This writing project sprung from brief insecurities that maybe my newly one-year-old baby has a bad life as the sixth child, everything such a hustle-bustle around him, him not receiving the devoted attention my first baby received. As I thought of this in the wee hours of the morning, I thought I should write down everything he does in a day, just to make sure I'm not neglecting him, and then I realized that could turn into an enjoyable creative writing project, so I did it.
Turns out, he doesn't have a bad life after all.
And he has not just a mom and dad doting on him, but five siblings too!
I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and made babbling sounds until my Mama came to retrieve me. She often is up by 4:30 or 5:00, doing who knows what.
We went downstairs and I got to toddle around in the kitchen (and nurse with Mama three times!), except for when she locked me in my high chair so she could empty the dishwasher. I always wish she wouldn't do that so that I can climb into the dishwasher the way I like to do!
At 6:45, Mama carried me upstairs like usual so she can get dressed and she can keep an eye on all my big brothers and sisters getting dressed. Sometimes she has me play in my crib while she's dressing, but today John was available to play with me instead. I love that fun guy!
At 7:00, we all marched downstairs and Mama locked me in my highchair while she made breakfast for everyone. This is a pretty loud time of day and I eat food she puts on my tray (today, leftover French toast and sausage) and squawk at her to pick me up.
Someone finished breakfast early today, so I got to get out of my high chair and walk around with her, playing with anything I can lay my hands on, but sometimes it's really frustrating because I'm in my high chair almost a whole 45 minutes!
At 8:00, Mama gathered three of my siblings to the kitchen table for Holy Time, and I walked around investigating the entire downstairs. Mama says that every twelve seconds, she has to go close a baby gate that somebody left open, but I continue constantly checking to see if I can sneak through an open one. I love when I can crawl all the way to the top of the stairs without her!
By 8:55, I was really acting fussy at Mama and wanting to nurse, and Mama said it was right on time for my 9:00 nap. I don't know what "time" is, but she says I "know" it! She took me upstairs, nursed me in the dark, and lay me down for nap in my beloved crib. I slept through her guiding my sixth-grade brother with his assignments for the day and her first session of teaching Kindergarten.
Then she came to get me at 10:00. I want to keep sleeping for a couple of hours, but she says it messes up something called "her schedule." Anyway, I was happy to be put back in my high chair and eat sausage, carrot, and Cheerios while Mama read aloud History to my siblings.
From 10:30-11:00, I walked around in the sun room. I can play in there because I don't yet know how to open the door and escape into the back yard. My 3- and 5-year-old brothers built a fort and I liked creeping in and out of it while I could hear my mama in the kitchen teaching spelling to three kids, then handing out music theory assignments, and washing dishes in between.
At 11:00 on the dot, Mama swept in and took me up to the Bonus Room to play there under her supervision while she taught the last Kindergarten subjects to my brother Joseph and supervised my biggest brother doing his History--and even showed my 3-year-old brother how to trace letters in his laminated preschool book! Mama didn't sit down, but walked back and forth between doing phonics words and penmanship with one and teaching how to look things up in a big fat book called the Catechism of the Catholic Church with the other. (Okay, well, she did sit down twice because I was hungry to nurse.) I contented myself with walking about, pushing matchbox cars, and emptying a box of Kleenex. I'm not as busy as Mama, but I don't sit down either.
Just before noon, while kids went to go run off some energy, Mama brought me back to the kitchen and plunked me in my high chair while she prepared lunch. Then it got really loud because a bunch of fights broke out among various factions of my siblings and for 15 minutes, Mama was just dealing with discipline issues. I didn't mind though, because I was quietly sitting in my high chair snacking on oranges, crackers, and chicken while watching the whole affair. Kids stood in corners, someone got stuck in a bedroom, another kid had to run a block and come back. Excitement!
Then they all ate (and I just kept eating) in required silence (so they couldn't fight) while listening to an Old Time Radio show for kids (click here: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/kids) until 1:00 when my 11-year-old brother took me upstairs. He babysat me and let me creep about playing while he read for History and Mama tucked in my 3-year-old brother for nap time.
Mama nursed me and tucked me in by 1:30, and I just love a snuggle-down nap in my crib. I assume everyone else is napping too, but apparently Mary was doing piano practice, Margaret read History to Joseph and they had Quiet Time, Mama helped John with more schoolwork until he left for CCE, and then she spent an hour putting many items on our family calendar for the academic year.
I woke up on my own at 3:00, nearly on the dot, because I like to be punctual. All my siblings were just gathering for snack time, but I ended up feeling mortally offended because they were all eating popcorn and Mama wouldn't let me have any! Something about a choking hazard.
For an hour, I crept about and played in whatever room Mama was working in as she did housework till around 4:00. Then my sister Mary took me in a bedroom to play because Mama was mysteriously getting changed and putting on makeup so late in the afternoon. These were rumblings of the terrible deed to come, but I didn't know it yet and I just laughed and giggled at my sister's hilarious games with me.
At 5:00, I was plunked back in my high chair while Mama cooked dinner, but I didn't mind because I'd been walking around the house for two hours. I munched on chicken, green beans, and noodles.
Then everything changed and not for the better. Instead of our typical evening routine, there was rather an urgent flurrying and fluttering around 5:45 and then . . . well, then Mama was just gone.
I didn't even know a Mama could be gone.
At first, I thought she might just be in the other room, but this absence was going on far too long. Maybe she had vanished forever?
Finally, I was fussy for my seven o'clock bedtime and Mama still did not appear. My father--my own father!--put me to bed without me nursing with Mama first! The betrayal! On the very eve of my 13-month-birthday (but who's counting the days?), I had to fall asleep without Mama's special routine with me. Apparently my Daddy told Mama that I cried in the crib for five minutes while my big sister told my Mama it was really twenty minutes, but what does it matter? Nobody knows the depth of my pain.
In the end, Mama was home for my waking at nine, so I went three whole hours without getting to nurse. Thankfully, I plan to wake her up every hour or two all night for more nursing, and I hope she doesn't disappoint.
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