Our Daily Routine

When any new baby comes into your life, there is no such thing as a routine. Everything is led by them. Each day can be completely different to the next and you just sort of go with the flow. Some days will go extremely smoothly - there'll be regular naps, long periods of time where baby is settled and feed times are regular and of a similar length. On other days, you'll find yourself tied to the settee with a baby attached to you in some way or another, your baby will be unsettled for apparently no reason and just won't want to nap. You can try and establish some sort of routine but you'll undoubtedly be wasting your time.

It's taken me a long time this time around to get to grips with just going with the flow. It was very easy to do this with just one baby. It didn't matter then if I was glued to the settee for a whole day, I didn't do any housework or I couldn't put baby down for 5 minutes without him screaming (and believe me, early on with Tommy, nearly EVERY day was of this kind). This time, it did matter. I had this other little person, who had had me all to himself for three and a half years, who I always did so much with. When Isla came along, I lost count of the number of times I uttered the words "just a minute Tommy" and this minute turned into 5...and then 10...and before I knew it, a whole hour of them. I would end each day feeling terribly guilty and sad about having 'neglected' at least one (and more often than not) both of my children. I felt like I'd achieved nothing. I'd not played with Tommy at all, I'd forgotten to do something he'd asked me to do or got to 4pm without remembering to clean his teeth. I felt like all I did was feed, change, wind and then try to settle Isla. There didn't seem any time spare for play. I had a miserable baby,who just wanted to be held all day and a miserable toddler because I was 'tied' to his sister. The house was also a complete mess. I would beat myself up about this at the end of each day, convinced I was some terrible Mum who couldn't cope with one, let alone two, children. This may come as a surprise to those of you that see my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts and think I'm some sort of super mum who's always baking, crafting and off here, there and everywhere. I may give the impression of being a 'super Mum' but it's the absolute last thing I feel like most of the time, even as I type now, but I'm slowly learning to be a little less critical of myself and thinking 'so what?' if something doesn't get done and telling myself 'there's always tomorrow.'

It is only recently that I feel we've managed to gain some sort of balance. There is some structure and routine in place, partly due to the fact that breastfeeding is well-established, Isla has started solid food and I'm learning to become a lot more efficient in the use of my time. Most days, I'll sit down after putting our children to bed and know I've spent lots of time with both children, as well as keeping on top of the housework. I'll go into this in a little more detail into how I've managed to do this in another post, but in this one I thought I'd share with you our routine as it stands at the moment. Let me just point out, our routine works for us and our children at the age they are now. It wouldn't work for every family and there will come a point when it won't work for us anymore and need to change. So this is what a 'normal' day looks like:

7-7.30. Everyone gets up and goes downstairs.
7.30-8. Tommy has his breakfast or watches TV and I feed Isla and get her dressed.
8-8.30. I have breakfast (with Tommy usually) and probably express milk for Isla's meals. If I don't need to, we play for a little while.
8.30-9. I get a shower whilst Tommy gets himself dressed and plays.
9-9.30. Isla has her breakfast
9.30-11. Playtime/story time/song time. Mainly targeted towards Isla, as she has a long nap in the afternoon. I'll share more about this in my next blog post.
11-11.30 Breastfeeding Isla
11.30-12. More play
12-12.30 Tommy and I have lunch
12.30-1 Isla has her lunch (we will soon start having lunch together)
1-4 Isla naps (yes, for three hours!!!!!) she tends to have one long nap in the afternoon, rather than one in a morning and one in the afternoon.
1-5. we use this time to craft, do learning activities, bake, play - whatever takes our fancy really. Isla's nap time gives me the opportunity to have lots of one to one time with Tommy. Alternatively we'll go out for the afternoon and Isla will nap in her pushchair.
4.30. Breastfeed Isla
5-5.30. Tea time
5.30-6. Tea time for Isla and bath time (I bath Isla and Tommy on alternate evenings). I'll write more on this later.
6-6.30. Writing with Tommy, practising letter or number formation, in preparation for starting school.
6.30-7. Tummy time and play with Isla, whilst Tommy has some iPad/tv or playtime with Daddy.
7. Tommy's story and bedtime.
7.30 Breastfeed Isla and bedtime.
8. Housework and then (if time) RELAX!

Anyone else struggling to juggle their time with 2,3 or more babies?????!!!! I'm pretty sure it's a universal 'beinga Mummy'thing. I'd love to hear what you think or if you have any tips you'd like to share!