6:30 a.m. I wake up to a combination of sun through our big, as-yet-unshaded bedroom windows and some mild baby squawking. I scrub up, get dressed and head downstairs to boil water for oatmeal and coffee.
7 a.m. Dave brings the twins downstairs and begins to feed them their 8-oz bottles.
7:15: The boys shuffle sleepily out of their bedroom on the first floor; one of us goes up to let Bridget out of her cage/room.
Everyone eats breakfast (oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, milk, vitamins for the older kids).
7:45: The boys wash up and get dressed. A grownup gets Bridget dressed and wrangles her hair into pigtails. The bigger kids play while the babies get burped, changed, or put in bouncy seats or the table for two and people-watch. Dave leaves sometime in here unless he's driving someone to school.
8:30: Whoever has preschool gets stuff in order and goes.
9: The twins go upstairs for their nap (still swaddled, still in Rock 'n' Plays). If I'm alone with Bridget, we do some cleanup together and she demands all kinds of activities--this week those activities include going on her little potty and wearing pull-ups. It's much easier if there's a big brother around to play with her.
10: The twins wake up and come downstairs for their 7-oz bottles. I usually strap Bridget into her booster and give her a snack or some art supplies, but she needs constant conversation to keep her happy. Like Will and unlike Finn, she's not big on independent play, and TV still doesn't keep her attention much.
11:30-lunchtime!
12 noon- Babies go down for nap #2, Bridget and I do some laundry/dishes and eagerly await the return of the boys. While the three amigos reunite, I quickly try to snap pictures of the boys' schoolwork for their annual photo books and wipe down their lunch boxes.
2p- Bridget goes down for her nap, the boys play in the basement or do art projects in the dining room.
2:30-Twins are up and eat their 8-oz bottles, followed by some tummy time (these days they promptly roll onto their backs and screech) and some playful loving from Will and especially Finn.
4-Bridget's up and it's the roughest part of the day for sure; she's still tired and gets clingy, but dinner needs to get made and the babies need to take their final catnap at 4:30. The boys' patience with each other is wearing thin and they're hungry. We just try to battle through this hour without too much angst.
5-Will, Finn and Bridge are eating dinner while the babies nap. If I can seize the opportunity to shuttle some dirty stuff up to the laundry room, great.
5:30-I'll put on the TV or some music, or the kids play in the living room or the boys' former bedroom down the hall. The babies wake up ("last feeding of the day!" I cheer mentally when they start their last 8 ounces). I send the big boys to get into
PJs and brush teeth around 6:15, although most of the time Dave or I re-brush them later.
6:30-Dave gets home and jumps right into a) feeding the twins, b) getting Bridget ready, c) brushing/flossing kids' teeth or d) all of the above. It honestly depends on which one I'm most sick of doing that night. He's awesome like that.
7-Bridget goes to sleep, followed by the twins around 7:15 and the boys around 7:30. Dave and I make/eat grownup dinner, deal with email, debrief on our days while we make formula and fill the dishwasher. I've been going to bed super early these days and listening to podcasts or reading before lights out.
I'm looking forward to a couple months from now when working out and hanging out with my husband are more regular parts of the post-bedtime routine, and when I'll actually be leaving the house in nice weather multiple times a day!
No comments:
Post a Comment