Friday, February 3, 2012

friday roundup: a day in the life.

A while back, my friend Laura did a post series all about her typical day, and I remember thinking "I could never write a post like that because, from the moment I wake up until the moment my head hits the pillow, I have no &$#*ing clue what I will be doing." That was when L was needing 4-5 naps a day because she could only sleep for 45 minutes at a time unless I majorly intervened, and when she could only handle being awake for about an hour at a stretch. It was like my whole life was constantly in transition! But for the past several weeks, we've actually settled into a routine (cue angels singing). It's not perfect, and she likes to mess with my head, but 8 months in I finally feel like I can start planning my life again!

(how I feel when I can plan my day!)

So here's my Friday roundup, daily schedule edition.




7:00am -- alarm goes off. L, with her freakishly-good hearing, usually wakes up immediately despite the two closed doors between her and the alarm, but if she doesn't I drag myself out of bed to get her, nurse, and then bring her into bed with my husband.

7:20am -- take a fast shower while daddy and daughter do a diaper change and get her dressed for the day.

7:35am -- start making coffee, breakfast, and lunch for The Professor while they play together in the living room. (My husband used to make his own coffee, breakfast, and lunch, but he felt that he wanted more time with L since he's gone all day, and this way he starts his day happy and relaxed!)

8:00am -- breakfast is served. L has something small (we're working up to three full meals of solids a day, but we're not quite there yet) while we eat oatmeal, Chobani pomegranate yogurt, and veggie sausage.

8:20am -- The Professor takes his shower and gets ready while L and I play on the kitchen floor with items from the baby-safe shelf I created for her (plastic cup, old egg carton, wooden spoon, baby-sized rolling pin and bundt pan)

9:00am -- Daddy leaves for work. We practice waving bye-bye out the front window, then read a story or two to wind down.

(L reading with a good friend of mine)

9:20am -- diaper change, nurse, and sing a song before putting L down for her first nap. It usually takes between 5 and 30 minutes for her to fall asleep, depending on how much she wants to talk and sing to herself in her crib (she is always put down awake).

9:30 to ??? -- okay, here's where it gets a little loosey-goosey. L naps anywhere between 30 and 150 minutes, which pretty much sucks in terms of trying to plan on any "me" time. So I do what I can. Have a second cup of decaf, check my email and Facebook, finish up my daily blog post from the night before and tweet about it, get dressed and do my hair when I'm feeling motivated. Once we get past the 45 minute mark and L is still asleep, I know that I can get going on some other things because she's going to sleep for a while longer: laundry, dishes, etc.

somewhere between 10:30am and noon -- L wakes up. If she's not up by 12, I wake her up to keep her on a schedule. Nurse. Go out on "an adventure" (a walk outside if it is nice, a trip to a store if it isn't, or meeting up with a friend for a playdate). Come home for lunch -- we do Baby Led Weaning, so L gets to make a big ol' mess feeding herself. Play with toys in the living room. Sing songs. Explore the house on hands and knees. Read a book or two.


somewhere between 1:30-2:30pm -- second nap (same routine as the morning). If she woke up early from her first one, she goes down a little earlier (and the reverse is also true). Clean up her highchair, have a cup of tea, work on the checklist for my Etsy shop, read the mail, check my email again, plan out dinner.

by 4:00pm -- L gets up (I wake her up if I have to or she won't go down at her bedtime, but she usually wakes up on her own). After nursing, more toy + explore time, usually while listening to Toddler Radio on Pandora or one of our Putumayo Kids CDs. Skype with the grandmas when we can.

5:00pm -- The Professor arrives home. Daddy and daughter play while I throw dinner together.



5:45pm -- Dinner is served. It's a little early, but this way we eat together as a family.

6:10pm -- A few more minutes of playing, then the bedtime routine starts. I clean up the kitchen and start picking up toys while my husband changes her diaper, puts her in her blanket sleeper, and reads her a story.

6:30pm -- Nurse, song, put her down awake. My husband does the dishes from dinner during this time, which is nice because I hate doing them (we don't have a dishwasher).

7:00pm -- L is generally fast asleep by now. Finish picking up toys. The Professor goes into our home office to do a few more hours of work while I fit in some more of those "me time" tasks. Start my blog post for the next day -- set it to publish if it's ready, or save it to finish in the morning if I need more time. Somewhere in here, we usually have coffee + dessert and watch a show together (Psych, The Mentalist, Castle, or PBS Masterpiece on Sunday nights).

11:00pm -- L often (though not always) wakes up. Usually she just needs someone to put her pacifier in, but occasionally she wants to nurse. Afterwards, I read for a while before going to sleep.

2:00-4:00am -- Depending on if she breastfed the last time she woke up, L wakes up somewhere in this timeframe to nurse. Goes right back to sleep. I head to the kitchen for a middle-of-the-night snack, then crawl back in bed to sleep for a few more hours.

Of course we have some exceptions to this, like when we have swimming lessons or I have an appointment to get to...but that's our very exciting daily life! If you had told me pre-baby that it would take 8 months before we'd have even this fuzzy of a schedule, I would never have believed you :)

Hope your days go as planned today -- or not, if that's what you prefer (but I have no idea what that'd feel like!). Happy weekend!


13 comments:

  1. Oh my, that outfit is TOO CUTE!

    I'm glad you've been able to settle into a schedule. It's so hard with little ones who don't like to sleep!

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  2. motherhood is the most rewarding AND exhausting job in. the. world. AMEN!
    your daughter, by the way, is scrumptiously darling!!!! i love it!
    i am a mama to a 2 year old, and man oh man do our schedules fluctuate! it's all good tho :)
    hang in there mama!
    {new to your blog - HAPPY new follower!!!}
    xo,
    Maggie

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  3. Ah! She's too adorable! I hear you on the random naps. I always love that moment when the clock ticks past the 45 minute mark and you know you get another good stretch to finish up some things around the house! And I as well hate doing dishes...ugh. Even with a dishwasher there is still a never-ending supply around here. ;)

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    Replies
    1. It's always nice to know (though I'm sorry it happens to you) that other people deal with the 45 minute wake up...it makes a mama insane!

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  4. look at the face. she knows something i dont.

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  5. Oh so cute! Being a staying home mom is a tough job. I hand it to all of you! Enjoy nap time and the not being able to walk stage....there's NO rest once that begins!

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    1. That's what I keep hearing -- so far, she's not even pulling up, so I'm hoping we have a little while longer!

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  6. What a cutie L is! I love the picture of her with food all over her face, its so cute! So glad you finally feel like you have a schedule down! It took us a while to get on one too!

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  7. Your day makes my day seem downright calm! I love it though. PS happiest looking baby in the world.

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    Replies
    1. She is SUCH a ham for the camera -- it's ridiculous :)

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  8. soooooooooooooooo cute. oh my gosh.


    love the blog girl, so happy to have stumbled upon it. :)

    love, rach.
    www.so--hi.blogspot.com

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