have napped, but instead I drank some coffee and sewed a bit. I finished up some bow ties for a friend and made 2 diaper pail liners for my new big wicker basket I picked up at Goodwill.
Jacob came home from work and grabbed Hunter from his bed who has happy and awake after a short nap. He snacked on his leftover oatmeal from breakfast + raisins, then they played. At 3:45pm I was going to rest for a bit, then Zoe woke a bit earlier than she normally does. Of course! As I was nursing her trying to keep my eyes open I regretted not napping earlier. Lesson learned.
We ate dinner around 5pm – super tasty refried bean soup – then went for a 30 minute family walk.
Back home Zoe nursed then got some daddy time while I gave Hunter a bath and put him to bed. A special treat for me since Jacob normally does that now.
Once Hunter was down for the night (7:30pm) Jacob and I watched some TV while hanging with our little girl, who pretty much nursed all evening. Jacob went to bed at 9pm (he wakes super early for work) and I got her down just after 12:30am. I was ready to collapse into bed by that time and ended up having her sleep on me since she just wouldn’t stay asleep in the bassinet.
Things that were easier than expected
Zoe slept at all the right times so getting Hunter fed, taking him to the bathroom and getting him down for a nap was actually pretty easy.
Hunter plays independently really well so when I’d be nursing Zoe on the couch, he would play with toys on the ground near us, or hang out with a book on the couch too. I didn’t have to entertain one while feeding the other!
The biggest challenges
Getting out of the house. While Zoe really doesn’t take too much time to get ready, having only 1 hand free to get myself and Hunter ready to go really slows everything down!
It was a pretty great first day alone with my two kiddos! Not that I expected it to be bad. 🙂
If you have the opportunity to nap, do you take it? Or do you fill your time with other projects? I’m terrible at napping (I always want to utilize my free time), but did take a much needed nap today and feel much better!
Heather
More day in the life posts found here!
6 comments
Glad to hear it went well! I was never one to nap…. Always want some me time!!!!
Ummm #supermom!!! Great job!!
When I need a nap, I nap. I am just a better person when I get sleep, so if I’m sleep deprived I do whatever I can to nap. You are doing an awesome job! And I absolutely love the dress you made for Zoe. So adorable.
Hi. I found your blog while looking for freezer meals. We are expecting baby #2 in 4 weeks so I was very interested in this post. I noticed you mentioned having to hold Zoe, leaving you with only 1 hand for the task. Have you tried wearing her in a sling/wrap? I am just curious because I was hoping that’d be a lifesaver…I didn’t happen upon babywearing until my daughter was months olds vs a newborn. So I am new to wearing a newborn. Just want to be prepared. Thanks!
oops! I just saw in another post, you are wearing her in a baby carrier. Sorry! Thank you for sharing, it is helpful to get an idea of what it might be like with 2.
[…] feel like the post I wrote after my first day alone with the kiddos was an outlier… that was such an easy day. Turns out two kids are much harder than I made it […]