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Ever wondered how I do it?! I only ask as a lot of people tell me that they don’t know how I do it (I’m not entirely sure what they mean, but presumably ‘manage two babies’ ‘find time to cook’ ‘survive on so little sleep’, or any combination of the above). As I’m sharing a lot of meals on here I guess that’s probably what they mean.
I thought some of you might be interested in what a typical day looks like in our house, so here goes:
3am – one baby wakes and won’t settle, so joins me in bed and feeds to sleep
5:30am – the other baby wakes and joins us in bed, feeds but won’t go back to sleep. We switch boobs until either I’m tired of being poked in the face/mouth or he starts crying with boredom
5:50am – curtains up and start the day
5:55am – get clothes and nappies lined up for both babies
6am – change first baby’s nappy and dress him
6:15am – change second baby’s nappy and dress him
6:30am – feed one baby
6:45am – feed the other baby
7:00am - put some clothes on myself and brush my teeth while the babies crawl about
7:05am – take the babies downstairs and set them up with some toys to play with
7:10am – eat a bowl of cereal myself whilst watching the boys
7:20am – unload the washing machine and hang up nappies to dry
7:30am – bring both babies into the kitchen to sit in their chairs and unload the dishwasher and prepare breakfast for the boys (today that was blueberry porridge, partly mixed with yoghurt, and cucumber with almond butter)
7:50am – set up both babies in their high chairs in the dining room
7:55am – 8:30am– give the boys their breakfast
8:30am – wipe one boy’s face and put him in his kitchen chair
8:35am – wipe the other boy’s face and change his nappy then put him in his kitchen chair
8:40am – change the first baby’s nappy and return him to his chair
8:45am – wipe down babies bibs and high chairs, sweep the dining room floor (occasionally also wipe the floor, depending how wet breakfast was
8:55am - wash both boys’ bowls, and clear up the kitchen
9.10am – 10am load both babies in their buggy and head out for a stroll / run / buggy nap
10am-10:20am – feed first baby
10:20am-10:40am – feed second baby
10:40am – play with the babies, sing songs, read books
11am – make up nappies for the rest of the day
11:15am – 11:45am – transfer the boys to the kitchen to prepare lunch (today that was a Nigel Slater recipe – fried aubergines with tuna, fresh basil, lemon juice and pasta – really easy and quick, with sliced nectarine and watermelon)
11:45am – change first baby’s nappy and return him to the kitchen
11:50am – change second baby’s nappy and set him up in his high chair
11:55am – second baby into his high chair, and bibs on
12pm – lunch served for all three of us
12:30pm – wipe down first baby’s face and move him to kitchen chair.
12:35 – wipe down second baby’s face and check his nappy is still poo-free, change if appropriate, then set him in his kitchen chair
12:40 – check second baby’s nappy, change if appropriate
12:45 – wipe down bibs, high chairs, sweep the dining room (and wipe the floor if particularly bad), clean babies’ plates and do the washing up from lunch
1pm – put down first baby in his cot
1:05pm – put down second baby in his cot
1:10pm – 1:25pm – settle both babies to sleep
1:25pm – 1:30pm – tidy my bedroom clearing away toys/nappies from earlier
1:30 - 1:55pm – clear away morning toys from the living room, put a clothes wash on, or pour myself a glass of water (or tea that I then don’t have time to drink by the time it’s sufficiently cooled), open yesterday’s post, check my emails, submit invoices for this week’s consulting work.
1:55pm – one baby invariably wakes up in a bit of a bad mood having not slept enough
1:55-pm – 3pm – trying to entertain a grumpy baby, singing songs, playing bouncy games,
3pm – second baby wakes up, feed first baby
3:20pm – feed second baby
3:40pm – change first baby’s nappy
3:45pm – change second baby’s nappy
3:45pm – 4:15pm – Dealing with some admin around Supersprogs.com – whether that’s reviewing designs, planning colours, chasing the factory for sample production, or occasionally DOWNTIME! Today blogging whilst watching a bit of Emma Willis Delivering Babies today, but usually it’s much trashier: Love Island, Celebrity Dating Agency….
4:15pm – prepare bits for the boys’ dinner (today that’s sweet and sour daal, cooked by Nanny and defrosted by me, with blackberries I picked during our morning walk, and a yoghurt ice lolly each)
4:30pm – 5pm – load the babies into the buggy for a stroll (so that the baby who didn’t sleep enough at lunch can have a quick bit of shut-eye if he needs)
5pm – Give the boys lunch
5:30pm – Wipe both babies faces, take them upstairs to their cots to play while I run their bath
5:35pm – Undress first baby, give him his iron, and bath him
5:45pm – baby massage first baby, dress him and put him back in his cot (usually whilst singing to soothe the impatient second baby)
5:55pm – undress second baby, give him his iron and bath him
6:05pm – baby massage second baby, dress him and put both babies on the floor to crawl about a bit
6:15pm – make up bottles for baby bed-time
6:20pm – read stories to one baby then the other, or sometimes both on the floor
6:40pm – feed one baby his bottle, and put him down to sleep
6:50pm – feed second baby his bottle and put him down to sleep (usually the boys’ dad is home around this time of day, and he’ll feed one baby while I do the other, but this is an example day of when he’s not home yet)
7pm – downstairs and put nappies and bibs in the washing machine to rinse
7:05pm – wipe down high chairs, sweep and sometimes mop/scrub the dining room floor
7:10pm – clear up the kitchen and wash up the boys’ bowls,
7:15pm – wash and sterilise baby bottles
7:25pm – start cooking dinner
7:55pm – put nappies on to wash
8pm – eat dinner
8:15pm – 8:30pm – express milk
8:30pm – 9pm (occasionally nearer 10pm) – WATCH TELLY
9pm / (10pm latest) – off to bed
As you can tell, I often don’t get much time to sit down! Unfortunately that's made me a pretty bad friend/family member, forgetting birthdays and important events pretty much all the time (knowing even what month it is seems like a struggle, never mind the actual date and whether anyone I know was born then!). At one point I was pumping for ten minutes after every feed, which made the days very, very busy! Now I’m just breastfeeding before bottles so the boys get something from me (I read even 50ml a day is enough for them to get some of the benefits of breastfeeding, so they’re doing okay by me I think!). I’m lucky that the nights often only have one or two wakings prior to the 3am one, so at least I get to sleep. Sometimes. But the days are pretty tiring so I need everything that I get at the moment!