So, as requested, here is a sample of a day in the life of little ol' me.
6:18am- Sawyer is ready for breakfast
I take about a minute to check the clock realizing that this is a good wake up time for him. I know that his feedings will line up pretty good today, giving him 5 (maybe 6) solid feedings with good naps in between. Yesterday he woke up at 5 and seeing as I am not a morning person, that doesn't suit me well.
I need to take a moment to give a shot out to Baby Wise...thank you thank you! For some moms, I know schedule feeding isn't for them, but for me, I can't imagine another way. I absolutely love the flexibility of it for me and for baby. Even if Sawyer decides to wake up as early as 5 or as late as 8, I still know that it's no big deal. Every day can be different, but still a schedule. The comfort behind knowing that he will be getting the food, wake time, and sleep he needs is what Baby Wise/scheduled feeding gives me. Plus, it is probably one the biggest reasons having 4 kids really isn't as crazy as it sounds. If my baby was consistently still getting up during the night after 3 months old or feeding around the clock, I know I would have hard time. I would manage, like so many moms do, but being a mom of four and a wife of one is a challenge in itself without adding more weariness and more concern. Sorry, that was a SQUIRREL. But, I could go on and on about how grateful I am for Baby Wise and how good eating habits beget good sleeping habits and how my children weren't just born with the ability to sleep through night early because of their genes (have you met my kids?!). I worked to get them to sleep through the night by 6 weeks daggumit! We are all born with sin nature and nowhere do I see that more than in a sweet, tiny newborn. Bet you don't hear that often. I also bet I just lost several readers. But anyone who knows me, knows the newborn stage is my favorite and that I know they are beyond precious and endearing and unbearably irresistible. However, and I might be sounding harsh, they aren't innocent. I'm sorry if this is news to you, but we are all born of the same nature. It doesn't erupt out of them at 2 years old (or 18 months for my kids), though it might seem to come out of nowhere. They come right out of the womb that way. The world revolves around them. And we love them more than we every thought we could love anything in this world. So we don't want them to experience any discomfort or fear. So we meet every need, every demand. But letting babies cry some (I am talking as much as 15-20 minutes, aghast!) is not going to make them feel abandoned or unloved in the future. Assuming you know they are changed, fed, tired and not sick, it is OK to let them cry. That doesn't mean I am a neglectful mother or I'm scarring my baby's emotional health (and oh my goodness, crying doesn't always mean they are hungry either). It also doesn't mean I don't enjoying rocking my baby to sleep every now and then just to hold on to those precious moment with him. I love and adore snuggling with my children. The one negative (for me) of scheduled feeding is that the "holding your baby until they fall asleep stage" doesn't last as long for me. And I miss that when it's gone. But I wouldn't trade it for the happiness my baby exudes from being well rested and well fed. I find that now a days, scheduled feeding is being harshly attacked, almost like it's cruel (kind of like spanking, but good gracious, I won't get into that!). I just know how it has helped me figure out how I want to raise my children and I'm grateful for it. All I can do is let my children be the example of how I raise them and hopefully, by God's grace (really that is all we can count on) they will grow up knowing God as their Father, whether they were on a schedule or not. Yes, that was a big SQUIRREL!
Should I even continue on with what I had planned for this post...will anybody be reading this anymore? Oh well. I will continue. If I have lost people I am sorry.
6:40am- Good morning Reese!
Marc is rolling out of bed at this point and gets Reese her breakfast. Skylar must hear the cereal in the bowl because she comes quickly down the stairs. For her though, morning juice is the most essential part to the day. It is probably right up there with breathing. She drinks it like there is an apple shortage. Not rationing it out like a practical person (Reese), but taking the whole thing down in just a couple gulps like a juice hoarder. That really does decide the mood of the morning around our house. When we stopped having it in the house as often, it was a bit of a shocker to Sky. She would wake up, ask for juice, and when she was told we didn't have any she would spend the next thirty minutes screaming and crying, searching through the fridge and cabinets. She has learned to wake up more cautiously now, so as to not have her hopes shattered when Daddy tells her, "we don't have juice honey." Now she just turns her head to the ground with a whimpering "OK, can I have water?". My sweet little Skylar. Thankfully, (for everyone) we do have juice today.
7:00am- Marc changes Sawyer for me :) and then goes to work.
7:15am- Sawyer goes down for his first nap of the day.
Skylar says her tummy hurts so she and Reese climb into my bed. I can usually tell the difference between a real tummy ache or not because typically Skylar isn't a huge "lay in bed snuggler". She wants to play when she gets up, whereas Reese would let me hold her all morning long. So I turn on cartoons (one of their favorite things is watching cartoons in our bed) and fall in and out of sleep while the girl's watch and Sawyer sleeps in the pack n play beside us.
8am- Skylar says she has to throw up. Great. I quickly, quietly, and carefully get her out of bed just in time. She proceeds to throw up on the floor (thank goodness for wood floors and dogs...easy cleanup). It wasn't a lot but she takes herself to the toilet in case she has to again. I lay a towel for her on the couch in the playroom where I lay her down. I pop in a movie for her (yes, it's one of those kind of days) and then let Koda out. Since it's nice, he probably won't want to come back in until Marc gets home later.
I then throw a load into the wash and into the dryer, fill up the dog's water bowl, and turn on the computer.
8:30am- "Mommy, I need to be wiped!"-Reese
Skylar has fallen asleep on the couch. I know this is going to be a long day.
9:00am- Reese wants an apple. Now, usually I like to wait until around 10:30 before they get there first snacks. That is because once they have one, they keep asking for more. After they have lunch they know, no more food until dinner. I let her get one though, because it's one of those days.
9:45am- Ephraim's up!
He comes down the stairs with a diaper and his football. What an adorable little boy!
10:00am- Sawyer's up, time to eat!
At this time Reese now wants a slice a bread. Now, that is typically not a "snack" but we have a loaf in the fridge that only has a couple slices left and it needs to get eaten. Plus, it's one of those days.
10:20am- Ephraim gets a banana and Skylar wakes up. She wants an apple. She doesn't have a fever but she still looks so tired. I figure an apple shouldn't hurt her tummy too bad. Ephraim wants one too of course.
Sawyer is spending some of his wake time on his jungle mat. He also like his bouncer, bumbo, or me holding him. He isn't a huge fan of the swing. He will only tolerate it for short spans.
Around 11am I eat my lunch. I usually eat breakfast whenever Sawyer does so I never wait until noon to eat.
Poor thing missed almost two entire naps yesterday and I can tell he's feeling it today as he hasn't made any objections to laying down.
We aren't even at noon so I think I will leave this post for today and let you know tomorrow how this day finished out.
Pic of the day...my new ThirtyOne Casual Cargo Purse!
It came in yesterday and I love it!
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