a day in the life

For better or worse, a fairly predictable routine has been a part of our daily lives for a long time. Well, I guess you could call it "long" --for most of the babies' lives, anyway. It's evolved a bit over time, so I thought I might record it the way it stands right now. Both for the sake of curious and bored readers, as well as for my own gratification when things (so they promise me) get easier.

Here is a typical day when I am home with kiddos:

• 6:30 - Babies awaken! Happy smiles for a few minutes. Their wild screaming usually begins when they are on the nursing pillow, because they realize where they are and it apparently infuriates them that they are not already eating.


• 6:45 - Babies eat. This process has gotten both faster and more violent as the babies have gotten older.


• 7:00 - Babies play. They have gotten better at playing, but their attention span is still pathetic. I spend their playtimes rotating them to different Baby Play Stations every 10 seconds to 10 minutes, as I hear them yell their dissatisfaction.


• 8:15 - Babies begin screaming, signalling the need for a nap.


• 8:20 - Naptime. These last anywhere from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours and may involve The Pacifier Game, swing, and/or hair dryer to help them sleep longer. Things get even more complicated when Mom tries to grab a nap.


• 10:00 - Babies eat.


• 10:15 - Babies play. Attention span is a bit shorter than it was last time.


• 10:45 - Lily has an uncontrollable fit of fussiness.


• 11:30 - Naptime #2.


• 11:40 - Noah wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep.


• 1:00 - Babies eat.


• 1:52 - Noah has an inconsolable meltdown, refuses to nurse and doesn't calm down until he's given a bottle of formula.


• 2:13 - Noah falls asleep for Nap #3.


• 3:00 - Lily falls asleep for Nap #3.


• 3:01 - Noah wakes up.


• 4:00 - Babies eat.


• 4:15 - Babies SHOULD play, but they are fussy unless they are being held. And sometimes when they ARE being held.


• 4:48 - Mom's daily near-breakdown. Recent topics include: "Why do they keep crying?" "How could God give me two babies?" and "How long until bedtime?"


• 5:00 - Some days, Nap #4. I'm not sure babies this age are supposed to have four naps in a day. Ask me if I care.


• 6:00 - Babies eat final meal, sometimes have a bath, and change to pajamas.


• 7:00 - Baby bedtime.


• 10:30 - Nightly check-in on sweetly sleeping babies.


• 10:31 - Nightly moment of reflection. Recent topics include: "How blessed can one mommy get?" "How could people think having twins is hard?" and "At least it's not triplets!"