The ‘Good’ & The ‘Ugly’: A Day In The Life – COVID-19 Edition

I’ve been debating posting a day in the life entry because, quite frankly, every day is a bit different. But now with all this COVID-19 stuff going on, my days have been a bit like a hamster wheel lately and I thought that maybe, some time in the future, this’ll be a fun one for me to look back on. So why not? I am going to actually post two days in the life. One is a snapshot of those days where I’m on FIRE, just nailing this whole motherhood/wife/homemaker thing. And one is a snapshot of how quickly one of those days can go straight down the shitter! So here we go:

The Good

4:00 am – Get woken by the gentle cries of my sweet baby girl. Lovingly float into her room, silent and sleepy. Rock with her while breastfeeding, making a mental note of the texture of her fuzzy head, the lazy latch, and the sweet little sounds she makes.

6:00 am – Get woken up by my angel again, ready to start the day. Press the “on” button on the coffee maker, because, hey, I got that shit prepared the night before, and sit on the couch for the her first daytime feed. Enjoy some cuddles and one-on-one time.

7:00 am – Together we go into her big brother’s room, and get him out of bed and excited for the day ahead.

7:15 am – The whole family sits down to eat breakfast. Even my husband, who’s working from home during this pandemic, joins in.

7:45 am – I spend a solid hour with the kids on the living room floor. Playing, laughing, hugging, and encouraging kind behaviour among the siblings. We then get ourselves dressed and washed up, and even throw on a load of laundry.

9:00 am – Big bro and I put baby down for her nap. We sing her her song and off she drifts to sleep. We then head downstairs where we sing the “Clean Up” song and tidy up the toys we played with. I then allow him to watch an episode or two of a show of his choice (that’s limited by the options I allow) and while he giggles away with excitement, I do a little workout, and even manage to squeeze in a quick shower!

9:30 am – Big bro gets some loving one-on-one time while we wait for little sis to wake up. We make a craft, or play in the backyard, build forts, and have snacks.

10:30 am – Little sis is up and refreshed, a big smile on her face when we greet her after her nap. A quick feed, and off we all go outside for a walk to the park.

11:20 am – We return from the park, wash our hands, and get ready for some lunch!

12:00 pm – Baby sister and I sit with big brother and we all ready some books together, followed by a song, and wish him a good and restful nap.

12:20 pm – Sweet, delicious one-on-one time with the baby. We play, we giggle, we practice crawling, we blow bubbles! And we add in another feed too.

1:30 pm – It’s nap time for baby girl! and a well deserved 30 min rest for this mama. I, of course, spend it wisely – reading, practicing yoga, fold laundry, or even preparing dinner!

2:00 pm – My first born is up and ready to play! And after a snack he’s refreshed and full of ideas for a fun game.

3:00 pm – Baby girl is well rested and up! Also, hubby is done work! Yey for family fun times. After While the baby gets her feed, hubby and the kids head off to the park, I finish (or start) making a healthy dinner.

4:00 pm – Everyone’s home and ready to play!

5:30 pm – We all sit down for dinner, conversation, and laughs.

6:00 pm – Baby girl’s nightly routine begins – boob, bath, bed!

6:30 pm – Baby is down, time for the toddler’s routine – running around, bath, books, cheering (7:00 pm) and bed!

7:00 pm – After dinner chores, and then it’s time to relax!

9:45 pm – Baby girl’s dream feed, and bedtime for mama.

 

And now for The Ugly

3:00 am – Get violently woken from a deep sleep by a screaming demon child. In a complete zombie state, plop her onto a boob, wince while she bites down accidentally (is it accidental?) with her two razor sharp teeth, and pray I don’t fall asleep while holding her.

5:00 am – Baby girl’s ready to party. I shuffle to her room, collect her, and bring her into bed to feed and sleep for two 30-minute chunks (gotta switch tits halfway through in the least graceful way possible).

6:00 am – Beg my husband to take her downstairs so I can get at least another 30 minutes of sleep. Pass out, and get woken at 7:00 am because I married a saint.

7:00 am – Do everything in my right might to keep the rage at bay, recognizing that it stems from my crappy, interrupted sleep and not the fact that there’s already cereal on the floor.

7:30 am – Chug my now cold coffee while slowly grinding my molars every time I see my toddler get a little too rambunctious around the baby. Check the time every 5 minutes to see how much longer until the baby’s nap and the toddler’s allowable screen time.

9:00 am – While trying to maintain a calm demeanor, change the baby and get her ready for her nap while my toddler launches himself full tilt at the glider in her room nearly knocking it off it’s tracks. Reminding myself he is a toddler and he is acting off impulse as I yell out, “IF YOU DON’T STOP DOING THAT, YOU’RE LEAVING THIS ROOM!” Promptly throw on any dumb show that my toddler requests and let him watch tv for the entire duration of his sister’s nap, while I slouch on the couch next to him rotting my brain on social media, or looking up home renovation inspiration.

10:20 am – Give toddler the 5 minute warning that TV time is over (for now…) and tend to baby.

10:30 am – Deal with an over-stimulated toddler tantrum while trying to convince him it’s a good idea for us to go outside (even though I’m sure he can see right through me and knows I’d rather be melting into the couch next to him like a zombie.)

11:00 am – Finally get out of the fucking house. Baby is now agitated and won’t sit still in the stroller, so I’m left holding her on my hip, pushing an empty stroller, and aggressively reminding her brother to stay close to me because there are cars.

11:30 am – Head home and announce to my husband that I have to poo. In other words, sit on the toilet and text my friends while taking a break from my role as a mother.

12:00 pm – Whisper in my toddlers ear that he wants daddy to put him down for a nap, and send him off to interrupt his work meeting (50% success rate). Wonder if it’s too early for a glass of wine. Spend some time with the baby because at this point, a baby feels like a fucking breeze. She can’t walk, she can’t talk back, she’s generally happy, and even if she cries all it takes is a boob in her mouth to calm her down.

1:30 pm – Put the baby down for her nap. Of course I can hear that the toddler is singing songs in his crib and chatting with this stuffies. I leave him… because I need a break and he needs to use his imagination, right?

2:00 pm – Enter my toddlers bedroom and get slapped in the nostrils with the pungent smell of shit. Check the sheets for accidents and wonder how in God’s name such a small body can produce such a horrid smell. Attempt to take him out of his crib to clean his bum only to be met with defiance and threenager attitude. Leave him and wait by the stairs till I hear him calling for me. Because today we’re going by his rules. We go downstairs and I give in to his first attempt at asking to watch more tv. Sure kid. Why not?

2:30 pm – Baby wakes up and I yell out, “FUCK!” because I forgot to flip the laundry.

2:45 pm – Start asking my husband if he’s almost done work. Every 3 minutes.

3:00 pm – Husband is done work, takes the kids to the park, happy and refreshed as ever after a solid 7 hours intellectually stimulating his brain while talking to other grown ups. They leave, I either cry, scream in to a pillow, or take a nap.

4:00 pm – Start asking hubby what we should have for dinner. Fridge is full of nutritious healthy food, and we order pizza to be ready for 5:00 pm. I suddenly have to “poo” again.

5:00 pm – Hubby and first born pick up pizza, and we snarf it down like animals.

5:30 pm – I put the baby down for bed.

6:00 pm – I tidy the kitchen while hubby and toddler have the times of their lives playing. I spend this time dwelling on my shortcomings of the day, wondering if I’m a horrible mom for allowing so much screen time and snapping so often, and realizing how fucking adorable and amazing my children are. Swallowing back tears, I join in on the pre-bedtime shenanigans.

7:00 pm – Toddler is in bed, I’m pouring myself a drink with a shaky hand, at this point I’ve already snapped way too often at my husband, so I apologize, cry about how hard it is to be a mom and how he’ll never understand, and wonder if he’s still game for having a third baby (Spoiler: He’s not. Not after a day like today!)

9:00 pm – My daughter wakes because, duh, and I go and feed her.

1:00 am – She wakes up again, and I suddenly remember that there’s laundry in the washer.

 

So yeah, I mean there you have it. Most days fall somewhere in the middle. I’ve had a handful of those Good days, and a fair share of those Ugly days. I’m working on staying positive and turning a seemingly Ugly day into a Good day. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t! We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.