A Day in Our Life

Last year I did an "A Day in Our Life" post, to document a glimpse into our life at the time. I like having the documentation to look back on months or even years from now to see just how crazy our lives were with little ones. When I did the last one, Ava and Reese were 7 months old and we lived in International Falls. It's amusing to see how much they have grown and changed and how our lives as a family has shifted. And for this Mama, it's nice to reminisce when my "big girls" were still little babies.

Now, we have moved from International Falls to Cloquet, MN, and added another member to our family. Let's see how things have changed!

Saturday April 6th, 2013

(Brandon thinks this is a bad day to document because it's not a typical day because he had just started working the outage and wasn't home. I'm still going to document it but might do a new post down the road when he is home. Trust me, he is a HUGE help when he is home!)

3:00 A.M.: I hear Bailey squeaking and since it's been nearly 5 hours since she last ate, I know she is hungry. Time to get up! (Brandon usually does the middle of the night feeding but since he has to work today, I get up with her..ugh) She eats 4 oz and I watch a little Housewives of Orange County!

3:30 A.M.: Bailey is passed out so I lay her back down and go back to sleep myself.

5:00 A.M.: I hear Brandon get up and shower and off to work he goes...back to sleep for me.

5:25 A.M.: Not for long! Bailey is awake and not happy! I try giving her a pacifier but she is not having it. I try putting her in the swing...no go! It hasn't even been 3 hours...is she really hungry again?! Nothing seems to be making her happy so I warm up a bottle and sure enough, she eats another 4 oz.

5:50 A.M.: Bailey is full and sleepy so I lay her back down and pump and go back to bed for a little longer.

6:55 A.M.: Hear Bailey crying again! I give her a pacifier, put her in the swing and turn her Sleep Sheep on (thanks Brandi Soderfelt for that...she is very attached now)! She calms down and goes back to sleep.

Decide it's time to be up for the day so I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, put some sweats on and let the dogs outside and feed the fish.

Bailey loves to swing.

7:15 A.M.: I hear Ava and Reese talking over the monitor. They are arguing about who is coming to get them up, Mommy or Daddy? It's Mommy! I get them out of bed and we head the potty. But first Ava needs me to open the toy box so she can get a bear before she goes potty...now Reese needs her "three dollars" a.k.a. cards with animal pictures on them before she can go potty too. Reese's pull up is dry and Ava's is just a little wet. They are doing really well at potty training....we still have an accident here and there and need pull-ups during sleep time...but we're working on it.

7:25 A.M.: Reese always wants to sit on the potty forever! I try bribing her off the potty with promises of a treat because I know she is done and I don't want to spend all morning on the bathroom floor. It works! Undies on and upstairs we go. I give the girls a "snack" of dry cereal and a sippy of water. They ask to watch Umizoomi so I let them while I make myself some coffee and run to put the paci back in Bailey's mouth about 50 times.

7:45 A.M.: I make the girls some scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit for breakfast and whip up some egg whites for myself. While I'm cooking Reese is throwing a fit about wanting a string cheese because she saw them when I opened the fridge! I give in and split one in half for them...I just want to get breakfast done and not listen to it this morning! The girls go downstairs and play until breakfast is ready.

8:15 A.M.: The girls and I eat breakfast...I should have just made them egg whites too because they are eating all of mine!! I finish up and start cleaning up the kitchen while the girls finish eating.

8:35 A.M.: Bailey starts fussing and I'm sure she is getting hungry but I just need her to hold out a little longer so I can get the girls cleaned up and on the potty, so I put the paci back in her mouth and hope she can make it a few more minutes. The girls are reluctant to go potty so I bribe them with watching Dora on my phone while they go...it works!

9:00 A.M.: Bailey is content so I decide to get Ava and Reese dressed, lotioned, and do their hair.

9:35 A.M.: Lotion and dress Bailey. Ava is crying that she has to go potty and I know that means it's too late. Lay Bailey in her Boppy and run Ava to the potty...yep she had an accident! Change her undies and pants and have a talk about telling Mom before she goes. Go back to feeding Bailey. Ava and Reese are now fighting over a toy and screaming at each other...timeout for everyone! A minute later Reesie says "I'll be nice Mama." Have a discussion about sharing and not fighting. 

9:45 A.M. Finish feeding Bailey and lay her down on her playmat for some exercise. Ava and Reese build towers out of blocks and work on puzzles. 

All my girls playing.

10:00 A.M.: Bailey starts fussing...she has had enough awake time! She is yawning so I swaddle and rock her to sleep. 

10:25 A.M.: Since Bailey just went to sleep and the girls have pottied, I decide to try and pump. Ava and Reese busy themselves by coloring. 

 10:35 A.M.: I hear the garage door open...Dad's home!! He is home for an extended lunch hour. I finish up pumping and take the opportunity to take a shower.

11:10 A.M.: Bailey is fussing so I put her in the swing and give her a pacifier. She has a pattern of sleeping for maybe an hour in her bed and then getting fussy so the swing and a pacifier work wonders right now.

11:50 A.M.: Lunch time! The girls have pizza and oranges and I have a piece of pizza and a big salad (trying to eat healthier). Ava is crabby...time for a nap!

 12:05 P.M.: Brandon goes back to work. Ava and Reese finish up lunch and I clean up the kitchen and turn the dishwasher on again!

12:25 P.M.: Girls are finished with lunch, we head downstairs to go on the potty and get ready for nap time. They insist on having their baby swings in the bathroom with them while they go potty. Put pull ups on and lay them down.

Going potty before nap time...had to bring the baby swings and babies with!

12:35 P.M.: All the girls are sleeping at this moment so I take the time to work on some Shutterfly projects.

1:30 P.M.: It's been 4 hours since Bailey ate so I decide to peek on her and she is squirming a little so I decide to feed and change her diaper. Caught up with my mom on the phone while feeding Bailey. When she's done eating, I put her in the bouncy chair with music.

Smiley Bailey!

2:30 P.M.: Laid Bailey down. Made a grocery list, worked on Shutterfly again, and did some random stuff around the house.

3:45 P.M.: Hear girls waking up; get them up and on the potty again. Back in undies and grab a snack and some water and play downstairs. The girls have fun cooking in their kitchen and feeding their babies and making Mom some "coffee."

Sisters=Best Friends
(don't mind the chewed up goldfish in her mouth!)

4:30 P.M.: Browsing through some old videos on my phone and the girls sit down on my lap and think it's funny to watch themselves when they were babies.

4:50 P.M.: Time for a potty break. Then head upstairs because we hear Bailey crying.

5:00 P.M.: Feed Bailey while the girls color and play with their babies in the living room. They like to buckle their babies in Bailey's car seat and put them in the bouncy chair....such good little Mamas.

Coloring invitations to their "party." Love their imaginations!

5:15 P.M.: Brandon's home! (I just love the sound of the garage door opening, knowing that he is home!) He starts making supper and I change Bailey into jammies for the night and finish feeding her. Then lay her down on a blanket to stretch out.

5:35 P.M.: Supper time.

6:00 P.M.: I clean up the girls and do the dishes. The girls want to "help" Mommy clean so I give them dish rags and they "clean" up the kitchen. Brandon feeds Bailey 2 more oz because she is acting like she is starving again! Eventually he gets her to sleep.

Helping Mom "clean" the kitchen.

7:10 P.M.: I pump again and look up Weight Watchers recipes on the Ipad until Ava and Reese see me so now they want to play games. I find a kids book app and we read together. Then we have a fun game of chase around the house when I'm done pumping.

7:20 P.M.: Have a tea party with the girls and their babies and snuggled on the couch together. They are begging for a snack...like clockwork!



Snuggle time on the couch.



7:55 P.M.: We all head downstairs to get them into jammies, on the potty, and brush teeth. Pick up the tornado of toys downstairs and say our goodnights and they go to bed.

8:15 P.M.: I decided the floor needs to be swept NOW...do more dishes and clean up toys upstairs. Brandon works on the computer.

8:45 P.M.: I put my glasses on, wash my face, and put jammies on. Bailey is squirmy again so I put the paci back in her mouth and hope she holds out a little longer. We like to feed her about 9:30 then she will sleep for a good 5-6 hours.

8:55 P.M.: Sit down and watch Dateline and browse Facebook on the Ipad. Brandon goes to bed since he has to wake up at the crack of dawn and work again. Poor guy doesn't get a day off until May.

9:30 P.M.: Feed and change Bailey.

10:00 P.M.: Lay Bailey down (hoping she doesn't pop those eyes open!) and go to bed myself to try and get some sleep before starting the routine all over again tomorrow!

Love, Brandi