Just for fun, one day last week, I again took pictures and shared in real-time on Instagram a peek into a pretty normal day in our lives. I say “normal”, but nothing is really normal right now due to COVID-19, our city’s current Safer at Home order.
But I wanted to document what this period of our lives was like — when we were home 24/7 all day, every day, as a whole family. This right after we brought Champ home from the NICU and were still really trying to figure out a groove with him.
I’ll be sharing another Day in My Quarantined Life post in a few weeks when we have two newborns! That should be really interesting! 🙂
Psst! If you missed my Day in My Life post from last week, you can check it out here.
We all take shifts with Champ at night. Kathrynne took the 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift, I took the 1 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. shift and Jesse took the 5:45 a.m. to 7 a.m. shift.
7:00 a.m. — I got up and fed Champ while Jesse helped Silas get his school assignments/lessons together for the day. Kaitlynn worked on her school and we let Kathrynne sleep in since she was up late last night.
7:30 a.m. — Jesse, Kaitlynn, Silas, and I hung out in the living room while I held Champ. We talked and laughed over some memes.
8:00 a.m. — Kathrynne and Kaitlynn start their school for the day (some of their classes are online). Silas holds Champ while I get his bath stuff together.
8:30 a.m. — Jesse goes back to bed for a bit, the kids work on their school, I give Champ a bath.
The kids had Baked Oatmeal for breakfast. Right now, breakfast and lunch are pretty on your own around here.
9 a.m. — I swaddle Champ and put him down for a nap (and he stayed asleep — yay!!). I spot clean and start some laundry.
9:15 a.m. — I head downstairs to walk on the treadmill, read a few chapters from my current reads, and pray over my day.
9:45 a.m. — I sit down to read my Bible and eat breakfast. I get a phone call about some foster care stuff and end up being on the phone until 10:15 a.m.
10:15 a.m. — I feed Champ and talk to Jesse about some of the decisions we need to make based upon the phone call. I change Champ and have him do a 5-minute tummy time.
11:15 a.m. — Silas is on a Zoom call with his teacher. Kathrynne puts Champ to bed and I sit down to finish my breakfast and Bible time.
12:15 p.m. — I finally get in a shower and get dressed and ready for the day. Then it’s my daily bottle sterilizing and prepping time for the day (the NICU dietician taught me how to prep his formula in 24-hour batches).
1:15 p.m. — I feed Champ and give him his vitamins in part of his formula (he despises his vitamins, so this part of the feed is always a challenge!). I help Kathrynne practice feeding Champ for part of his feed (I’m training both Jesse and Kathrynne to do his feeds so they are confident in them before my birth/hospital stay.)
2:15 p.m. — Kaitlynn takes Champ. I decide on Ham & Bean Soup and Honey Cornbread for dinner. I do a quick soak of the beans while checking in with the kids on their schoolwork and helping them where they need help.
2:30 p.m. — Kaitlynn puts Champ to bed and I settle in with a snack, water, and my computer to work on chapter 8 of my upcoming book manuscript. This chapter is all about letting go and raising self-sufficient adults, not co-dependent kids.
3:45 p.m. — I take a break from blog work to boil the beans, now that they are soaked. And then I work on getting my Hot Deals enewsletter sent out.
4:00 p.m. — I feed Champ, finish my blog work for the day, the girls and I take turns holding Champ (Jesse had gone out to run an essential errand and Silas was playing Xbox.)
6:00 p.m. — Jesse and I finish making dinner together and we eat a quick dinner.
7:00 p.m. — I head downstairs for a Zoom call with my Discipleship Group. I feed Champ during our meeting.
8:45 p.m. — My meeting is done and I come upstairs and we all work together to do our evening chores/get the house clean/picked up. (We’ve found that if we get the house “company ready” 1-2 times per day, it never gets too out of hand.)
9:45 p.m. — I catch up on IG stories/comments while feeding Champ.
10:00 p.m. — I feed Champ while chatting with Kathrynne about a speech she’s working on.
10:30 p.m. — Kathrynne and Jesse take over with Champ and I head to bed.
My daughter was a preemie, only 3 lbs 12 oz. It would take her a hour just to drink 2 oz. She was fortunate to not visit the nicu, she was a true miracle! I understand what you are going through… but I feel for you being ready to deliver your own little bundle of joy. Praying you & your family that goes as God planned. Praise the Lord!
Please keep doing Day in the Life posts. They are so fun!
I’m planning to do another one after baby #2 is born!
I read a recent post of yours about what you’re drinking in the morning and now I can’t find it!! I have not have coffee for about 10 months now and for some reason I am really craving it. I thought that you had said that you are drinking something that is like coffee and would be very interested in trying it. I’d love the name of it!!
Thx
I’m drinking a mix of The Morning Motivator and Dandy Blend with half and half. I just made up the mix but I really like it!
I love how you and Jesse instilled the importance of teamwork in your family! Everyone has been stepping up to the plate, and it is truly a joy to see!! Also, I am loving all your pics!! I almost felt like I was on the treadmill walking and reading!! Haha!!😃 Take care and much love to the whole family!!💖
Aw, thanks so much for your kind encouragement!
Thanks for sharing.Always look for your email.Have to read it.You are busy.Your family is blessed to have you.Keep sharing
Thanks for your encouragement!
Phew!
I love reading your posts! I just started the foster care process in January, and then all of the trainings were canceled in March because of COVID19. I read your posts with wonder and am looking forward to the future!
Thank you so much for stepping into this much-needed and life-changing ministry. Our lives will never be the same as a result of fostering and even just the training we went through.
I love these “day in the life” posts! How nice that you have some help overnight! When my twins were infants, I remember telling my husband that I could handle all night long, if he could be with the babies 5-8 am, which he did. That was just my groggy time each day! You’re going to essentially have twins in a few weeks, and you’re already implementing my number one tip: try to always have someone who can help you for the first 3 months. Looks like you have 4 someones who can help! 🙂
Our NICU baby had meds that he hated…what worked for us was doing meds immediately prior to a feed—he was hungry and more likely to suck down anything put into his mouth, and he actually ate better because his milk tasted so good in comparison.
The NICU nurses taught me to mix it with a little bit of formula in a bottle at the beginning of the feed and he’s much more apt to actually swallow it that way instead of spitting it out and getting really upset! 🙂
I’m so grateful that our baby will be born close to the beginning of summer — so we’ll have a nice long stretch to all get in a good groove before “real life” starts back in the fall and three of my helpers go back to school and much fuller schedules! They are SO excited to get to have this time to be home with the babies!
Love all the bottles and family teamwork!
It’s been so fun to get to all be in this together and I’ve just loved watching my kids step up to the plate!