Day in the Life of a Mom of 5 with a Newborn!

I can't believe we are almost out of the newborn stage already! Leah is two months old, 12 weeks in just a couple of days. This happens with every baby I have, but when I first had Leah, those pure survival days felt like they would last forever. Now looking back, the time has simply flown by. She is already getting so much bigger and there will always be a part of me that misses her little newborn self.

There are still things that are a challenge, but we're slowly and surely making our way out of baby-survival mode and back into regular life. Leah is doing longer stretches at night and has started having early morning wakeups (sometimes going back to sleep and sometimes not) rather than middle of the night feedings. She sometimes naps and sometimes doesn't, but she's definitely getting better (last month, she basically wouldn't nap at all). She is happier when she's awake, especially in the early evenings (we've mostly passed the "witching hour" phase). And my emotions might be starting to settle down a little, though I still feel very hormonal.

All that said, we're still taking it very easy. I decided to take the summer off of homeschool and let everyone just enjoy the baby (we're mostly year round homeschoolers normally). I love that my kids keep asking when we can start school again! But it's also really nice to take it easy right now.

Here is what our day looked like today (Monday, June 16):

6:05 am

Leah woke up to eat, waking me up. I got up and fed her and tried putting her back down. She didn't go back to sleep right away, it took about 20 minutes, but then she slept again until 8:00. This was the start of my day, though. I did my scripture study and read on my Kindle some while feeding her.

6:30 am

I made my hot chocolate and showered. Ben was gone at pickleball (he got up at 4:30 to go play). After my hot chocolate was ready, I sat down and read a little with it. Oliver woke up during this time, but he stayed upstairs for a bit (our rule is the kids can come down around 7:30).

7:30 am

Oliver came downstairs and we made hot chocolate for the rest of the family together. I also cleared out the dishwasher, got bread started in the bread machine, and started a load of laundry.

8:00 am

I woke up Leah at 8 to feed her and start her day. While I was nursing her, Ben and I did the Connections (a puzzle game) together and I did my Duolingo. When she was done eating, I ate an apple and some toast while the kids sat and talked with Leah. Then I read her a book and had her do some tummy time.

9:00 am

The kids wanted to take turns holding Leah, so while they did that, I got in my workout. I do really simple workouts right now, just in the living room with some weights. I break them up into upper and lower days and I try for four workouts a week (though it's hit and miss).

9:30 am

I put Leah down for her nap. While she was down, I switched over the laundry, formed the bread, and did the girls hair. Then I made myself and Ben some eggs and veggies for breakfast. I was hoping to get more done, but Leah woke up after only 45 minutes.

10:15 am

I went up and tried to "save" the nap, but she wouldn't go back to sleep so I just brought her downstairs. While I was upstairs, I turned on an audiobook for the kids and gave them blank puzzle templates to color on.

10:30 am

I fed Leah while the kids continued to listen to their audiobook.

11:00 am

While Leah was awake, we sang with her some, played with blocks with Oliver, and the kids did their morning chores (they rotate between getting the floor ready to sweep, cleaning off the table, and sorting their laundry; then they all put away their own clothes).

12:00 pm

I put Leah down and went to Smith's to get a pickup. I left the kids home to have lunch with Ben during his lunchbreak (he got home from pickleball around 8 am and works from home).

12:30 pm

I got home and brought in the groceries and got some lunch for myself. Leah woke up after 45 minutes again, but this time she went back to sleep on her own after a couple minutes. I was able to put away the groceries and then I took some time to relax just a little and worked on catching up on my bullet journal with a protien drink as a treat.

1:45 pm

I was glad that Leah slept well in the morning so I could get so much done because we left the house in the afternoon (when Ben records for work, we leave the house so there aren't kid sounds in the background). We went to my in-laws, who have an above-ground pool. The girls swam in it all afternoon while Oliver played with his cousin in the dirt. Leah ate, took a nap, and then ate again while were there.

5:30 pm

I started loading up the kids. One of the hardest parts of having five kids is trying to gather and load them anytime we go anywhere (it was already hard with four and it's made that much harder with a baby added into the mix). It always seems to take forever.

6:00 pm

We came home to get some dinner. Ben had finished work, so he got some taco meat cooking so we could eat right when we got home. I fed Leah again while the kids ate dinner and then got some food myself while Ben took Leah. We had the kids do a quick pickup after dinner and then let them watch a few episodes of Bluey.

7:30 pm

We started getting the kids ready for bed. Ben got the toothbrushes and brushed Oliver's teeth while I made sure the kids got on pajamas and kept Leah happy (this is when she is the fussiest usually). Then we did scriptures and prayer together.

7:45 pm

Ben took Oliver into his room to read a book with him and sing to him before bed. I went downstairs and got Leah ready for bed.

8:00 pm

Leah was ready for bed and I nursed her one last time while I read aloud to the girls (I sat on the nugget couch we have in their room while they laid in their beds). We're reading Anne of Green Gables right now and I'm loving it.

8:30 pm

I finished nursing Leah and put her down in her bed downstairs in Ben's office before giving hugs and kisses to all the kids and coming downstairs. Ben was doing the dishes. He finished that and we went on a little walk while we talked about some business stuff he's been thinking through (we have a little walk worked out where we can see the house). Then we had some ice cream and did the NYT mini crossword puzzle together before getting ready for bed.

9:30 pm

I was in bed and reading a nonfiction book (right now, I'm reading the biography of Thomas S. Monson). After a few pages, I was sleepy enough to fall right to sleep.

That was what our day looked like! It was a good day, getting things done early in the day, getting out of the house, and spending time together as a family. Not everyday goes this smoothly and there's never quite enough time to do everything I want to do, but I can feel life moving more towards our regular routine and that is so nice. I am also trying to slow down and enjoy where I'm at, because I know I will miss this stage someday.