A Day with Battley Cate

Every day is different, but I wanted to give an idea of what we do all day.  We started this blog to keep everyone informed so that we wouldn't have to tell the same story over and over.  Then it became a form of therapy...sometimes my only motivation is to put pics up so our friends and family that don't live nearby can see her...sometimes I blog about what we did just in case I can't remember later, and sometimes I think that other parents of babies with T18 may find comfort in our blog like we did in others.  Anyways, you may find this post boring but it's what we do...

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Let's start at midnight since that's the beginning of the day...this is really our day:

We have been asleep since 11:30pm when the last feeding was done. When the pump is finished it beeps, you unhook the line from B's tube, you turn the pump off, and crash. It probably takes Adam and I .05 seconds to fall asleep when B is sleeping soundly. 

1:50am: my alarm goes off

1:55am: Adam's alarm goes off. We have to set 2 alarms so we don't fall back asleep. It doesn't always work. Adam gets up...gets a feeding ready...B is sleeping so he puts it on the pump and lays back down to let it warm up to room temp. He falls asleep on accident. 

2:30am: I wake up and wake him so he can start the feeding. 

Side note: the first few weeks we swapped sides of the bed all night long. This wasn't working well because the apnea monitor is a bear to turn off. Adam sleeps by it now. Our new deal is that he wakes to start feedings and I wake up with B if she wakes up. That way Adam gets more sleep, but lately it's worked out in my favor. 

Adam falls back asleep and turns pump off when it is done. 

Repeat at 5am. 

7:15am: Wake up and remember I forgot to dry H's gym shorts last night...do that. Pump. Get 8 feeding ready. 

8am: B wakes up, change her, get feeding going, sing the wake up song, and chat...Adam gets up, handles dogs, and takes H to school...B falls back asleep shortly. My mom texts to make sure we are ok. I praise the good Lord for such a good night!!

We decided probably before she was born that when she was awake someone would be holding her and/or talking to her when she is awake. We are trying to spoil her...ha!  Really we just want her to know she is loved.

B sleeps on and off until after noon laying in the bed either right beside me or in my lap...on her left side.  When she's awake we read a few poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends...we skipped around and read all Hayden's faves at first...now we read every one except the ones with bad words. 

In that time: Adam works...I write thank you notes, blog, pump, call the insurance company, meet with Rosa (ugh...she has to go meet with a teenager...wow!) take some time to thank God for Hayden's good health, make a list of things to talk to the doc about tomorrow, do a feeding, and check Hayden's grades online. Oh, and I checked Facebook too. 

All this time B has been wearing her apnea monitor. We don't take it off until we get her dressed and she hasn't been awake for more than 30 mins yet. We lovingly refer to it as her bikini. 

Noon: Adam comes in and falls asleep for 15 mins. I get up to start some more laundry and straighten a few things. Then we have lunch and watch The Price is Right on TV. He goes back in the office. I blog some more while B sleeps.

1:30pm: get a feeding ready, change and dress Battley, take her monitor off

2:00pm: feeding time...we sing and chat while Adam grabs a quick shower

Once her monitor is off one of us has our eye on her constantly.  I've learned to lay her on my lap so that I can feel her breathing too.  Imagine not being able to take your eyes off someone...at all.  Side story: we would really like to stroll her around the block every day but it's so sunny sometimes (and we don't want her to burn) but we can't close the sunscreen on the stroller...can't see her breathing when it's closed.

2:30pm: feeding finished, we load up the car, put the dogs up, and head out

When we ride in the car someone has to sit in the back beside her so they can watch her...no monitor.

We hit up a store and drive across the reservoir to pick up our pics from the photographer.  B gets upset in the car so we stop at my dad's office to let her out of the car seat for a bit.  We got to visit with my dad for a few and then she fell back asleep so we finish our mission.

4:00pm: unpack car, get a feeding ready, chat with Hayden about school, Adam watches B, I start laundry and pick up so the cleaning lady can come clean in the morning

5:00pm: feeding time, B and I lay in the recliner while she eats, the guys leave me alone with the dogs to go get a haircut, the dogs act nuts so I throw them out...not easy with a baby in hand 

6:00pm: my mom comes over to help, we check out the pics from the photographer, more laundry, B sleeps

guys come home, Meem leaves

7:30pm: bath time...B loves bath time, then she snuggles her Daddy and has a feeding

9:00pm: Adam makes dinner and we eat in the bed in shifts since B is awake (but she's had her monitor on since after bath time so we don't have to wake her once she does fall asleep)

10:00pm: Hayden gets tired and goes to bed, we lay her down since she is asleep, thank God for another GREAT day, and crash

10:30pm: up to fix another feeding

At some point during the day, but I can't remember when:

washed syringes and sterilized them

washed bottles
chased down a dog that stole a binky

unloaded the dishwasher

did 3 loads of laundry

ordered prints from Walgreens (Adam picked them up after his haircut)

paid some bills

responded to emails

took my vitamins

petted the dogs

C