Howard Trio Plus One: Our (New) Daily Grind

It's been a couple of months since I wrote about our daily schedule, and since it has changed (again) I wanted to write a post so I remember what it was like for us at 12 months (10 adjusted). Although our bottle, meal, nap time, and bed time routine is the same every day, the time varies a bit depending on what we have going on, so this is our typical schedule.

Between 6:00 and 7:30 -Alexis, Jack, and Faith wake up. I am amazed at how inconsistent their wake up time is since we put them to bed at a pretty consistent time each night. I set my alarm for 7:00 so if they all happen to be asleep I get a few minutes to myself. Otherwise, I wake up when I hear someone making noise (these days it could be talking, crying, or shouting). If any of the babes wake up early they just play until I get the others up for the 7:30 bottle.

Good morning!

Alexis

Faith

7:30 - After I get all three babies out of bed and diapers changed (and I have put in my contacts and brushed my teeth), I feed the first round of bottles. These days this means they Faith and Alexis are in their Rock n Plays and Jack is on the floor with pillows, and I prop their bottles.

7:45 - Make three trips downstairs to bring each baby down. I clean up some dishes and bottles and then get their breakfast ready. By the time breakfast is ready they probably all have a dirty diaper so I change everyone's diaper and then put each baby into their booster seat.

8:30 - Feed all three babies breakfast, which is usually yogurt and some finger food such as banana, toast, and Cheerios. These days there is not much interest in being spoon-fed so we are working on incorporating more finger foods.

9:00 - Clean each baby's face and hands and put everyone on the floor to play while I clean their trays and do more dishes and make formula.

Playing post breakfast (Faith still has her PJ top on). These chairs are one of the favorite spots to play right now even though they have been the cause of many falls!

Faith playing in her PJ's in the morning. Her newest trick is climbing to the top of the couch (when we have the cushions off so it's short enough for her to get on).

9:30 - Get all three babies dressed, which is a workout now that they are all crawling (the girls on all fours and Jack on his belly) and they don't want to lay still for a minute!

Mid outfit change Alexis (top) and Jack decided it was a good time to play in the kitchen.

10:00 - Take three trips back upstairs to put each baby down for a nap. Right now Faith is sleeping in the guest room for naps. I then pick up and do other things around the house until I'm sure all three are asleep.

10:30 - This is my best opportunity to take a shower since it's the morning and all are sleeping, but sometimes I have so much to do that I choose to shower later on. I also use this time for laundry, cleaning, etc.

12:00 - Everyone wakes up and I bring them downstairs. Lately I have had to wake everyone up.

12:15 - Lunch, which is a mix of puree and finger foods such as cheese, pasta, fruit, vegetable, etc.

Faith

Jack

Alexis

12:45 - This is when I try to get out and do something with the babes. We run an errand, visit with friends, or go to the YMCA so I can workout and they go to Child Watch (which is free with the membership and great for me, but it's only open until 1:30 so I have to hustle over there).

At our friend's pool between naps

Alexis, and Jack at the end of a Costco trip. They were both over it but I thought their pose was so cute!

2:15 - We get back from being out and it's time for a bottle! I carry everyone back upstairs and read books to the babes while they drink their nap time bottle.

2:30 - Afternoon nap for the babes and time for me to work on things on my To Do list. Before I get down to work I usually eat a snack by the computer to relax for a few minutes.

4:30 - Babies wake up from their naps. Time to play! We either go out by the water table or just stay inside. Once in awhile we run an errand.

Alexis, Jack, and Faith playing (and me with my feet up)

5:30 - Dinner time! Hopefully Micah is home or about to get home to help with this meal. If possible we eat as a family.

6:15 - Done with dinner and time to play again or go out and do something. We did swim lessons for the last couple of weeks at this time of day but I'm sure we'll find fun things to do to fill this time now that they have transitioned to a later bed time. We have also been having friends over for dinner, which is great since we get to see them without having to get a babysitter and a year ago I couldn't imagine hosting dinners with three babies!

Swim lessons! Our friend Sarah came a few evenings to help out since we didn't have enough hands for three babes.

When we didn't have Sarah with us at swim lessons one babe sat on the side in a Go Pod and watched. No one seemed to mind at all since there was so much going on! This is Alexis.

Parent and Tot swim lessons! L to R: Micah, Faith, Jack, me, Alexis.

Auggie and Eland over for dinner (with Val in the background)

Davis and Sarah over for dinner. We have really been enjoying eating in our new backyard this summer!

7:45 - Change into PJ's and get bottles ready.

Since everyone is now crawling it is necessary to have a gate upstairs by the bedrooms. Although it's not a huge play area, it's great for keeping everyone safe before bottles.

8:00 - Third bottle of the day and read more books while they drink. We read not only because it helps them grow, but also because it helps them focus on something else so that they end up drinking their bottle instead of squirming around.

8:15 - Put Alexis, Jack, and Faith in bed. The girls are now sleeping in the same room at night.

10:45 - Get all three up for a 5 oz bottle to add to their calories for the day since no one seems that interested in eating or drinking during the day, and we believe this helps them sleep through the night.

11:00 - Finally go to bed and USUALLY sleep through the night. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself by writing this!

Although it's still a very busy schedule, it feels little more manageable with one less bottle during the day (as compared to our schedule at 10 months), we have been getting out more which is good for all of us, and they nap great so I do get some time to get stuff done (it is pretty hard to load the dishwasher when the babes are awake as they all think it is so fun to play with the dirty dishes!).

Here are more pics of all of the playing that happens at our house!

Faith and Jack by the gate downstairs

Faith and Alexis. Can you tell they're identical?!

Faith. She can pull herself up on anything now, whether it's got something to hold onto or not!

Faith and Alexis

Alexis and Faith. They have now figured out that our built-in shelves are the perfect height for standing next to.

Jack, Alexis, and Faith. They love to follow me around the kitchen while I'm trying to get things done, so sometimes the measuring cups are the best way to distract them.