A Day In The Life of A Mum (Stylist mag style) 

Jeni Dibley-Rouse - 23 Dec 15

Jeni, 34, lives with husband and son Joe 3, expecting 2nd child…

My alarm goes off…..
I wake up anywhere between 5:40 – 6:45 by the toddler, I haven’t set an alarm since he was born as I naturally wake up. Waking up can be gentle or erupt depending on the call, it could be a “I need a wee”, this guarantees a jump out of bed response and he is quickly taken to the bathroom. Once done he gets into our bed and I go downstairs to get some milk in his green cup and heat up for 20 seconds and then walk back upstairs and get back into bed, toddler drinks milk, then we have morning meeting on what we are doing that day, running through various meeting places and activities and who will be attending. An agenda of sharing, being throughtful and no tantrums, usually ends up with some sort of bribery. Occasionally we need to recap on places and people but generally everything is set in place.

I’m responsible ……for the running of a toddlers day to day activities and to ensure he naps and can complete all day to day tasks for example going to the toilet, brushing teeth, getting dressed and fuel themselves. Activities must be educational, tiring and involve socialising. My main task is to teach the toddler the difference between wrong and right and to indenify signs of tiredness and to ensure he rests properly for development. If these are not followed the day is a right off and countdown to 7pm starts as early as 9am.

I got the job …….by courting with my partner who felt I would be a respectable mother. This basically involved getting wasted most weekends for 11 years.   Once the baby was conceived I then started my training which was a 9 month project that involved meeting others expecting mums and going through various senorios. I passed the birthing exam and enter stage 2. Stage 2 has been the biggest learning curve with constant self assessment but have some very supportive colleagues that we have regular meetings on the best way to move forward.

My typical day ……Is split into morning and afternoon with a nap for lunchtime. The morning is generally very busy doing an activity that will prepare for the nap. Activities include swimming, pre school, park, food shopping with walk to the shops, watching a building site, walks that involve climbing, scooting and lots of races. Lunch is usually a quick sandwich, then it’s nap time for everyone. After lunch it could be craft, watching TV or seeing friends. Dinner is 5/5:30 then bath time which lasts about 30 mins, this can be a tough part of the day as people are tired but once teeth, hair and skin are clean and dressed it’s downstairs for TV time till 7pm. Bedtime involves 2 bedtime stories and debrief of the day, big cuddle with toddler.

 My most memorable work moment …. Graduating after 41 weeks 3 days when the toddler arrived, lots of joy and anticipation of what was going to happen and staring at toddler in disbelief that we had made a human (still do this now).

The worst part of my job …..when you have to leave them crying at childcare, even though it’s important to socialise your child it’s the hardest thing leave them. He is always fine as soon as I’m out the door. Usually a cuppa/wine with fellow colleagues reassures my choice is the right thing to do.

After work ….

It’s a 24/7 job with needing to find cover for socialising, however this can never be guaranteed so I’m grateful for every meal eaten in peace, trip to the shops on my own, excerise class completed and 4 hours of sleep in a row.

My plan B …..wasn’t really one as family was always the way it was going to be. 

Jeni Dibley-Rouse

I'm a mum of two children, Joe (5) and Grace (2), married to the husband and I quit my job of 15 years in post production TV (mainly working in advertising with a few documentaries) to run the family full time. I enjoy laughing through every phase of being a parent with the Joe and Grace.   I look on the brighter side of life 99% of the time. I'm aways on Instagram doing an insta story of our day to day life so if you fancy it come and follow us over there too @everythingisaphase

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