A Day in the Life: Mom of Three
March 6, 2020
I love hearing about other people’s day in the life, so here goes mine. Keep in mind, I am giving myself grace right now so this is a very rough sketch of my life right now. Occasionally, I will find myself sleeping in past six or taking much-needed naps with the baby in the afternoon, but generally speaking, this is what a weekday looks like for our family.
5:30 am: Get up, change and nurse baby, do devotion while sipping hot coffee and eating a snack, get myself changed.
6:00 am: Workout. Run outside or yoga/stretching upstairs. Sometimes I will work/check email and make myself a work agenda for the day. The big kids wake up somewhere in here.
6:45 am: Mike leaves for work and I do all the things (kids fed and dressed; nurse the baby again at some point; shower and get myself dressed; feed myself; pack kids lunches/backpacks; help them get on jackets.)
8:00 am: Walk Matthew out to the bus. Do the dishes, clean the kitchen. Get Maggie in her jacket if it is a school day. Sometimes I will make my work agenda at this point.
8:30 am: Work. Work. More Work. My goal is to be really intentional about my working time here. I will try to write first, then research projects, then go through emails and respond to any needs, or set up my files and projects for the next day. The only breaks I really take are to nurse the baby (because why on earth would I choose to pump if the baby is taking a bottle downstairs; it is just way easier to nurse). I will occasionally take a break to eat lunch with my mom and Maggie when she gets home from preschool, but often I just eat something while I am working. My goal is to be done working by 1:45 and if I don’t take breaks that is an achievable goal. If I do take breaks, I end up working later.
1:45 pm: Matthew off the bus. Help him put his stuff away.
2:00 pm: Hang out with my mom or father in law and the kids. I will say this is one upside of me deciding to transition from a full-time office job to freelancing at home. I knew I wanted to make the switch because 1) I felt God calling me to do it. 2) I wanted to change my job. 3) I knew it would be best for my husband and kids. I did not realize this switch would also mean more time with my mom, but what a blessing. I know when I am older and looking back on this decision, I will cherish that I got to spend the multiple afternoons a week with her.
3:00 pm: Mom or FIL leave. I hang out with kids, rest, read, or do chores like meal planning, cleaning the kitchen, etc. Twice a week Matthew has therapy, so I need to get him ready for that. The baby tends to be needy during this time, so I nurse a lot too.
4:00 pm: Cook and eat dinner. The kids have been asking for dinner early. My option is to give them a snack, which spoils dinner or just go with it. Since structured mealtimes are so important for Matthew’s development with feeding therapy, we do dinner early at like 4:30.
5:00 pm: Clean up dinner and the kitchen.
5:30 pm: Admittedly this is my LEAST favorite time of the day. It always has been. If Mike is home, I will try to retreat to my bedroom and nurse the baby on and off. If I am lucky, I find some time to read. If Mike is not home, I nurse the baby on and off, while also tending to the big kids.
7:00 pm: Get the big kids ready for bed.
7:30 pm: Big kids up to bed. Mike often does this when he is home since Sean is usually awake at this time.
8:00 pm: Read, watch TV, surf social. Have my nightly bowl of oatmeal. Nurse, change the baby.
9:00 pm: Fall asleep on couch usually.
11:00 pm (roughly): Change the baby. Go upstairs, nurse him. Sleep.
2:00 am (???): Nurse the baby. Really I have no clue what time it is because I don’t look at the clock.
4:30 am: Nurse the baby. He often insists on being held at this time of day, which I do while lying in bed until I decide to get up for the day.