So, I thought it would be interesting to share a bit of a snapshot into my own family and how a typical day looks in our house...
6am - alarm goes off. One press of the snooze button, and I'm up.
I plod downstairs in search of tea and feed the cats, check my phone (which I've taken to leaving downstairs overnight to avoid distractions before bed) then head upstairs to shower.
6.30am I then settle myself at my dressing table, put the lamp on, and get myself ready, doing my make up whilst watching Good Morning Britain on my iPad, followed by drying my hair and getting dressed. At some point during this, hubs emerges and starts his morning routine.
7.10am Once ready, it's time to let the dog out and fill his bowl with fresh food, pack our lunch bags for the day and, if I have time, make a smoothie. Usually banana, peanut butter and oats with almond milk. I drop everything into the car then head upstairs to wake the little monkey.
These days, Ethan greets me with a 'no Mummy' or 'BED!' and I busy myself picking him out an outfit for the day and get his things together before finally having to grab him out of his slumber to start getting him ready for his day at nursery. He quite often bursts into tears at this point, refusing my offers of a cuddle or one of his toys just to make a point. Silly monkey!
I change his nappy, get him dressed, comb his hair (which he loves - note the sarcasm) and then try to get a toothbrush in his mouth between sobs and before he realises it's that time again. A wet wipe to mop up the tears and toothpaste dribble, and we are on our way downstairs (turning around again as Mummy has forgotten to put shoes on his feet, again).
7.30am (if we're lucky...) We all scramble in the car, Ethan often now says 'Sorry Mummy' after a sudden fit of tears or frustration, and the car journey to nursery, all of four minutes away, is generally calm whilst we try and talk to Ethan about his day ahead.
7.35am We pop into the nursery, walk into Ethan's new group, Toddlers, and speak to the key worker who happens to have her hands free at the time. Ethan has been in the habit of late of getting very upset when we drop him off. For the first 16 months of nursery, we never had a problem saying goodbye, but since turning two, he gets himself worked up and then he's apparently fine and playing happily just minutes after we leave.
He knows how to make his Mama feel bad! And he does. I know how much he loves nursery but when he's upset and calling for me, it makes it even harder to walk away.
7.40am We're on our way into the city now.
8.15am On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we first head to City Hospital. Hubs waits in the car, I rush into the building, up in the lift to floor three, down the corridor to the phototherapy room. I go in, wash my hands, enter my cubicle, undress, put on my goggles and oh so attractive visor, go into the chamber, close the door and shout 'ready' so the nurse can put the right time into the machine. I then get zapped for up to a minute and a half (at present), the machine bleeps then I do everything in reverse. I try to get it all done within 15 minutes so I don't have to pay an hour's worth parking fee.
8.35am Hubs works just around the corner from me, so I drop him off en route, then head to my office to start my working day. A few emails, a few calls, some meetings, some writing - no two days are ever really the same.
1pm On my lunch hour, I try to get away from my desk, so I go for a walk, go to the shops or run any other errands that I wouldn't get to do until Saturday otherwise. Either that or I eat my sandwich / salad / leftovers from the night before with one hand whilst typing with the other.
5pm Home time! I jump in my car, putting my laptop and handbag in the bag, then head into the city rush hour traffic, picking hubs up en route back to the nursery. Everyone is even more impatient on the return journey.
5.50pm We finally get to Ethan's nursery, with 10 minutes left before they close. We go through to his room and peek around the corner to see where he is and what he's doing. I've always done this, as I love trying to get a glimpse of my son when I'm not around and he has his friends to play with and talk to. I just love watching him. He soon spots me, shouting 'Mummy!', dropping whatever is in his hands and running to the gate, arms outstretched. Until, at the last moment, Ethan spots hubs standing behind me and decides it's Daddy's turn to pick him up.
The nursery worker then talks us through Ethan's day; what he's done, what he's eaten, how long he slept for. We say goodnight and Ethan tells us to take him home to Goggy and Hockhock (Watson our dog, and Sherlock one of our cats).
6pm After chatting in the car, we get home, let the dog out and let Ethan take control of the lounge. Picking out his toy of choice, we leave Ethan to get settled whilst hubs and I feed the pets, get dressed into our comfy's / PJ's, then I start dinner and hubs goes to play with Ethan.
6.45pm I pass dinner over the safety gate to hubs then go and get my own. Ethan immediately charges over to my seat on the sofa and I spend the time trying to eat a mouthful of food whilst at the same time, Ethan tries to put his fingers in my food. 'Mummy, this one!'.
7pm We then play for a while, Ethan pulling out all his jigsaws or getting his train track out. Sometimes we might have something like In The Night Garden on TV.
7.30pm Baff time! At least, that's what Ethan calls it. I go up and run him a bath then when it's the right temperature, hubs brings him in. He demands his bath toys and then plays for a good half hour. He has always loved bath time and even more so now he has squidgy soap and bath crackles to play with.
8pm Shrivelled like a prune, we get Ethan into his PJ's, comb his hair then one of us hugs him goodnight. Hubs and I have been taking turns at bedtimes for a few months now. Whoever is on duty sits on the chair in his nursery, reads Paddington, plays music and does their best to ignore his fidgeting and delaying, like putting all his toys under the covers or standing up to look out the window, until he eventually settles.
If it's hubs' turn, I come downstairs, tidy away those jigsaw pieces and trains, make myself a cup of tea then settle down to do something for me; be it watch something I can't around Ethan (Orange Is The New Black, at present) or read a book, catch up on blogs, put the laundry onto dry - whatever needs doing.
If I'm being good, I'll prepare our lunches for the next day, and if I can be really good, which I want to be, I'm going to start taking Watson for an evening walk or go for a run.
9/9.30pm If it's my turn, I'm up there in Ethan's room for a good hour / hour and a half, even sometimes two, as he doesn't seem to take Mummy so seriously.
10/11pm Then, touch wood, hubs and I can put something on together or just enjoy some quiet, quality time before going to bed. I'll take my make up off in bed whilst we watch something like Modern Family or a film, which we will watch in bite-sized chunks over a few evenings.
It won't take me long to drift off to sleep. Minutes really.
And Ethan will sleep through, bar for the odd night where he wakes crying in the middle of the night, needing a quick cuddle before settling down again.
Then it's 'BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP' and it's time to do it all again.
Is Ethan a heavy and grump sleeper then? Just wait until he's a teenager.
ReplyDeleteLizzie Dripping