Day in the Life: Fall 2019

I just realized coming to draft this post that I never did a DITL summer post this year. Whoops. Now I’m really glad I decided to do a last-ditch post for fall. Because while it’s December, it’s still teeeechnically considered fall until the 21st, so I’m cutting it close. It was a crisp autumn day and by that I mean the high was 6° and it got to -10° that night. But ahem. Fall day in the life. Here we go.

Chris is still on his leave from work from when Emelia was born, and has two more days home with us doing half days.

You can read more Day in the Life posts by clicking here.

Day in the Life: Fall 2019

Tuesday, December 10th

Chris is 37, Risa is 34, Olivia is 4, Emelia is 9 weeks, and Toby is 11 years old.

---

1:30 am- Emelia wakes from the bassinet beside me. I should sit up and nurse her but I’m so tired so I bring her into bed. 

3:38 am- I wake up and realize Emelia is still in bed with me. I nurse her again and prod Chris awake, asking if he could change her diaper. I totally forget that he was supposed to wake up for the first feeding and take Olivia to the bathroom. Oops. He changes Emelia and I decide to keep laying down to nurse since she hasn’t spit up yet. When she’s done and falls asleep in my arms, I put her back in her bassinet and go back to sleep.

5:29 am- She’s awake again. I was hoping to make it longer, like another hour, but nope. I bring her into bed with me and nurse her again. When she’s asleep, I put her back in the bassinet again. Wash, rinse, repeat. Hopefully, this time she’ll sleep longer.  

6:40 am- Nope. She’s up again. Nurse her laying down again and she falls asleep quickly. My alarm is supposed to go off at 7:00. Oy.

7:00 am- The alarm on my phone goes off, along with the vibrate. I grab it quickly because the baby is still sleeping. I’m so tired. I snooze the alarm and hold it in my hand while I shut my eyes for a moment longer.

7:13 am- Chris comes in to wake me. The baby stirs and I tell him to be quiet because I don’t want her up yet so I can get dressed in peace. I feel bad when he leaves because I did tell him last night to come to wake me up if my alarm didn’t go off. I use the bathroom, brush my hair and put clothes on. Then I brush my teeth and grab a diaper and wipes along with my phone and water cup and head out to the living room. Olivia is at the breakfast table in her pajamas eating oatmeal and berries that Chris made her. He’s making coffee. I grab a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee while it’s brewing and bring them out to the living room couch.

7:45 am- I grab the baby, take her out of her swaddle, and bring her out to the living room to change her diaper and nurse her. I attach the Haakaa pump to my other breast because I’m too lazy to pull out my big pump. I end up getting three ounces in there while nursing her. Then I set Olivia up with her foot soak after getting dressed and brushing her hair. She continues to be orally fixated even as a preschooler and is constantly biting her fingernails and toenails and a few days ago her big toe started looking a bit red. 

8:15 am- I sip some coffee while I get the baby into a fleece sleeper and when the timer on the microwave goes off, I have Olivia step out of the basin and dry her feet off. I help her brush her teeth and she puts her socks on herself. I pour the rest of my coffee into a to-go mug as Chris comes upstairs from the office. I tell him that she’s ready for preschool. He’ll be bringing her while I bring the baby to my doctor’s appointment.

8:25 am- It’s 5° out, so I start the car, get Emelia into her car seat, and put her hat and blanket on. Luckily, the diaper bag is all packed so I throw my phone in the side pocket and grab my water and coffee and put them out in the car before hauling the car seat out to the back seat. 

8:33 am- I get in the car and check traffic on my route, turn on a podcast from One Extraordinary Marriage, and we head out. 

9:03 am- I’m slightly early to the clinic and try to sit in my car on my phone for a few minutes. No can do. The baby is waking up. I hear her fussing around, so I head in and check in at the front desk. She continues to fuss and cry while I’m in the waiting room. 100% of the time, she’s sleeping when I take her somewhere, but not today. I keep trying to give her the pacifier which she continuously spits out so I rock the car seat, hopng to lull her to sleep.

9:20 am- I get called back and she’s on the verge of wailing. The nurse takes my blood pressure and it’s sky-high. I’ve been off the BP meds for about a week and a half and it was always looking really good. Go figure. I take the baby out and hold her against me and the nurse asks if this will be good and I shrug.

As she’s checking it again, Emelia starts wailing. She tells me this reading is even higher. No shit, I wanted to say. I’m in a short-sleeved shirt and sweating. I start nursing Emelia and by the time my doctor comes in, she’s sleeping in my arms. I have to get up on the table and luckily she does well in her car seat, staring up at me in confusion every once in a while. My BP is lower when he checks it at the end of the appointment, but not by a lot. He tells me to check it at home and if it’s still high next week that I’ll have to restart the blood pressure meds again. Boo.

10:30 am- I arrive back home and start nursing Emelia while watching Grey’s Anatomy. Chris comes upstairs after a few minutes and I tell him how my appointment went. 

10:45 am- She falls asleep at my boob again so I burp her and catch up on notes for this post. I lay her next to me, but she starts fussing again, so I pick her up to nurse one more time and she lets out some spectacular gas. I change her diaper. 

11:00 am- I need to leave to pick up Olivia from preschool, so I use the bathroom again, and bring Emelia downstairs to Chris’s office. Could you start the oven in 15 min, I ask him, and put in chicken nuggets and fries for lunch. I have to stop at Target after I pick up Olivia so I can grab a tomato for tacos tonight.

11:15 am- I pull into the parking lot early so I make a little grocery list of some things to grab at Target. Then I head into the church. Olivia’s class is walking in a line heading back to the preschool room from the chapel and she waves and calls to me. They go in and I get her coat and backpack from her hook in the hallway.

11:25 am- Her teacher comes out to tell the parents what they did in class that morning. She reminds us that the fundraiser at Raising Cane’s is tonight. That’s right. I forgot about that. She also says some kids may not have any paperwork if they weren’t at the art table. The first few kids come running out to their parents or grandparents with waving arms. Olivia comes out with an armload of artwork along with the share bag for the next class. Girl loves the art table.

We talk about what she’s going to bring from home to share with her classmates as we walk down the hallway. She puts her coat, hat, and gloves on while I put all her papers in her backpack at a free table. I ask if she wants to go to have chicken and fries that night for dinner for her fundraiser and she agrees. She tells me all about the drama that happened in preschool as we drive to Target. Something about someone taking a book from someone else and someone else taking it back and so on. We’re listening to Queen and she pouts that she wanted Daddy to pick her up. I ignore it.

11:42 am- We park at Target and I hold her hand walking inside. I grab a cart and she jumps onto the side to hold on. It’s unbelievably annoying because she does this constantly now when we’re out and I spend the whole time telling her to get off when we have to go around something only to have her jump right back on. We will probably have to rethink letting her do this. It’s not until we’re back in the car driving home that it occurs to me we’re already having chicken nuggets and fries for lunch and I just sealed the deal with Olivia that we can have the same damn thing for dinner tonight. 

12:03 pm- We arrive home and Olivia washes her hands and grabs a yogurt while I put the groceries away. I ask Chris about tonight and he said we can have chicken and fries again and now everyone is probably judging us while reading this. We sit down to eat lunch and I ask Olivia what songs she sang for chapel time. Chris brings up the baby and Emelia’s now sleeping in her bouncer with her music on while we eat. Afterward, Olivia clears her plate and goes to wash her hands. She wants to make a train out of all of the boxes we have sitting in the living room waiting to be broken down. 

12:30 pm- I go downstairs to grab the duct tape and another box she can use. When I pass through the family room, I grab the two glasses of wine that were sitting out from last night and bring them upstairs as well. I tape together all of her boxes to form a line while Emelia fusses off and on. It’s the most ghetto train I’ve ever seen, but she’s in love with it. Emelia has had it in the bouncer so I grab her to nurse while Olivia runs downstairs to talk to Chris, who’s finishing up with his workday. 

1:33 pm- Chris, bless him, has finished with the dishes, and I caught up again with notes on my phone for this post. Emelia is asleep in my arms and Olivia is finishing coloring the wheels for her train that Chris cut out for her. She’s mad he can’t/won’t push her in her train and she stomps off to her room. Chris sits on the couch next to me and reads to me the cuts that are happening at his alma mater. Olivia trots out in her dress-up clothes. BOGO Tuesday at one of our favorite new takeout pizza places, he announces. Well shit. Cane’s or pizza? It’s something to ponder. 

2:10 pm- I give Emelia to Chris to change while I go to the bathroom. Olivia follows me in and “keeps me company.” I ask her if she wants pizza or Cane’s for dinner and she says pizza. I go back to the living room and Chris is holding the baby who is now snuffling his shirt and sucking on her fingers.

He gives her back to me to nurse. I see Children’s called and left a message to call them back to get Emelia scheduled with the vascular clinic. I set a reminder for tomorrow to call them back. 

2:53 pm- We’re all buckled in ready to head out. I’m praying this isn’t a shit show taking them both with me. Olivia drops her toy two minutes after I start driving, but she happily plays with her hair clip. I want to listen to Peppa Pino! Peppa Pino! she says to me. I turn on Bohemian Rhapsody and we make it to the chiropractor in record time. 

3:14 pm- I check Emelia in and Olivia goes to the play area. There are a lot of people in the waiting room so I’m praying we’re not waiting around for long. Blessedly, the baby is asleep. Olivia starts singing “Radio Gaga” and I get several appreciative looks from the other patients. She is passionately playing with the cars and I have to tell her several times to lower her voice. It looks like three people ahead of us for our chiropractor, so I look sadly at my phone that now has 15% battery. 

3:32 pm- I’m reading a book on my Nook app, low battery be damned. I tell Olivia again to lower her voice and she gives me her best bewildered look, like she had no idea. Then she systematically drops three trucks on the floor, giving me the same look as I shoot her my own Death Stare and she pouts. Two more people have gone back. I’m hoping I’m number two in the waiting room. My battery is at 13%. Emelia was fussy but is back asleep. I keep reading. 

3:47 pm- We get called back to the room and the tech tells us there’s one patient ahead of us. Olivia goes to work playing on the chair so I stand and wait for him to come in before taking Emelia out of her car seat. Luckily we don’t have to wait long and Emelia gets her adjustments and I learn some stretching exercises for her torticollis. Olivia is acting out for attention and is climbing the table and shutting off the lights in the room. I’m going nuts and wish I would have kept her home with Chris. I snap at her to quit it and she sulks underneath the chair the rest of the time. He wants to see Emelia back on Friday so we head up to the front desk and I make her appointment. I’m going to have to bring both kids again and I’m dreading it. I bought some more probiotics and another bottle of elderberry syrup since it’s 20% off. Olivia gets her fifth cup of water and a handful of stickers from the receptionist.

4:17 pm- I get Emelia in the car first and then go around and buckle Olivia in. My hands are freezing because I don’t have my gloves on. It’s now 1° according to my car’s thermostat. I text Chris to order the pizza. The baby luckily falls back asleep and we drive home. 

4:44 pm- We get home, but I can’t drive up to the mailboxes because there’s too much snow piled up. I don’t even know how the mailman gets through. Olivia initially wants to come with me to get the mail, but she goes in the house and decides she wants to go see Chris instead. He grabs the car seat for me and I walk out to the mailbox. It’s not even worth it. We got one piece of junk mail. I walk back and my face turns numb. Inside, I go to the kitchen and wash my hands and grab a Chobani Flip yogurt out of the fridge. I feel shaky so I need to eat something. Olivia falls on the floor in a meltdown when she’s denied a cheese stick because Chris was picking up the pizza here in a few minutes. He convinces her to go with him. 

4:52 pm- Chris and Olivia leave to go pick up the pizza and I take the baby downstairs to nurse her and turn on the news. According to the weather, it feels like -17.

5:15 pm- Chris gets home with the pizzas and Olivia runs to grab the Bubbly for us to split. She wants to watch Frozen. We set her up at her little table and I ask Chris how his review went as we settle on the couch with pizza. He said it went really well and he’d tell me more tonight. We eat. 

6:00 pm- We clean up the boxes and get Olivia cleaned up and then he turns on the fireplace and I take out my laptop and actually sit down to draft this blog post while we finish the movie. Chris has placed Emelia by the Christmas tree so she can see the lights. 

6:33 pm- Emelia is fussing again, so I take her out to nurse her. I give Olivia the 10 min warning. But then Frozen is so close to coming to an end that I feel bad shutting it off with just a few minutes left. She’s roped Chris into playing with her Frozen dolls with her. 

6:58 pm- The movie is done. Olivia asks if she can keep playing and I tell her no can do. Chris heads upstairs with her who is whining because we won’t let her bring her Elsa doll upstairs. I told her she was whining and that she lost her magnet on her responsibility chart for whining for the night. I take Emelia upstairs.

I can hear Chris fighting with Olivia to clean up her room and for once think I have the advantage with the constantly nursing baby. I take a washcloth and wash Emelia’s face and neck folds and change her diaper. I grab a 3-month sleeper and it fits her. I realize her 0-3 month clothes are on the verge of getting too small. I stick her in her crib while I put the laundry in her laundry basket away that’s been sitting there for several days. She’s occupied listening to her musical lamb until she’s not and then she’s wailing. Chris finishes up with Olivia and I take the baby into Olivia’s room so they can lay in bed together for a few minutes. Emelia is screeching. We say prayers and Emelia cries the whole time, but Olivia loves having her in the room with her. I pray out loud that I’m thankful for this life that is far from boring and take the baby out because we can barely hear each other’s prayers.  

7:42 pm- Chris joins me downstairs and asks why can’t we go back to that boring life I was talking about. He pours us glasses of sangria and tells me how his review went with his boss. Emelia is clearly in her witching hours (or hours) and I ask if he can hold her for a bit because she’s squirming and only half nursing. He takes her and she quiets down and goes to sleep. I know he has to update his resume, so we reluctantly exchange the baby. I notice he’s poured me a little bit more sangria.

8:50 pm- As he goes back into his office, Emelia starts fussing again so I nurse her. She eventually falls asleep on me. I realize I have to sign up for ECFE classes and get a text from my friend asking which one we should take this spring with the kids. I find the free babies class for Emelia and I (and feel a touch of nostalgia because this was the first class I took with Olivia when she was four months old. I found a spring-themed mixed-age class my friend and I can take with the kids. Luckily, Emelia will be 6 months since it doesn’t start until the middle of April and Olivia will be stoked she gets to do a class with her little buddy again and also with her sister. I found a preschool community ed dance class for Olivia that’s only for four weeks in March, so I decide to sign her up for that too tomorrow. 

10:15 pm- Chris comes out to show me his resume and I realized I should have been in bed by now. Emelia wakes up in my arms and fusses so I start nursing her again while we talk and then head upstairs for bed.

10:50 pm- I brush my teeth and get into pajamas while Chris changes the baby and gets her in her sleep sack.

11:08 pm- I decide to nurse her sitting up against my pillow because she’s been clustering so much tonight that I’m worried she’ll spit up all over my bed if we lay down. Chris says goodnight and I read on my phone while Emelia nurses and luckily, it doesn’t take long before she’s asleep. I rewrap her and swaddle her arms in. Then I kiss her cheek and tell her goodnight before laying her in her bassinet next to me. 

11:25 pm- I shut the light off and listen to her grunt a little bit before she falls asleep and quiets down.