3:00am – Evie is calling for us. Phil goes in and gets her to go back asleep. Zev is fussing and I pop the pacifier back in.
4:45 – Zev is fussing and the ninny isnt cutting it anymore. I nurse him. And Phil’s alarm goes off for the day. Phil is up and showering and Zev snuggles with me in the bed – by 5:15 Zev and I are back asleep.
6:15 – Evie is calling for us again. I wait for a second hoping Phil is still around – luckily he is, and he comes up to get her back to sleep again.
6:30 – Evie is calling again but Phil is gone. I head in there to get her to sleep for a little while longer.
6:50 – Evie is calling again. Get her to go back to sleep one more time…
7:15 – We officially start the day. Wil, Evie and I head downstairs. I get them set up with blankets and milk on the couch while I make oatmeal. We put on Big Hero 6. I feed barney and get some coffee. I help Evie go to the bathroom then head upstairs to get Zev. I change him and give him a bottle while the kids finish up breakfast, then I try to put him down in the bassinet downstairs, but he never falls back asleep – just fusses while I clean up breakfast and make Wil’s snack for school. We brush hair and teeth and change Zev again before heading out the door.
8:30 – In the car to drop off Wil at school. Its less than 2 miles away, so we drop off and are back at the house before 9. Once back home I put Zev on his playmat – he spins himself around in circles, but doesnt roll over quite yet. Evie wants to do puzzles and watch the Lorax. I unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, get myself breakfast, respond to some emails, and make a grocery list. I help Evie in the bathroom and change Zev before heading out the door again.
9:45 – running a little late for Palatine library story time. We load up the car and make it there a few minutes late. I feed Zev while Evie listens to stories and sings songs. Zev doesnt really fall asleep. We play a little while longer and I help Evie in the bathroom again before heading to the grocery around 11. It starts to hail a bit and I forgot the jackets – so we run in as fast as we can. Evie has a minor meltdown because we cant use the cart that looks like a police car with the driving wheels because Zev’s carseat doesnt fit. But we survive.
11:40 – We’re done with the grocery a bit early and dont have to pick up Wil until noon so we head through starbucks drive-thru and then play in the car for a bit. Zev finally falls asleep! Because of the freezing rain, I park by the door of Wil’s school and hope that Wil’s speech teacher sees me and brings him to the door instead of me getting Evie and Zev out of the car again – luckily he does and I’m able to pick-up Wil without complete disruption.
12:10 – We’re back home. Zev stays asleep in the carseat. I put away the groceries, make grilled cheese for the kids, put on some Netflix and pump. The kids play in the playroom after lunch. Zev wakes up while I’m pumping and Wil tries to help keep him happy until I can go and get him. I give him the bottle and change him. Zev hangs in his bouncer while I clean bottles, answer some more emails, and take care of barney.
1:00 – Evie heads upstairs for her nap (i help with the bathroom again). I head downstairs and work on an email to a recruiter about a job in the area but I dont get very far before Wil needs help in the bathroom (this is a rarity! He usually handles things by himself at this point) and Zev is starting to fall asleep in the bouncer. I’m exhausted, so me and the boys head upstairs to my room to take a nap. I dont think Wil ever fell asleep but he plays quietly enough that Zev and I did.
2:45 – Zev is still asleep but Wil and I head downstairs. I have lunch and coffee and start some dinner prep. I write another 2 lines of my email about the job. At 3:15 I head up to get Evie. Zev fusses a bit but goes back to sleep. Evie and Wil watch big hero 6 again and eat some cereal.
4:00 – Phils home early! He shovels the driveway and the kids play in the play room. I finish the casserole for dinner and pop it in the oven. I help Evie in the bathroom twice and play with the kids until Zev starts screaming. I get Zev changed and fed. The kids are still playing nicely together in the playroom (another rarity) so I write another few lines of the email while Phil comes back in to play with the kids.
5:30 -Chicken nuggets in the oven for the kids, and change Zev – he plays on his mat while the rest of us eat dinner. After dinner, Phil and I trade off with the kids, who are not playing so nicely anymore. I did puzzles with the kids while Phil did the dishes. Then he took over while I headed upstairs to shower. Phil did a bottle and diaper change for Zev. I come downstairs and pump. Wil and Evie are running in circles and fighting. Phil and I are trying to keep our cool. (Really cant wait for summer where we can spend this hour outside at a playground!)
7:00 – The kids have a treat while we watch a show and try to calm down for the night. Zev falls asleep in the bassinet downstairs and I get the bath ready upstairs. Phil heads upstairs to do bath-time while I clean up downstairs and then come back up for stories and lullabies. Phil and I trade off running downstairs to keep Zev happy after he wakes up.
8:20 – The big kids are tucked in and we’re back down stairs. But Evie calls for us at least 3 more times for various things (ninnies, bathroom, another song, etc…) I dont know when it was actually quiet in the house. But I did finish my email about the job finally while Phil dealt with Zev. We let barney out and get a bedtime bottle ready then head upstairs. I do bottle and diaper for Zev while watching Scrubs on Netflix. Phil and I are too tired to talk about our days. Lights out around 9:30.
**********
So lets see: 8 bathroom assists, 8 diapers, at least 6 trips into Evies room to get her to go to sleep, 8 times feeding Zevin, 2 pumping sessions, 0 minutes talking to my husband about our days or anything remotely ‘adult’, 0 minutes working out, I dont recall any major meltdowns or timeouts, but it seems likely that they occurred. I only mention Barney 3 times but I swear I took care of him more than that. But yeah – the rest of it is pretty on par with having 3 kids under 5. Some days are better. Some days are worse. But we’re doing ok.
Woznation 