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A day in the life
2008 @ 10:44 pm
I have enjoyed reading Heidi’s “day in the life” posts for the last few years–it’s probably because her daughter and Maia are the same age and have some shared experiences. I thought it would be funny to try one of my own. Yes, funny. Funny because even as I type this, I know that it’s going to be impossible to remember the whole day. So, we’ll see how it goes.
7:30 am: Cassie seems to be awake for “good” at this time. I am so out of it that I think it’s 6:30 when I look at my watch. I look at the clock and realize it’s close to 8. In that span of time, Cassie has spit up three times. In my bed. There has also been a diaper malfunction and there is a baby piddle puddle. In my bed. I hear Maia, Cassie seems to be asleep again, go get Maia.
8 am: Maia greets me, “I want daddy”. Naturally. “He is downstairs”. “I want to see him”. “okay, let’s change your diaper first”. She tells me its “just pee” a few times. Lucky me, it is 
Cassie still sleeping, we debate bringing her and decide not to even though Maia really really wants to. We go downstairs. I talk to Jennifer about the day’s plan to get our girls together post-nap. I call back 5 minutes later to discuss pre-school payment schedule.
9 am: Maia plays and I make coffee and call the health insurance company to contest yet another statement. Low point of my day, even though i think it will work out in my favor.
9:30 am: Maia jumps on daddy who, amazingly, does not wake up. Sidenote: sometimes when Jason comes home from work very late, like 4 am late, he passes out watching TV. She plays with her “topato” (computer), which is really a LeapPad, until I bribe her to the table with orange slices. Orange in slice format is VERY exciting. She also eats a couple of hard boiled eggs, but only the yellow part. Some white part is had with resistance. We have some silly conversations that I don’t really remember right now. The following phrases were uttered at least 5 times each: “what you doin’ mommy?” “where mommy?” “where daddy?” “where cassie?” “where joey?” “who dat mommy?” I tell her the plan for the day, which i thought would involve a trip to the shoe store. Maia would rather go to the park. She has started calling me Papa–what a weirdo. I down two cups of coffee.
10:15 am: Maia seems to be done with breakfast, but chooses to sit with me while I work out the class schedule for Brooklyn General. How nice to have company! We hear Cassie and agree that I should go get her. I am finding it works to ask Maia what we should do when Cassie cries. Turns out we usually agree There’s not really an averse reaction to things having to do with Cassie, i just like involving Maia in the process.
10:30 am: Feed Cassie while Maia watches (sort of) Ni Hao, Kai Lan. Great show, short episodes, positive themes, Mandarin skills. We have seen each episode 1,000,000,000,000 times. I still can only remember “green”. Maia can remember green, red, push, and a few other things.
11 am: Daddy is awake and is on a few calls that seem to involve the purchase of a forklift for $100. I am skeptical, but say nothing. I pass off Cassie to tackle the gross kitchen which was left the night before by me. I passed out with Cassie at 8:30. Sue me. Daddy does a diaper for Cassie.
11:30 am: Nurse Cassie.
11:45 am: I get to shower today–hooray! Maia and Daddy make lunch, Cassie fusses in the bouncy chair. I try on three shirts and finally settle one that has a pattern crazy enough to distract from my baby pooch, but that I can nurse in. Towel dry hair, put in ponytail/knot thing and throw on a headband from Renegade ‘07. That’s right, i didn’t even comb it. Pack diaper bag.
12:30: Bag is packed for our long walk to Brooklyn General that I have strategically planned for naptime. Cassie is falling asleep so I move her to the snuggly thingy that slides into the bottom of our fancy pants double decker stroller. Daddy converts stroller from two-toddler set up from the weekend (cousin visiting) to infant/toddle. See? told you it was fancy pants. Maia tries to go on the potty.
1 pm: We are on the road, yay! Ahead of schedule even, which turns out to be a bad thing. Cassie sleeps the whole way there (40 mins), but Maia never sleeps. Lots of exciting stuff to see: dogs, jackhammer, BIG trucks, buses, etc. Maia has “sprrrring cheese” (string cheese).
1:40: we are there, but Maia is awake. keep walking.
2:10: No napping. Head for Coffee Den to get a peanut butter and jelly on wheat, banana and iced coffee. Meet Catherine there, but don’t recognize her from behind. Hello. She only delivered my baby. Nearly DIE when the cost is only $6.45. I had $12 and was worried it wouldn’t be enough. We walk back to the shop and meet a bunch of friendly faces. Maia plays with some kids that are there and I watch/listen and enjoy my lunch. Cassie is still sleeping–I am somewhat amazed by this. Maia gets possessive when another child looks a HER baby sister and covers the stroller with a blanket. So freakin’ cute.
3:00: Maia’s playmate who DID nap, wakes up and they are getting along well–only minor sharing B.S. to deal with. Cassie wakes up, nurses and goes back to sleep. Wow. I wind some yarn.
3:30: I decide to walk Maia again and there is talk of going to the playground. Run into Stephanie and Camille, who are meeting us at the store. After 15 mins there is no napping and the sky look foreboding. Go back to shop and watch Camille, Paloma and Maia play. Lots of running and craziness. Also lots of hugging. Maia gets huggy when she’s tired, but Paloma is sick of it and needs her own space. I cast on for Earl Grey socks. Cannot believe I accomplished this.
4-something: Cassie wakes up and nurses. Maia getting crazier by the second, I begin to wonder if we are trapped at the store by weather. I call Jason to see what’s up with him–any chance he can rescue us? Fancy pants stroller is not devised for public transportation. he might be free at 6:30 so I decide we are eating dinner at the shop. yay pizza! There is crazy play going on, hugging that ends in injury (toddlers often knock each other over when they hug), “mine mine mine!!!!”, sneeze-ball (the very first game Maia and Paloma made up with each other), maia is tired and falls a lot (”i ok!”). Change diapers.
5 something: Pizza is procured and Stephanie and Camille take off. Cassie goes back to sleeping. There is intermittent conversation about how I will get home dry. Take the subway and hope someone pities me and helps me get stroller down and up the stairs? Leave the stroller at the shop and take the bus? Leave the stroller at Jennifer’s and take the other bus? Settle on the latter. Children are instructed to sit on butts or knees on the chairs to eat pizza. Small amount of pizza is consumed and also some chocolate milk. Gross combo, huh? Maia falls off the chair and announces “I all done”. i think she meant to say, “I ok”, but was so tired she mixed up the words. Either way, she nailed it in that she was totally DONE with being awake.
6:10: We leave the shop.
6:30-ish: Get to Jennifer’s and I decide to go for it. I pee at her place and grab some crackers for the ride. We make it about 5 blocks and run into a former student, Melissa, who just had an ADORABLE baby boy. On the small side like my babies Getting paranoid about rain and decide to walk fast.
6:45-ish: Crossing Gowanus Canal and feel drops. See lots of drops in canal. CRAP–this is the worst place for it to start raining. No shelter. Start to run. Get 1/4 mi and realize I am way way way out of shape, but maia really likes going fast. Walk again. Fast. We make it to the door with the first clap of thunder and I am the most wet, but it’s not that bad. Phew. Cassie waking up.
7 pm: Nurse Cassie. Maia searches for various toys, pets the cat and pulls out a book to read. Maia finally poops and we change her diaper.
7:30 pm: Maia requests water (with lemon juice like mommy) and we head upstairs to bed. Cassie is awake, but pretty quiet while we read books-nice! Change Cassie’s diaper. Once in the crib Maia asks for Cassie to sleep with her. This is nightly. I explain that some day Cassie will sleep in the room with her, but not until she’s bigger. She asks me to “sleep on Oda’s bed” (this is Lola’s bed and Lola is Maia’s paternal grandmother. really, it just came from her house and will someday be Maia’s bed). I tell her that Cassie and I will nap in there with her tomorrow. And we will. That works and Cassie and I say good night and leave the room.
8 pm: clean up a little bit downstairs and realize Cassie’s been asleep, like, all day. I pick her up and hold her for an hour or so and give her a little more to eat. Call my parents. Watch So You Think You Can Dance. Dance around a little with Cassie. Until cable box fritzes. Stupid thing.
9 pm: Cassie is clearly tired so I pop the pacifier in to help her relax. She falls asleep and I put her in the bouncy chair. She’s been making intermittent grunty noises, but is still asleep as I type.
11 pm: will probably fall asleep on couch until Jason gets home around 12. He says he’ll take the next feeding (for a couple of night Cassie’s been sleeping 5 hours at this first stretch). Yay sleep. Oh wait, I need to change my sheets. I am pretty confident that if I hadn’t decided to write this post, i wouldn’t remember that until too late.
11:15: Maia crying. She is overtired, but puts herself back to sleep.
All in all a pretty typical, fun day! I even got a little knitting and a little cleaning in. How about that
Comments
Man, going to work and sitting at a desk all day is BORING.
I really loved reading about your day with cassie and Maia. Thanks for sharing!
:) it was funny watching P, maia, and camille run around after each other at BG, though a little tiring. you know, i forgot how much we do as mothers!
So tired just reading about your day - at least it gives me a little idea of what to look forward too (well, without the 2 yo, for now).
WOW. That was a day, and you handled it mighty well. I think you named 4 different meltdown opportunities for me there. Oh, nd I can’t imagine you with a pooch — I think you come in two sizes: tiny and tinier! Love your descriptions of Maia, by the way — hope Hayden is like that come next spring!
Phew.
Okay - I know that should have been a sure fire shot of birth control… but I think my biological clock must be ticking or something because reading that just made me go, “Awww.”
Hee. You are Wonder Woman.
whew! that is a day, girl. i have to say sometimes i think having two in the same stage may be somewhat less confusing (cannot say the word easier, is anything easy for mamas?) than two at different ones. ahhh, the nap. how to do it? sounds like you are hanging in there, hope we get to see some of those socks. wish i mine could frolick at BG….we need a kid friendly yarn spot out here.
OMG, your day is nuts. Nuts, I tell you! But no one would ever guess that you woke up to 3 spit-ups and pee in your bed at 7:30 from your overall calm demeanor and laid-back appearance. You rock, Kaitlyn.
And what, pray tell, is gross about pizza and chocolate milk?!?