Just how will this homeschooling all work with a baby?

Well, people have been asking me this one a lot lately, almost as often as people ask if I am having twins. What I tell them is that I just don't know. I've never done this before while homeschooling. I know people who have, so I know it is possible to muddle through it all. I am sure I will figure it out one way or another. Since the baby is due right when school is supposed to start, we are going to start a couple weeks early and try to get some of it under our belt and adjust to the schedule before the baby comes and...well, who knows what will happen then. We may suspend school a week or more. It greatly depends on how Speck is as a newborn and how much Brian can help with school for the week he is home. So, I have absolutely no idea how this will really go, BUT I am a planner and do have a goal plan to works towards for the first month of the baby's life. Here is my goal schedule for Speck for when he is 4-8 weeks old (via Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems):

wake & eat @ 6:30am
sleep @ 7:45am
wake & eat @ 9:30am
sleep @ 10:45am
wake & eat @ 12:30pm
sleep @ 1:45pm
wake & eat @ 3:30pm
sleep @ 4:45pm
wake & eat @ 5:30pm(insert bath & jammies here)
sleep @ 7pm
wake & eat @ 7:30pm (this is a cluster feed)
straight back to bed
dreamfeed @ 10pm

Don't laugh! I know this will not necessarily be what happens in reality, at least not every day. Babies are fickle little boogers, and we will have to be flexible and go with the flow a bit. Flexibility is not my strong suit, but I have certainly improved on this character flaw with each baby we have brought home. To figure out our homeschool schedule, I took this goal schedule, and added in what we need to accomplish, all the while trying to leave 15 minutes before each of Speck's naps so I can do a nap time routine and get him settled. I didn't leave time to feed him, not because I don't plan to feed him, but because I plan to nurse him while teaching the kids. This is my fourth and if I can't nurse on the move, then I have no business having this many children, right? Diapers? There will be no time for diapers! I am kind of kidding here. I am hoping to be able to squeeze these in without loosing all control of the students. Like I said before, this may not work out as planned.

I came up with a down to the minute schedule that may or may not work for our Monday through Thursdays. Fridays will be a day of catch up, tests (Hannah will have Spelling and History tests this year,) library trips, and errands. What this schedule does not account for is the following extracurricular activities: piano, dance, and American Heritage Girls. Soccer and CCD are in the evenings and on the weekends so they should fit in nicely. I don't have the schedules yet for the other lessons/activities so they will have to be worked in later.

Here it is, my crazy idealistic dream of how our days should go!

6am-I wake up and get dressed
6:30am-Baby wakes up and nurses, dress and change diaper
7am-big kids all wake up, dress themselves, eat breakfast, unload dishwasher (I finish getting dressed or with the baby and do the girls' hair)
7:40am big kids get shoes on
7:50am driving out of garage (Baby falls asleep peacefully in the car seat.)
8-8:30am Mass (Baby sleeping)
9am (home from Mass, baby still sleeping) Isaac heads to room time for one hour and girls start Math
9:30am Baby wakes and nurses while I watch the girls do Handwriting and Spelling practice
10am Isaac does his lessons while the girls read aloud to each other (Baby is awake and happy to watch and listen)
10:30am I do the nap time routine with the baby, diaper check, and put him to bed
10:45am On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the girls will do History, and on Mondays and Wednesdays they will do Science (I may have Isaac watch an educational video here or let him join in or give him free time)
11:45am I make lunch while one of the girls reads aloud to me (Free play together for the other two kids)
12:00pm eat lunch
12:30pm Baby miraculously wakes up at the right time, change diaper, and I nurse him while the kids finish up eating
12:45pm I read to, pray with, and sing to Isaac (possibly while finishing up nursing) so he can wind down for his nap
1pm Isaac is napping, the girls both go to rest time in separate rooms with timers set for 30 minutes for free reading then they can play quietly and independently (Hannah will sometimes do her German work on the computer) and I get alone time with my baby boy
1:30pm I do the nap time routine with the baby, diaper check, and put him to bed
1:45pm Baby is sleeping like and angel and I get some free time, probably to nap
3pm All three big kids get up from nap/out of rest time for Religion on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Art on Mondays and Wednesdays.
3:30pm Baby wakes up right on schedule, diaper change, nursing (Kids get free play all together)
4:30pm I do the nap time routine with the baby, diaper check, and put him to bed and start to wonder if I am in the Twilight zone, just repeating the same thing over and over all day, everyday
4:45pm Baby is sleeping and I am cooking dinner, big kids are still playing (May allow 30 minutes of their favorite TV show here some days)
5/5:30pm eat dinner as a family
5:30pm Baby wakes up right on schedule, diaper change, nursing while I eat dinner
6pm big kids do their chores and check off chore charts, I clean the kitchen up
6:30pm I get the baby ready for bed with a bath and jammies (Big kids may bathe/shower at same time)
6:45pm I/husband do the bedtime routine with the baby while the kids head up stairs to get ready for bed
7pm Baby is sleeping and big kids get stories, prayers, and songs
7:30pm All kids in bed and off to dream land (I may do a cluster feed here for the baby and put him straight back to bed)
10pm I nurse the baby (called a dreamfeed) while he still sleeps and put him back down.
10:30pm I fall into bed exhausted, praying that he sleeps through the night, only to start this whole crazy and idealistic life over again at 6am

Just so you know, I did not type this with a straight face. I know it is going to be crazy and hectic most days for a while, but a girl can dream...

(Don't worry, I will try to come back and tell you how things are really working out once I am in the thick of it.)