Lucy was born when Rosy had just turned 20 months old. I fully expected a huge change whenever we welcomed our new little girl into our family. Instead of a huge change, we got our entire world flipped upside down!
Instead of a peaceful newborn period like we had experienced with Rosy, we had a scream-filled and sleep-less first 6 months of Lucy’s life. The routine I had envisioned happening when I was a mama of two, turned into just surviving!
For a while I felt like a complete failure! I couldn’t get my baby to eat or sleep which meant I couldn’t sleep either. I was literally a walking zombie with a baby wrapped to me for months.
So, I’m here to tell you right now, if you are in one of those seasons where you just need to focus on keeping the tiny people in your house alive, that is ok!
You will get through this time!
Your memory of it may be foggy at best, but you will get through it! You will look back and remember the really difficult times fondly (I hope, I’m not there yet!!) Then, you will be able to focus on putting more routine and discipline into your everyday life!
Now that we’re all sleeping through the night, and napping for more than 10 minutes at a time (thank goodness!!!) our days look basically the same everyday. It is SO good for me and it’s so good for my babies!
Kids LOVE and THRIVE on routine and structure. My 2 year old can literally tell you what is going to happen next during the day (and she does!)
This is what basically everyday looks like for our family of 4 with two littles!
Morning:
Right now, Lucy is waking up at about 6AM everyday. When she wakes up, Clay gets her and gives her the dose of Prevacid that she is still taking. She has to wait at least 30 minutes before she can eat, so he takes her for a 15 minute drive while I pump and put on some running clothes.
After I pump, Clay pulls back in the driveway and I go for a quick run. When I get home, I nurse Lucy and we play while Clay get’s out the door to work.
Rosy wakes up about 8AM, so we get her out of her bed and eat breakfast of oatmeal and eggs together while I feed Lucy her solid breakfast of prunes.
After breakfast we clean up and play until 9:15 when Lucy goes down for her first nap of the day. As soon as Lucy goes down, me and Rosy start school time. We’re doing a play based Pre-K curriculum this year and she absolutely loves it!
School takes about 45 minutes to an hour before we’re pretty much done. After that, we go outside until Lucy wakes up from her nap around 10:30 or 11.
When she wakes up, she nurses and then we’re out the door for an hour long walk! Both girls LOVE being in the stroller for long walks. I always listen to an audiobook while I walk. Right now, I’m listening to all of the Bush family biographies I can find! Laura Bush’s book has been my favorite so far.
Afternoon:
As soon as we come in from our walk, the girls are hungry for lunch! Rosy eats leftovers alongside applesauce and a fruit almost everyday. Lucy has some sort of homemade puree. One of her favorites is zucchini mixed with smashed bananas.
After lunch, we cleanup and Rosy picks out her book to read. Before her nap. After I read her book, she goes down for her nap at 1PM. When Rosy is down, I nurse Lucy again and she goes down for her second nap at 1:30PM.
Both girls wake up from their naps somewhere around 3PM. I nurse Lucy again and then me and Rosy have tea time. We just have a fun snack and I sit with her at the table or on the front porch and we just chat for about 15 or 20 minutes.
After this, it’s our most flexible time of day! Sometimes we’ll just play or read books if supper is already prepped and cooking. Other times, Rosy will help me to cook dinner and the set the table (she’s a pro at this!)
Evening:
When Clay comes home from work, we eat supper together and then go on a walk around our neighborhood!
Sometimes we walk to the playground and let Rosy run around a bit before we head home for bath and bedtime.
Me and Clay 100% agree that our number one piece of marriage advice is to talk walks together! We have walked together every evening since the first year we got married. We just talk and unwind together this way. There’s something special about talking and walking that let’s just dream a little bigger than if you’re sitting down.
After we get home, the girls get baths and are in bed at 7PM. After this, we hang out until we go to bed too!
Our lives are pretty simple right now, but I’m convinced that’s the best way for us!