A Mommy Story

Where my time went prior to Mira:

5-7 hours – sleep
2-3 hours – blogging (often combined with watching TV, below)
8 hours – working, or if not working, entertaining Cordy and running errands
1 hour – cleaning or paying bills
1/2 hour – shower, personal care
2 hours – driving
4 hours – watching TV (only 2 of those watching TV that isn’t for Cordy)
1 hour – eating

Where my time goes now:

4-5 hours – sleep (on a good day)
1-2 hours – blogging (on a good day)
1 hour – eating (on a good day)
1/2 hour – shower, personal care (shower every other day)
1-2 hours – playing with Cordy or just giving her attention
1-2 hours – watching TV (blogging or nursing during this time, too)
1-2 hours – doing the “stop fussing, baby” dance around the house while holding Mira
8 hours or more – chained to my chair breastfeeding (not counting the hours she feeds overnight while in bed with us)

You’ll notice very little time in there for things like, oh, housecleaning or bill paying. We’re doing the minimum needed to get by at this point.

It’s amazing how much time goes into a newborn. I used to think I was a busy person before we had Mira. Now I think I had the leisurely life and didn’t realize how easy it was. With one child, the parents are a true tag team: one can be on duty while the other is doing something else. Need a break? Tag the other parent into the ring.

Now we’re in a full two on two battle. The kids don’t take turns with their needs, meaning they often each need something at the same time. Each parent is generally keeping an eye on one child. If I shower, I take Cordy up to our bedroom with us, so she can play there while I shower, keeping the shower curtain open halfway to watch her.

Next week I’ll start learning how to deal with both at the same time on my own, when Aaron goes back to work part time. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a way to manage other than sitting in my chair nursing Mira and throwing Fruity Cheerios on the floor to appease Cordy while she watches Noggin.

This post is part of the Light Iris and Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast. If you’d like to join in, simply write post on the topic, “Where does my time go?” before midnight tonight, and e-mail Parent Bloggers to let them know. One blogger will be chosen at random to win a full 2-day conference pass to BlogHer ’07!