Sandra Jaimes lives in Fort Worth with her 13-week-old baby Hugo and her soon-to-be husband Jonathan Alcantar. She is a stay-at-home mom.
1AM Wake up! Hugo is crying and ready to nurse. Thirty minutes later, I change his diaper and rock him back into his baby dreams. I get his crib ready, quietly drink a glass of water and fight for some covers. I’m very tired but haven't found sleep yet. I can’t stop thinking; it makes it hard to go back to sleep. In the meantime I check my phone, Facebook, Instagram, my gallery and my email to kill some time. Finally, I gently doze off.
6AM It seems that only five minutes ago I laid Hugo down to sleep, and now he’s crying, wanting to nurse again. I get up quick, pick him up and lay him next to me on the bed to change his diaper and nurse.
6:30AM Jon gets up and gets ready to go to work. Hugo is still nursing, and I’m still awake thinking about what needs to get done today.
7AM Jon kisses us goodbye, and Hugo falls back to sleep. I debate whether to go back to sleep. Luckily, I bought groceries yesterday, so back to sleep it is.
10AM We finally wake up. It’s time to nurse and change my baby again. I patiently wait until he falls asleep so I can shower. After the shower, I make breakfast. Today it’s French toast, eggs and bacon. Yummy! I sit in the living room, open up Netflix and resume watching Once Upon a Time.
12PM Hugo's awake. His cry goes from gentle to raging because I don’t pick him up sooner. I pause the show and go to his rescue. I rock him to calm him, but nothing works. I carry him on my shoulder and walk around the house. Finally, he relaxes with his pacifier. I sit down in the living room and start talking to him. I love this time of the day because he’s alert and all smiles. I make a fool of myself by singing and laughing (luckily, no one is here to witness) and proceed to make him smile and coo. Hugo gets tired and whines, so I offer him his pacifier again and he gladly accepts. After three seconds, he drops it and starts to cry. He doesn't want it anymore, so I carry him and try to soothe him.
3PM I place Hugo on my hip and go outside to check the mail, hoping he’ll find comfort outside. As I come back in, he’s relaxed. I can now change his poopy diaper and put him on his swing. After I make sure he’s strapped in and warm, I head over to the kitchen to make myself a PB&J sandwich. Then I tackle the dirty dishes. Right before I turn on the faucet, I hear Hugo cry again.
3:30PM Hugo’s tired of being on the swing and cries for me to nurse him again. I sit down and nurse him. I try to relax and fight the massive headache I now have over unnecessary stress.
4PM Hugo’s pretty calm. I guess his tummy is satisfied. Now I can resume my episode of Once Upon a Time. Hugo cries on and off because he just wants to be held or carried; I'm trying to stay calm.
5PM As I try to rock my baby to sleep, I start to wonder what I’ll make for dinner. I set him down and head over to the kitchen to start preparing everything. Tonight we’re having fajita burritos with rice and beans.
6PM Jon is home. I give him a big welcome hug and finish making dinner for us. He takes a quick bath and tells me about his day.
7PM Dinner is ready. I serve Jon his plate and go for Hugo, because once more he’s crying. I change his diaper (again) and try to eat with a baby in my arms. It’s not always easy to work with one hand, but I can manage; I consider myself an expert at it. Tonight, my baby is a little more fussy than usual. Before I can finish my meal, I feed Hugo and rock him around.
9PM I finally finish the last of my dinner. I start to pick everything up, dishes in the sink, and we are now ready to watch Ponyo. Hugo loves this movie because of its sounds and bright colors.
11PM Ready for bed. Hugo falls asleep halfway through the movie and is still sleeping. I lay him in his crib, tippy-toe around the house to make sure everything is in its place and turn off all the lights. Finally, I snuggle between the blankets and shut my eyes.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the Fort Worth area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by FortWorthChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
Published February 2014
