Eight weeks with four under five
Tracy has been back to work for two weeks now. This week she is on service, so she is working every day. We keeping figuring this out one day at a time. It is fun having a newborn. The other three are very interested in Miles. Sleep is a challenge. I either stay up with him until 2, or I get up the first time he needs to eat. Tracy is usually up with him by 5:30. We sleep in the afternoons when Sam comes.
Miles is most often asleep. I can usually keep him in the bjorn when I need to get things done. He usually doesn't hinder the daily logistics of getting kids dressed, making meals and putting kids to bed, unless he's upset. Then he takes an adult out of commission for a while. If there is only one adult, everything else gets set aside.
Asher, Liam and Indy have become very interested in helping when I cook. They get things for me, take things to the trash, and I hand them things and they put them on the counter or the table. I let them open cans and stir things. They all get pretty excited about this and it occupies them so they aren't otherwise acting out and pulling me away from cooking.
TV is a fixed part of our day. We didn't let any of our kids watch TV before they were two years old. Now that they're all two, they often watch one or two Tivo'd shows in the morning and two more in the afternoons after nap time. Fixed blocks of time with all three kids attending to something are very useful in keeping up with our four under five.
As to going places, Miles is content in the car more often than he is not. We still have a variety of morning activities. The other adult helpers are still very significant. Tracy, Martha and Ivy's mom Colleen do a lot of the morning transportation and add outings for the kids.
Parenting, for us, is an extemporaneous activity. We make each day up as we go. For the most part, we have been successful in surfing our family chaos.
Miles is most often asleep. I can usually keep him in the bjorn when I need to get things done. He usually doesn't hinder the daily logistics of getting kids dressed, making meals and putting kids to bed, unless he's upset. Then he takes an adult out of commission for a while. If there is only one adult, everything else gets set aside.
Asher, Liam and Indy have become very interested in helping when I cook. They get things for me, take things to the trash, and I hand them things and they put them on the counter or the table. I let them open cans and stir things. They all get pretty excited about this and it occupies them so they aren't otherwise acting out and pulling me away from cooking.
TV is a fixed part of our day. We didn't let any of our kids watch TV before they were two years old. Now that they're all two, they often watch one or two Tivo'd shows in the morning and two more in the afternoons after nap time. Fixed blocks of time with all three kids attending to something are very useful in keeping up with our four under five.
As to going places, Miles is content in the car more often than he is not. We still have a variety of morning activities. The other adult helpers are still very significant. Tracy, Martha and Ivy's mom Colleen do a lot of the morning transportation and add outings for the kids.
Parenting, for us, is an extemporaneous activity. We make each day up as we go. For the most part, we have been successful in surfing our family chaos.
