I’ve been trying to write a “Day in the Life” post since the boys were about 3 weeks old.  It has taken me 5 weeks to actually successfully track what happened for a full 24 hours at our house.  The boys were exactly 8 weeks old on the day I did this, which is 4 weeks adjusted age.   Mr. Blue had a big day at work that day, so my original plan had been to do all the night feedings by myself for the first night in this 24-hour block.  I’m on maternity leave for a few more weeks, so it is just me and the boys at home during the day.

11:45 p.m.-1:05 a.m.- Lil’ Brother wakes up.  I feed him, change his diaper, and get him back to sleep.  We keep the boys on the same schedule, so I wake up Big Brother and feed him, diaper him, and get him to sleep.

1:05 – Pump

1:20 –  Head back to bed to try and get some rest before the next round.

2:25 – Lil’ Brother wakes up with gas pains.

2:50 – I give up trying to put Lil’ Brother back down in Rock n Play, so I lay on couch and let him sleep on my chest in hopes of getting a few more minutes of sleep.

3:20 – Big Brother starts crying.  I put Lil’ Brother down in one swing and go get Big Brother out of his RNP in the nursery.  I heat up Big Brother’s bottle. Both boys are now wailing.  Mr. Blue hears the boys & comes out to help with this feeding.

4:00 – Both boys are down, and we head to bed.

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5:30 – Both boys awake.  Lil’ Brother has more gas pains; not sure why Big Brother is crying.  I comfort Big Brother for a minute, and he goes back to sleep.  Then, I work to get gas out of Lil Brother who is clearly in pain.  This happens like clockwork for him every two hours after he eats at night, even though we give him gas drops.  I swear to myself I’ll buy the Windi and try it out.  Big Brother starts crying harder again, and my attempts to comfort him while dealing with another upset baby are futile.  I give up and wake up Mr. Blue to ask for help.  He works on Big Brother, who finally relaxes in the swing for a few minutes.  I decide to feed them early. Mr. Blue starts with Big Brother while I finish changing Lil Brother’s diaper.  I put Lil’ Brother in the swing, and take over with Big Brother because Mr. Blue needs to get ready for work.  Big Brother finishes eating and goes to sleep in the swing while I feed Lil’ Brother, who eats a measly 1 1/2 ounces.  Lil’ Brother goes into the other swing while I pump.

7:05 – Mr. Blue leaves for work while I’m pumping.

7:15 – I finish pumping and try to give Lil’ Brother more of his bottle.  He rejects it and then falls asleep in the swing.  I lay on the couch and hope for a long nap.

Lil’ Brother lets me know it’s time for a nap.

7:25 –  Big Brother wakes up crying.  I pick him up, and he falls asleep on my chest.  He starts fussing a little, so I put him in his RNP, and he seems to settle down.

8:20 – Lil’ Brother is telling me it’s time to eat again, so I feed him.  Then he goes into the bouncy seat for awake time.

8:55 – Meanwhile, I start feeding Big Brother.

9:05 – Lil’ Brother starts yawning and fussing.  I stop feeding Big Brother, swaddle Lil’ Brother & put him down drowsy but awake in RNP.  Then, I finish feeding Big Brother and let him have awake time.

10:00 – Swaddle and put Big Brother down when he starts showing signs of being tired.

10:00 – Pump

10:16 – Both boys are fussing, so I move Big Brother to the swing and wear Lil’ Brother in my wrap.

11:12 – Lil’ Brother starts eating again.

11:40 – Lil’ Brother finishes eating and does tummy time, then lays on his back to kick and play while I feed Big Brother.

12:00 – Lil’ Brother starts fussing.  I swaddle him and put him in the swing.

12:30 – I finish feeding & burping Big Brother.  He never really went to sleep during his last “nap,” so I rock & sing him to sleep this time.

12:45 – I make myself a sandwich for lunch and start pumping while I eat.

1:03 – Big Brother starts crying.  I move him to the other swing and finish pumping.

1:20 – Big Brother starts crying shrilly.  I pick him up and try to burp him.  He spits up all over me.  I calm him down and go change clothes.  Then, I put on my wrap and wear him to keep him upright for the rest of his nap.

1:50 – Lil’ Brother is getting hungry, so I start feeding him.

2:20 – After finishing up with Lil’ Brother, I move on to feeding Big Brother, while Lil’ Brother has tummy time and other awake time.

3:00 – Both boys play under the activity gym together, while I attempt to trim their nails on their wiggly little fingers.

Play time!

3:25 – Take both boys to nursery to rock while I attempt to sing them into a drowsy state.  It works, and I lay them in the crib together because I’m trying to help them adjust to the crib.  They like to snuggle now and then.

3:46 –  After lots of shhhhing, both boys appear to be sleeping good, and I take a break to pump.

4:10 – Lil’ Brother woke up.  I put him in the wrap to wear him, and he goes back to sleep.

4:18 – Big Brother starts crying.  I pick him up and cuddle him, then put him in the swing to finish his nap.

4:50 – It’s that time again, and I start feeding Lil’ Brother.

5:05 – Big Brother is stirring, so I bring him over to lay beside us.

5:26 – Lil’ Brother sits in the bouncy, while I start feeding Big Brother.

5:50 – Mr. Blue arrives home just as we are finishing up the feeding.  He changes clothes and holds Lil’ Brother, who has started fussing.

6:00 – A friend from church brings us dinner, and we chat with her while she and Mr. Blue each hold a baby.  It is one of the few times all day that I haven’t been holding someone.

6:45 – We put the boys in the swings and dish up our food.  Big Brother starts crying, and I end up wearing him in the wrap while I eat.

7:30 – I take our dog for a walk while wearing Big Brother, and Mr. Blue watches Lil’ Brother and prepares 10 bottles to put in the refrigerator for the next 5 feedings.

7:50 – We each feed one boy and get them ready for bed.

9:15 – They’re super fussy by the time we finish feeding, diaper changes, and bedtime routine.  We decide to try to have them in bed by 8:30 tomorrow.

Snuggle buddies.

10:39 – Both boys appear to have finally given in to sleep, after having taken turns fussing/wailing.   We gave them each more food, rocked them, reswaddled, gave doses of gripe water, rocked some more, put them down drowsy, let them fuss–you name it, we probably tried it tonight.   They’re definitely overtired . . . much like their parents.  Unfortunately, they’re likely to wake up soon for their next feeding since it took almost the entire remainder of the three hours they usually go between feedings to get them to sleep. Sigh.

10:45 – We go to bed.

1:18 – Big Brother starts making noise, but settles back down.  I get up to pump since the boys slept longer than normal (!!), and the boys start to let us know they are really waking up for their next feeding this time.

So, that’s a peek into just slightly more than 24 hours of our lives.  Two tiny babies definitely keep us incredibly busy, but it’s so much fun to be home with my little guys for a few more weeks.