I left my full time, in office job in October 2020, just 4 months after Margo was born to pursue the Stay at Home Mom life. Not only was it a desire of mine and Noah’s for me to be able to stay home with any kids, but financially, it didn’t make much sense going to the office each day. Between my salary, clocked out hours to pump, commute, and paying for childcare, it left us with barely $300 a month coming in from my work. I was miserable leaving Margo and Noah wanted to support me in my dream to be a Homemaker. Leaving the office was the best decision I’ve made regarding my career so far.
But being a SAHM mom isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Sure, I’m home all day under our roof, but being able to take a break and rest is very rare. There’s always something to do, whether it be feed kids’ their meals, clean, find a way to better organize a certain area, keep the peace with a rambunctious toddler, pay some bills, keep track of the family calendar, schedule appointments, wipe booties, etc. Not only that, but finding time to get myself ready with two under two is a task in itself that typically happens during naptime in the afternoon.
Every day is so different than the last; some more chaotic or calmer than others. Today, I made sure to document highlights of my day to show you what Monday, January 17th, 2022 looked like for the Vertefeuille family:
Day in the Life of a SAHM: Part 1
I woke up at 6:15am to the sound of Ava waking up. Alarm was initially set for 6:30, in hopes I could wake up before both girls and have some quiet time to plan my day. That didn’t happen.
I like to make my cup of coffee before getting babies out of their beds so it’s ready for me to enjoy while nursing Ava first thing. As I was doing this, she ended up falling back asleep but Margo woke up in the meantime. I get Margo’s morning milk (¼ chocolate almond milk, ¾ whole milk) together and set out before getting her out of her room.
Margo is changed and ready to watch some Daniel Tiger while waking up. Ava wakes up, I grab and change her, and bring her out to the living room to nurse. Since she only woke up once in the night to nurse, my body is about to explode. I grab the Haaka to throw on one side while nursing on the other to relieve some pressure. Between that and pumping with my electric pump for a few minutes, I manage to express 3.5 ounces of milk for the freezer. Liquid gold, baby.
It’s 7:30am, time for breakfast. Last night, I made some overnight oats for Margo and I. Apples and cinnamon. They. Were. Amazing. I threw in some flaxseed in mine to make me feel more crunchy. Am I a crunchy mom? Absolutely not. But the placebo effect it had on me was all I needed to pretend for a hot second.
While eating breakfast, I have a chance to plan my day: which tasks I want to get done, what we’re going to eat for supper, things to remember, etc. My goals today were to complete Margo and Ava’s laundry, deep clean the kitchen, & write the grocery list for this Friday. Doesn’t seem like a lot but because of how wild it is with two babies, three things is sometimes more than I’m able to accomplish.
Eventually, Ava takes nap #1 of the day and Margo and I play. She loves her new Magna Tiles from Christmas, reading book after book in her room, stacking blocks as high as 9 or 10 tall (pretty impressive for a 19 month old, I have to say), and playing with her baby. At some point, Ava wakes up. I nurse her, Margo plays independently. After Ava’s fed, she plays on her mat (or, what I like to call it, her Monkey Machine. No idea where that came from.) and I’m able to get a few things done.
I started a load of baby clothes, made some muffins for a quick snack or breakfast for Margo for the week, and deep cleaned the kitchen. Honestly, I’m shocked I was able to get this all done without either daughter needing my attention. I can’t take all of the credit. I have to thank Nilla Wafers and one episode of Dora the Explorer for being my wingmen this morning.
Dishes. Y’all. One of my favorite feelings is having a clean sink. We have a really nice stainless steel cooking set we got as a wedding present almost three years ago. Besides the typically washing, some of the pans needed a serious makeover. You know how the baked on yucky-ness from the stovetop gets transferred to the bottom of pans, making it literally impossible to clean? Yep. Our pans are that currently.
I was scrolling Amazon one day months ago and came across The Pink Stuff. Apparently, it’s this miracle cleaning paste that is super universal and can be used in many areas of your home. I’ve tried it once but nearly ruined a baking sheet so I’ve been nervous to do it again. But I know it works wonders on stainless steel. So I decided to give it a go.
Don’t. Even. Start. With. Me. Holy hannah bananas, you’re kidding, right? This is magic. After washing my pans like normal with hot water and Dawn, I took a little bit of The Pink Stuff on a microfiber cloth and started scrubbing these pans down. I am so happy with how it turned out and can’t wait to see where else I can use it around here!
At this point, it’s closer to 11:30am. Ava needs to go down for nap and I need to get lunch started for Margo. We’re slim-picking around here this week since grocery day isn’t until Friday. I pull together a mini pizza, some edamame, and greek yogurt for Margo. She eats three bites of yogurt and says she’s done. Cool.
I was feeling pretty good all morning with how productive I was, then nap time happened. Margo decided that today, she was not going to nap. No matter how long I tried to get that girl to sleep, she was not having it. Ava heard the no-nap party and decided to join in. After trying to convince Margo to nap for two hours, I gave up.
Snacks and Frozen on repeat it is.
The afternoon went on, I tried to keep the peace with my overtired toddler and infant. We sat, watched Frozen, ate snacks, nursed, and played with Magnatiles. Pretty much from 2:30-4:30 when Noah got home from work. In that time beforehand, I was able to throw supper together in the Instantpot. I found a recipe on Pinterest for Ground Beef Queso Chili. Noah got home and took Ava while I fed Margo her supper. Thank goodness for supportive husbands.
After Margo (barely) ate, I nursed, yet again, and waited for Noah to put Margo to bed, much earlier than normal at 6:00pm, and we ate our supper right after. Definitely saving this recipe for the future!
After supper, Ava played for a few more minutes before bedtime. 6:45 rolls around and I begin her long routine to get her settled in her crib, something she just started doing at nighttime two nights ago. By 7:45, she was sound asleep and I could finally breathe. I ended my day with a cup of hot chocolate for something sweet and wrote the meal plan for next week grocery list that coordinates.
And now, here I sit, at 9:28pm, finishing up my first Day in the Life of a SAHM blog. I’m exhausted. I was hoping to shower and read a bit before bed but I have a feeling those both will have to wait for tomorrow. This 14+ hour day has been long, but definitely nothing I’m not used to. I love our girls, my vocation as a wife and mom, and truly would never give it up for anything in the world.
Oh, did I mention I forgot to drink water all day? I’m gonna feel that one tomorrow. Oof.
-Mary