Friday, August 17, 2007

A Typical Day

A Typical Day at the Happy Happenings household (all times are approximate and subject to change at the request of "the boss.")

12:00am- I am sleeping or I am awake praying that Hailey will not wake up.

12:30am- Hailey calls to me from her crib. I go in and rock her back to sleep. I wait until she has been asleep for several minutes and then I gently lay her back down in her bed. Her eyes pop open and she stands up with her hands out for me to pick her back up. I pick her back up and we do the above over again. Again, she wakes up as soon as I lay her down. I bring her into my bedroom, lay her down on the bed next to me and nurse her back to sleep. I think about moving her back to her bed and decide I am much too tired to do that.

3:00am- Hailey is awake and wants to nurse again. I know she doesn't really need to, but if I also know that if I want to sleep I will have to nurse her again. I nurse her and we both fall back asleep.

4:30am- Rich's alarm clock goes off, he hits the snooze button. Hailey does not wake up. I lay awake worrying that the next time it goes off it will wake her up.

4:39am- Rich's alarm clock goes off, he hits the snooze button. Hailey is still asleep. I am still awake worrying she will wake up.

4:48am- Rich's alarm clock goes off and he gets up. Dottie gets up and scratches and shakes her head, causing the tags on her collar to jingle. Rich quickly ushers Dottie off to go outside. I pray that Hailey will not wake up.

5:15am- Rich comes in to tell me he's leaving for work and to give me a hug and kiss. I pray Hailey will not wake up.

6:00am- Hailey is awake and wants to nurse. I feed her and we both fall asleep.

7:30am- Hailey wakes up, sits up, looks around the room, claps her hands and starts babbling. We play for a few minutes and then get up.

7:45am- I change Hailey's diaper. I get on the computer and put up my post for the day (I write my posts the day before, so this takes only a few seconds to do). Then I get breakfast for myself, Hailey and Dottie. Hailey spits most of her fruit and cereal back into my face and feeds her toast to Dottie. She throws her cup onto the floor and giggles at Dottie who is waiting for more toast.

8:15am- After breakfast I clean up the mess while Hailey empties out the kitchen cabinets. Then I spend a few minutes checking my email.

8:30am- I change Hailey's diaper again (for some reason it is always soaked about an hour after she gets up), get her dressed and put on her sunscreen. Both of us hate the sunscreen part. We both brush our teeth and then I get dressed.

9:15am- We go on our daily 2 mile walk. I talk to Hailey about what we see on our walk and she babbles and yells "Da-Da" most of the time.

9:50am- We are home from our walk and go straight to the playroom. Hailey dumps all of her toys onto the floor and then plays with the door stopper (it makes a funny bonging noise that she just loves). We sing some songs, read some books, and play some toys.

10:30am- Hailey nurses and then I change her diaper.

10:45am- Time for a morning nap. I rock Hailey and she tries to keep her body completely stiff so that she does not fall asleep. Finally she gives in and goes to sleep.

11:00am- I take shower, start some laundry and do other quiet cleaning (clean bathrooms, dust, etc). If I finish my chores before Hailey wakes up I do my blog visiting.

12:00pm- Hailey is up from her nap and is playing with the toys I left at the end of her crib. She plays by herself, giggling contentedly so I do a bit more blogging.

12:15pm- We have lunch. Remember breakfast? Same thing- Hailey spits her food out or throws it on the floor.

12:45pm- I clean up from lunch while Hailey empties the kitchen cupboards. Once she finishes that she chases Dottie around trying to touch her paws. If she is able to get a paw or better yet, Dottie's tail- she screeches and giggles. Dottie has recently learned to hid behind the couch and although Hailey tries to follow her back there she gets distracted by the door on the end table and works on opening that up.

1:00pm- I change Hailey's diaper. If we have errands to run this is when we do it. Otherwise, we play for a while in the living room. I also vacuum the house and mop the kitchen at this time of day.

1:45pm- Time to go to the totally baby proofed playroom where I can sit down for a few minutes. If it's not rainy or too hot outside, we play outside for a while- otherwise we spend the next 45 minutes in the playroom.

2:30pm- Hailey wants to nurse. I fed her and change her diaper.

2:40pm- We read books.

3:00pm- Time for an afternoon nap. I rock Hailey and she tries to keep her body completely stiff so that she does not fall asleep. Finally she gives in and goes to sleep.

3:10pm- I blog! I write my post for the next day and comment back to everyone who has left me a comment. I try to visit all of the blogs I have listed on my sidebar.

4:15pm- Hailey is up from her nap and is playing with the toys I left at the end of her crib. She plays by herself, giggling contentedly so I do a bit more blogging.

4:30pm- Hailey plays in the living room (usually in her cage) while I start thinking about what to make for dinner.

5:00pm- Hailey wants to nurse, so I feed her and change her diaper.

5:30pm- Rich is usually home now and he entertains Hailey while I actually make dinner.

6:00pm- We eat dinner. Remember breakfast and lunch? Dinner is the same- food spit out at me or thrown onto the floor for Dottie.

6:30pm- Rich plays with Hailey while I clean the kitchen and sneak in a bit more blogging.

7:15pm- Back to the safety of the playroom.

8:00pm- I give Hailey her bath, get her ready for bed, nurse her, and brush her teeth. She spends a few minutes saying goodnight to Rich.

8:30pm- I read Hailey her Bible story, say her prayers with her, and sing her to sleep.

8:45pm- I straighten up the house and prepare to do the same things all over again tomorrow. I make Rich's lunch for the next day. Sometimes I sneak in a bit more blogging, although I really try to follow my "no blogging after 9pm" rule.

9:30pm- Rich and I watch some TV. Or if Rich is watching the boring old history channel, I read while he watches TV.

10:30pm- I get ready for bed.

10:35pm- I go into Hailey's room and watch her sleeping. She has usually rolled over onto her tummy with her little bottom sticking up in the air. I listen to make sure she is breathing. I look at her angelic face in the soft glow of her Winnie the Pooh nightlight. I am overwhelmed with emotions as I think about how much I love this little tiny person. My heart is so full of love for her and I wonder how a parent who loses a child is ever able to go on with their life. I thank God for this treasure He has given us to raise and I pray that she will grow up to serve Him and be healthy and happy. Hailey sighs in her sleep and I whisper "I love you more than you'll ever know" as I tiptoe out of her room.

16 comments:

Pam said...

Sounds like a pretty typical day in my house too! Thanks for sharing...I loved reading this.

Shionge said...

What can I say Melanie :) You are a superwoman on this day, have a wonderful weekend my dear friend and hugz to Hailey too!

Anonymous said...

Ahhh - I remember the baby days so well :-) You are supermom! Cherish these times - they go fast. It's amazing how as a mother, when someone asks you what your favorite "stage" is with your kids, you always say "right now" - no matter what. There's always new stuff and it's always so much fun! I love reading about you and Hailey :-)

Talk..to..Grams said...

I remember those days!!
Hailey sounds just like Carrie, when she was a baby.
She is my oldest. She is 50 now and a Grandma!!
But you are right about enjoying every minute with her because the time goes faster then you will ever believe!
My youngest is 28 now!!
Love you and Blessings Grams

Melanie said...

Oh I love this post! Most of that sounds very similar to days around here, with a bit bigger mess since I have 4 kiddos to trail around after.
What is it with guys and the History Channel??? I will admit to have finally become hooked on a few of those shows on both the History Channel and the Discovery Channel but I can't just sit there for an hour to watch the history of making toilet paper the way they can. It is the sure fire way I can get to bed some nights though! lol

Sharon Brumfield said...

Boy do I remember that routine. I loved it when my kids went from the two a day naps to the one long nap mid afternoon--usually three hours.
Routine--gotta love it.:)

JenLo said...

I remember it too! It's crazy, but eventually you'll be wishing those days back again.

KC said...

sounds like the perfect day.. I LOL about the early morning nursing and praying nother wakes them. LOL. This is how I became a co-sleeping mama LOL.. I'm to lazy to keep going into a room and getting a baby.. so I moved them into my room by the time the 3rd one came along I didn't even need a crib(I had one but never used it except for naps) At night if they fell asleep somewhere other then my bed I would put them in the crib and move them in bed with me the 1st time they woke up. BUT most nights I would just nurse them to sleep in my bed and leave them there.. I found I got much more sleep if they could just roll over and find there way to nurseing without really waking me up then we both could just go back to sleep while they nursed.. AWWWWWW so much easier that way.. My 1st two I didn't nurse so I had to wake up get them then go get a bottle warm it up feed them the bottle and then try to get them to stay asleep when I laid them down and then once I got them to do that after many tries I would have to take the bottel to the sink and clean it up and then try to get back to sleep after being up that long.. UGH.. I would take nursing and co-sleeping anyday over that LOL

la bellina mammina said...

Thanks for sharing. Do you have a nanny for times when you need to run an errand without Hailey or if you and hubby have a date night?

Anonymous said...

Great post! I laughed at the part where the dog hides behind the couch, knowing that Hailey will get distracted by the end table door eventually. I can just picture the dog back there, tapping it's toes, thinking "Ok....just a few more seconds and I'm home free." LOL
Have a good Saturday!
God bless :)

Debbie said...

It makes things easier when you have a regular routine. I still struggle with that....lol....

Memories of snuggling those precious bundles remain precious no matter how old they get!

Laura said...

Oh, sister, I am living that life too. The nights and the days.

Keep on. We're with you.

Mel said...

Well now that I am thoroughly exhausted I think I will go take a nap. You go girl! I know I am a busy person,but at least I am past the not sleeping and night and nursing stage. You will be too...soon!!!
Mel

Sandy said...

Sounds like busy, fiunfilled days! I remember those days and I sometimes miss them! Treasure every single minute!

Amy W said...

Love reading about people's days...

MommaBoo said...

What a full and tiring day!

I believe your last paragraph sums it all up, though!

Isn't God great!

p.s. You need a vacation!