SHIFT #1 (8AM)
Awake with terrible allergies.
Kiss husband off to study.
Suckle first born son (I just really wanted to use that word "suckle").
Put on make up and curl my hair while Huck jumps in the jumpy chair.
Become entirely disgusted with state of affairs in the bathroom and scrub the whole dang thing top to bottom while singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and the Hot Dog song at increasingly loud volumes to satisfy an increasingly grouchy baby.
Think up a wild excuse to run errands.
Decide to toss out the old moldy shower curtain in order to "need" a new one.
Out the door, neighbor in hall says "Good morning!" Think, is she on crack? Look at watch, it is only 9. Think, am I on crack?
OUTING #1 (9AM)
Walk to Bed Bath & BEYOOOOOOOND!
Laugh to myself at how the Bed Bath & Beyond doormen are wearing top hats, like I always do.
Find shower curtain, become distracted by my allergies, wander to air purifiers.
Become alarmed when Huck starts hooting at me and I have no toys on hand. Start narrating my every move and thought with grandiose gestures and facial expressions to entertain the owlchild.
Laundry detergent? Don't mind if I do!
Pay for purchases. Decide the Duane Reade has been missing me.
Visit the Duane Reade.
Buy Diet Cokes (on sale!).
NAP #1 (11:00)
Huck naps furiously in his stroller, I realize there is plenty of room in my (not walk-in) closet for Huck's (very mini) crib. His own bedroom!
Impulsively pull all of our clothes out of the closet.
Sweep, dust, wet mop, crib in place, more sweeping, more dusting, more wet mopping, hilarious amounts of clothes rearranging.
Sudden, grand vision of what I should do with new open spaces! Decide to completely redecorate apartment. Scour Ikea/Craigslist and text Brandon the new plans with wild abandon.
Huck wakes up.
SHIFT #2 (NOON)
Play with some fat baby.
Sing lots of Disney songs while I sweep the living room and do the dishes.
Nurse to almost-passed-out status.
NAP #2 (2PM)
Initiate Sleep Training torture per Pediatrician's orders, feel like killing myself. Contemplate getting new pediatrician instead.
Huck finally sleeps. Clean out the fridge. BUT YES I DID.
SHIFT #3 (4PM)
Get a wild hare and walk to H&M at Rockefeller to find warm-weather jams for Huck. No dice, the kid's department is on 34th Street.
While I'm out, decide to walk to Forever 21 in Times Square. Try on rather unfortunate white jeans, nurse and change Huck's diaper in the dressing room. Lose one of his socks. Decide life will go on. BUY NOTHING. This is worth noting.
Stupidly walk to 34th Street H&M. Find warm-weather jams, ridiculous crowds, and an incurable hatred for fellow man.
Take the subway home
Subway lulls Huck to sleep.
NAP #3
lasts only 15 minutes.
SHIFT #4
Discover Huck's lost sock when I change his diaper. The sock was in the diaper. Miraculously it has survived and is unscathed by back end deals.
Feed and walk dogs with Huck in the Ergo. Apologize to Puggle owner even though it was obviously her Puggle's fault.
Bedtime.
Initiate Sleep Training Sequence Attempt Two. Goes slightly better this time.
Settle in bed with Bossypants, a 2 Liter of Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi, and attempt to drown my allergies in kettle corn.
Await return of the husband who will undoubtedly be too tired to tickle my back, but who will be super excited to see that I found a shower curtain liner with metal rivets. High five!
Here are this week's Babble posts.
I am really thinking of getting a new pediatrician (she wants me to stop swaddling now too)
Mothers Day, my old nemesis
Could this be an earache? (Spoiler: teething)
Day seven of my nursing experiment, with lots of beautiful reader-submitted nursing photos.
What type/brand of case do you have on your phone?
ReplyDeleteHaha! I do the exact same thing to my husband when I have finals. He's currently in charge of laundry, dishes, etc. And your little tiger Huck is so so very adorable. So adorable he gets three adverbs.
ReplyDeletethis was like reading the diary of superwoman. i am impressed. and huck is becoming a little man, i love it! too cute in his jams.
ReplyDeletelaughed a loud at this:
ReplyDeleteStart narrating my every move and thought with grandiose gestures and facial expressions to entertain the owlchild.
and also at the fact that huck's sock was IN his diaper. too much...
Hi Nat, my kids are 11 and 8. I think you are doing a fantastic job and your pediatrician seems horrible. I'm not from the States, I have no idea how it all works there, but you definitely don't need to be dealing with someone who is making you feel bad about your perfectly good mothering.
ReplyDeleteJust think...this is your last finals season with The Holbs. And yay for becoming a supermom. Somedays I feel like supermom and other days not so much. My son is too old (almost 11!) and I am getting impatient on the not coming of the second child.
ReplyDeleteI think that if you have no job or school or anything to do except be a mom, why should you complain when your husband is studying? I mean, clearly, all you have going on besides the baby is shopping and cleaning. What a rough life.
ReplyDeleteoh my stars, you are one hella busy bee. Kudos to you for being a brave momma!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think you make everyday sound kind of like an adventure. I love it!
ReplyDeletedearest anonymous, and anybody else interested: it is hard to have a husband in grad school, whether you are working 40hrs a week at the time (done that), working part time at the time (done that too), pregnant and working (done it) not pregnant and working (done it), or cleaning and shopping only (doing it). and also, for the record, i wasn't complaining, because i'm actually pretty proud of how hard that ginger works to get good grades. thank you for commenting though!
ReplyDeleteOh my, I don't feel like Anonymous does but I will say that you should go kiss that HolbsBrandon right now because the day you just described is my day 6 and half days a week. My husband works full time (no school) but the only shift he takes is some Saturday or Sunday mornings. He does help with bedtime but rarely does it all by himself. I'm not complaining- he is a great husband and father and he helps out but apparently not as much as Brandon. I only say this so you realize what an amazing man you married. (for the record- I think I married one too- just different styles). I am impressed with how much you got done in one day though!
ReplyDeleteI love those days. And you know what? I sweat it out every Sunday night thinking, "Crrrappp...another week on my own with two munchkins to care for..." and then Monday is over and I think, "Wait...weekdays might actually be BETTER than Daddy shift weekends!" Because my kids are whiny monkey children on weekends, and that's because we are not doing The Routine. Daddy wrecks The Routine with his well-meaning but misguided weekend plans, and once The Routine is back online, everything goes better. Weird, isn't it? Almost as weird as when you tidy up and unload the dishwasher and put away laundry and errant shoes and jewelry before bed when there's a good book and a hot shower waiting for you and you think, "Holy crap, when did I become my mom?!" And suck it, Anonymous--I've never been more physically or emotionally exhausted when "all" I had to do was shopping and cleaning and cooking and such with a baby in tow. Or, heaven forbid, a baby and a toddler.
ReplyDeleteDear Nat, On the teething earache thing. My babies always got earaches (infections) while they were teething. Even if their Doctors told me over and over it wasn't related. So trust yourself and if you think he has has an earache go have him checked out. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteOhh dearest anonymous, clearly you have never had to deal with anyone going through grad school finals. I am currently going through law school finals and I can say with certainty I feel bad for all the people close to me who have to deal with my crazy studying and my stress. I think when you said that Natalie has to deal with him "studying" is really under-appreciating the situation. Also, you should really remember that EVERYONE has a hard life. Keep your negativity to yourself, yo! So why should you be posting rude comments on other people's blogs without even leaving so much as your name with it?
ReplyDeletescrew what the pediatrician says. YOU'RE THE MOM! and apparently, you are SUPER MOM. do whatever you feel like makes your baby happy. you're awesome.
ReplyDeleteTough job to be a Mom but its worth it i think..its a satisfaction after all.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that that you saw in the Duane Read?? Was it Eric Idle? Frightening!
ReplyDeletePS. Glad you found the sock.
wow you just made me feel so unproductive it's ridiculous. being super mom is tough.
ReplyDeleteoh, and both my nephews adore the hot dog song. that and the wiggles. addictive.
Enjoy the super-productive days, I find that they are sandwiched with some ridiculously unproductive days... :) I just read on a friends blog about a sleep training method from a book called 12 hours sleep by 12 weeks old and they don't advocate letting the baby cry it out but instead have scheduling methods for the daytime and then you help the baby to sleep by leaving then coming back to comfort and calm them down (rubbing tummy or something) and then leaving as soon as they are comforted. You might have to go in a few times in a row, but I would have appreciated this approach when my babies were sleep training. Maybe give it a try!
ReplyDeleteOh yes and don't get too used to productivity as Huck is soon going to be mobile... :)
ReplyDeletecongratulations! don't think i've reached adulthood yet and definitely not motherhood but i'm very happy for you! :) and i love that you found his sock in his diaper--hilarious and adorable all at the same time. :)
ReplyDeletethat picture you took at duane reade made me miss nyc like your huck's cold foot misses his one sock.
ReplyDeleteso glad i found your blog.
Love this post! My son cried and cried as a baby...a friend told me to put him in front of youtube and play beyonce "single ladies"...best advise ever! He loved it and it bought me 15 minutes of time. It is amazing what you can get done in 15 mins :)
ReplyDeletep.s I guess babies like that song because it is in black and white and has a lot of beat and rhythm.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to having no husband during finals. Two more days and I get my law school husband back and my five month old will see his dad! It is tough to lose someone for two weeks who is usually so helpful and provides a much needed five minute mommy time out.
ReplyDeleteReading that made me dizzy. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I am so glad to read this. This morning I was dancing around my house, so happy that I'd already GOTTEN morning SLEEP, done two loads of laundry, washed all the dishes, cleaned the nursery, mailed some letters, actually drank a hot cup of coffee, fed twice, napped twice, and even had a poopy diaper, all with little to no drama.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I thought, "Who understands why this is a good day?"
And then I found your blog. YAY.
And finally, there is nothing more annoying to me than people telling me that being a stay-at-home mom must be the life, thinking all I do is float about my lovely existence 24-hours a day. Staying at home is harder than being at work. Here's to us.
I'll forgive you for not responding to my email only because this post is pretty close to being exactly me! except diet coke instead of pepsi! Thanks for livening up my reader!
ReplyDeleteI like your blog, but taking a picture that woman is pretty rude (I think).
ReplyDeleteconsidering my baby (20 months) wakes at 4am everyday for cereal and must be fed or she hits us on the head, I am jealous of your 8am start... ummm my husband is gone for work by 7am so there is no Mr to do the morning shift.
ReplyDeleteBut when ever mothers list their day in list form it makes me tired just reading it! mothers rock!
You rock girl! RAH RAH RAH! Ya ya sisterhood and all that jazz. :D
ReplyDeleteMy husband is self-employed, and gone for most of those shifts too. I feel for you cause I do it day in and day out. I just have to keep telling myself that this to shall pass. Keep up the good work! And definitely get rid of that pediatrician. You are his mom, you know what is best for him. You're with him 24 hours a day, and she/he sees him only once every few months. I didn't take my daughter to the dr from the time she was 2 months old til she was 1 year old, and she survived! You know what you are doing. You were born to do it!
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed. Love this post!
ReplyDeleteHomeowner Insurance
I'd fire my ped if I was you. Sleep habits and swaddling are out of their scope.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'.
your day makes me exhausted just reading it. i love that huck hoots like an owl when in distress, and that is a whole lot better (and cuter to passes by) than screaming!
ReplyDeletepediatrians are only useful when you need perscriptions. and even then you don't always need them. like when you have an ear infection in baby. all they need is muellin garlic oil. really, i'm serious. ENT's and pediatrician approved. sold at whole foods. online. and some grocery stores. i used to have saturday mornings off. then the man of the house graduated from grad school and got a job. HOW DARE HE!!! now he works earl tues and thursday, AND he works saturdays. man, i want to student life and the working man's pay. i miss those school breaks and living off of student loans. wah!
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was in New York I was in 6th grade and riding a tour bus, so I am no expert on New York. However, those places you mentioned don't seem to be next door to each other. How far doe you walk on an average day? You should wear a pedometer. That much walking must help you keep in shape.
ReplyDeletefind another pediatrician. if you hate it, it's not good. also, i must say, this is fantastic birth control for someone in grad school and whose husband may start in the next year or so...
ReplyDeleteNatalie, I know I'm late to the party, so I really hope you've switched pediatricians by now, but if not, do it. If you're like me (and I think you are) you're reluctant to switch because you don't want to hurt the doctor's feelings. I've gone to doctors I hated for years before finally moving away and having to get a new doctor, but one time when I was pregnant with Mercy I had finally had enough from this one doctor. I decided to switch. It was heart-quaking to me to actually take action like this, and such horrible action, too! What made it even worse, was the tiny town I lived in had all the doctors in one clinic, so every time I went to see my new doctor, I had to try to sneak past the old doctor and the old nurse (who I liked). I hated going to the doctor!
ReplyDeleteBut the relief I felt when I finally started seeing the new doctor was wonderful. I no longer dreaded meeting with him. I actually looked forward to his advice and our visits. I was so freeing!
I know what is holding you back (or at least I think I do), and I'm telling you: all the fear and anxiety is worth it!
And I didn't even have to tell the old doctor I was leaving or why. I just never went back.
that cracks me up! i have to admit, from far away, i am slightly jealous of 1) the fact that your child sleeps while in motion, and 2) you can walk to so many insanely lovely stores. oh, nyc, how i love you! i feel like my salt lake home is only moderately larger (which for salt lake, lacks serious charm opposed to new york). being alone w/ a child during the day is a strange and perplexing thing at times! doesn't it make you feel so... like, grown up? or really young and pretending like i'm playing house. one of the two!
ReplyDeletethis was like reading the diary of superwoman. i am impressed. and huck is becoming a little man, i love it! too cute in his jams.
ReplyDeleteportable crib bedding