Busy all day and yet nothing ever done
By: Caroline Fernandez
| 3:30 am | (Ahh… the 24 hour clock of parenthood) |
| Get up to nurse 7 week old baby. He falls asleep mid-feed. Change his diaper to wake him up. Good Gandhi he didn’t like THAT. Resume nursing. Put baby to bed. Go back to bed myself. |
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| 4:15 am | Not sleeping yet. |
| Wondering what to make for dinner. | |
| 6:30 am | Baby up to nurse again. |
| So tired. | |
| 7:00 am | Older sisters are sneaking into my bed. |
| Cue to get up. My to-do: 1. (Pee – those darn Kegels didn’t help my post-pregnancy bladder one bit!) 2. Make breakfast 3. Pack school lunches 4. Ensure kids brush teeth (using toothpaste and not just water) 5. Supervise kids while they dress themselves 6. Get kids to the school bus by 8:30 am |
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| 8:37 am | Kids gone. |
| Turn on computer. Start washing dishes. Someone smells poopy… |
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| 9:00 am | Throw in a load of laundry. |
| *Mental note: make sure laundry gets into dryer this time! |
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| 10:17 am | Baby crying. This child needs a nap (so do I). |
| 10:30 am | Baby in sling. |
| Back to dishes. Wondering: what are we going to have for dinner? Decided: I’ll run to the store so I Can make a hearty roast beef dinner. (stay-at-home Mom’s do that sort of thing, right?) What’s that grunting? Oh, you smell… |
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| 11:30 am | Diaper change. |
| Nurse again. Baby in car seat. Car seat in van. Off to the store. |
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| 1:30 pm | Why does every little errand take so friggin’ long?! |
| Forgot the shopping list. Hit two red lights. Missed out on the last “Families with young children” parking spot. Line up at check out. Get home. Feed baby (is this cluster feeding?! Growth spurt?) |
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| 2:00 pm | Baby napping! |
| Have lunch while checking e-mail, Twitter, Facebook. Think to research vaccinations and autism connections while I have a chance. |
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| 4:00 pm | Holy Mother of Pearl! Where did the time go?! |
| Baby Crying. Kids back from school. My to-do: 1. Make after-school snack 2. Nurse baby and change diaper (oops- that just took #1 place) 3. Clean lunch box containers 4. Supervise homework 5. Encourage guitar practice |
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| 5:30 pm | Crap – too late to put roast in oven. |
| 5:37 pm | Put chicken nuggets on cookie trey and break out the raw carrots. |
| Moderate fighting kids who can’t agree on a TV show. Check e-mail, Twitter, Facebook. Shut down computer. Set table while holding baby. |
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| 6:00 pm | Nurse baby. |
| Change baby. Put baby in bouncer. 20 minutes to eat before he realizes I’m not holding him… ready, set, EAT. |
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| 6:30 pm | Have kids put dinner dishes in dishwasher. |
| Wash cookie tray tomorrow. | |
| 6:45 pm | Tell kids to get ready for bath. |
| Hold baby while coaching kids to get naked as quick as… Sop before commenting on who gets naked fastest. Change poopy diaper. |
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| 7:00 pm | Check calendar to see if tomorrow is pizza day. It’s not. *sigh* |
| Help kids into pjs. Put pjs on baby. Put pjs on myself. Read bedtime story to kids. While nursing baby. |
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| 7:45 pm | Kids follow me downstairs as I look for baby’s soother. |
| Soother found. Turn TV to CNN so kids realize nothing good happens in the living room after 7:30 pm. |
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| 8:00 pm | Tuck kids in bed. |
| 8:05 pm | Nurse baby while watching CNN |
| Check e-mail, Twitter, Facebook on phone. Tidy living room. Pee. |
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| 9:30 pm | Get into bed. Gently place sleeping baby in bassinet. |
| Turn on the heading pad. Turn the TV on to check the weather. Turn TV off. Turn heating pad off. Zzzzz |
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| 11:15 pm | D’oh! The laundry! (Ugh. Too tired. Will put two dryer sheets in tomorrow to mask forgotten-clothes smell). |
| 3:30 am | Already? Again?! Really? |
| Get up to nurse baby. Busy all day and yet nothing ever done. |
When not forgetting to switch the laundry, Caroline Fernandez is the Mom to three kids. She is also a popular Canadian freelance writer specializing in parenting & lifestyle. Twitter enthusiast (@ParentClub). Her blog parentclub.ca is a go-to site for parenting features and activities aimed at making life a little easier for busy families.
