Hellobee

Right before I went back to work last August, I did a Day in the Life Post here. I go back to that post every once in a while and it amazes me how crazy my life was at that time. With the girls hitting their one-year birthdays right now, I thought it would be fun to do a similar post now.

Things are so different now. Obviously, the girls are far less needy than they were then. They are on a regular schedule and are interactive. And then there’s the difference in me. I am no longer their daytime caregiver but instead I work full-time. The girls have the most amazing nanny who we truly cherish, and I’ll try to make this post a combination of the girls’ daytime schedule with her and my own schedule.

5:45 AM – My alarm goes off. I press snooze 2-3 times.

6:10 AM – I finally haul myself out of bed. Head into the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and apply makeup.

6:20 AM – After yelling at Mr. Starfish for the third time that he needs to get out of bed and into the shower, he finally does. I finish getting ready by putting on my work clothes. I make our bed.

6:30 AM – Mr. Starfish is out of the shower and dressed. We enter the nursery together to wake the girls. I place sippy cups under the Baby Brezza machine to fill with formula while Mr. Starfish chats with the girls to gently wake them. They are in good moods this morning. Mr. Starfish pulls Lilly out of her crib and uses the changing pad in the nursery to change her diaper; I pull Audrey out of her crib and I go downstairs to the other changing station to change her diaper.

Audrey is often awake before we enter her room in the mornings, and almost always in a good mood!

6:35 AM – We place the girls in their countertop highchairs. I add some whole milk to their sippy cups (we’re slowly transitioning to milk right now) and the girls drink their formula/milk in their chairs. I feed the cats their breakfast.

6:45 AM – Mr. Starfish and I each pour a bowl of cereal and eat breakfast while the girls drink. As the girls finish their milk, I pull them out of their seats and put them down in their “baby jail” for playtime.

6:50 AM – Mr. Starfish heads upstairs to finish getting ready for work. Before he does, he collects cereal bowls and the girls’ sippy cups and starts the dishwasher. I pull out the handheld vacuum and clean our couch of cat hair (the cats sleep there overnight and it is always filthy in the morning).

7 AM – With Mr. Starfish back downstairs, we place the girls in their bouncy chairs for 20 minutes of morning reading. I read them several books, we look at the pictures in the family photo album, and we sing songs.

7:20 AM – Our nanny arrives. Lilly grins ear-to-ear upon seeing her and Audrey bounces happily in her chair and waves to her.

7:21 AM – We pull the girls out of their bouncy seats and get them into their highchairs for breakfast. We chat with the nanny about Lilly’s willfulness and this leads to a quick conversation about how the girls respond to “no” when they receive it from our nanny versus me and Mr. Starfish.

7:35 AM – We leave for work. The nanny feeds the girls breakfast.

8 AM – After a 10 minute drive and a 15 minute walk, I arrive at the office. I settle into my desk with a cup of coffee and I read the Wall Street Journal online and check my emails. Of course, I catch up on Hellobee posts and conversations as well!

A view of my desk. Pictures of the girls are getting a bit outdated at this point!

8:15 AM – The nanny puts the girls down for their morning nap.

9:15 AM – Their morning nap is usually pretty short and they are awake by 9:15. They have a cup of milk when they wake up. At the office, I am enjoying a quiet week with minimal meetings and I have time to catch up on some reports that have piled up on my to-do list. I spend the morning working on an analysis of an equity strategy for our clients.

10 AM – With their next nap not until 1PM, the mornings are the best time to take the girls on an outing. Today, the nanny takes them to a new park in a different Chicago neighborhood than we live in. After swinging, getting in some sensory play with sticks, and practicing their pulling to standing, the nanny takes the girls to their weekly lunch date at Boston Market.

Fun at the park!

11 AM – I receive a text from our nanny asking about the status of our zoo membership (this was our big gift to the girls this year for their birthdays). One of the big benefits of having a zoo membership is free parking in Lincoln Park close to many activities that our nanny likes to take the girls to; I imagine she is checking on the status of the membership so she can plan out activities.

11:30 AM – I leave the office for a business lunch at a sushi restaurant around the corner.

12:45 PM – On my way back to the office, I pull out my phone and check Tinybeans, a photo-sharing app to which our nanny uploads pics of the girls throughout the day. There are several pictures of them at the park and I laugh in the office elevator at some of the silly faces they are making in the pictures.

A snap from the day’s Tinybeans photos.

1 PM – The girls are put down for their afternoon nap at and generally stay there for quiet time until 3 PM. Our nanny takes a well-deserved break during this time. I spend my afternoon writing up an analysis on another equity strategy for our clients.

I also exchange emails this afternoon with our nanny about summer vacation plans. She throws me the most amazing curve-ball surprise by offering to watch the girls overnight one upcoming night so that Mr. Starfish and I can get away for a mini-vacation at a hotel. I read her email at my desk but have to go to the ladies’ room because her generosity means so much to me that my eyes are watering!

3:30 PM – Mr. Starfish leaves for a business trip to St. Louis. He will return on Friday night (today is Wednesday).

4:45 PM – I leave the office for the day. The nanny is wrangling the girls into the bathtub for a bath.

5:10 PM – I arrive home and walk into a sweet scene of the girls happily being dressed after their baths. They both wave to me when I walk in the door and greet them, and Lilly offers me her hairbrush (she is currently in a stage where she likes to “share” everything!). While the nanny finishes dressing the girls, I run to the mailbox to collect the mail.

5:15 PM – Our nanny helps me move the girls to their highchairs for dinner. She and I chat for about five minutes about how strong Audrey is and how hard it is becoming to get her dressed or changed when she decides she wants nothing to do with it. Our nanny leaves for the day. I feed the girls tomatoes, cottage cheese, banana, and some turkey slices for dinner. I pop a quick meal into the microwave for myself while the girls eat and I do some kitchen chores.

Dinner selfie with Lilly

5:25 PM – I sit down with my own dinner to join them. I chat with the girls one-sided while they respond by holding their food out to me, giggling, and sometimes rocking in their chairs.

5:35 PM – I get up from my dinner and feed the cats their dinner.

5:40 PM – Having left for a work trip this afternoon, Mr. Starfish calls for an evening chat with the girls. I leave the phone on speaker while cleaning up the girls’ dinner mess (this is absolutely my most hated mom chore! I get pretty grossed out by all the mixed up and smashed up food that results from any meal with them; Mr. Starfish usually handles this chore when he’s in town because he knows how much I hate it. That is true love, is it not?).

5:45 PM – Move the girls to “baby jail” for playtime while I continue evening chores and clean up.

Audrey doesn’t always love independent playtime in “baby jail”!

5:55 PM – The girls are immersed in their toys so I go upstairs to their room to collect their pajamas, fill the humidifier, and fill the Baby Brezza formula machine. I also take the opportunity to change out of my work clothes while upstairs.

When I come back downstairs, both girls are holding their picture books. Looking together at their picture books and identifying objects for them is currently my favorite thing to do with the girls so I decide to stop my mom chores and join them in their play area to point out the pictures to them.

Lilly checking out her current favorite book.

6:05 PM – I pick up Lilly, change her diaper, put her in PJs and brush her teeth.

6:10 PM – Repeat the above with Audrey.

6:15 PM – I sit down with the girls in their play area. They bring me the picture books again and we spend another few minutes looking at the objects together.

6:23 PM – I take the girls up to their room and start the mobile’s song. I read them their four bedtime stories (It’s Time to Sleep, My Love; Little Owl’s Night; The Going To Bed Book; Goodnight Moon). The girls both stand at their cribs and look at the pictures in the book as I read. They like to turn the pages and touch the pages and slap the pages.

6:35 PM – I lay the girls down in their cribs and sing them their good night song. I leave their room. I check my email and take a shower.

7 PM – I emerge from my shower and the nursery is quiet. I go downstairs and start to work on a photo display project that I am hoping to have ready for their first birthday party in a couple of weeks.

7:50 PM – I get the photo project in a good spot. I pour myself a glass of wine and collapse on to the couch for mindless television and a snuggle with the cats.

9 PM – I head upstairs to get ready for bed. I pull out a magazine to read before sleep.

10 PM – Lights out, snooze.