7:00am - Mittens wakes us up. I love Mittens, but every morning at 7:00 I question why we deal with her and her controlling personality. We've tried everything - feeding her later at night right before we go to bed, playing with her a ton, closing our door at night, opening our door at night. It doesn't seem to matter. I don't even set an alarm anymore because I know she will never let me sleep past 7:00. Go downstairs to feed and water her.
7:05am - Make coffee, eat a simple breakfast (oatmeal, cereal, fruit, yogurt), check the computer for the morning (email, Facebook, Blogger, bank and credit card).
7:30am - Sarah awakens! She's really cute when I first go in to get her. She smiles from ear to ear. When I unswaddle her she stretches so hard. Change her diaper and bring her downstairs to feed her a bottle.
8:00am - Go for a stroller ride around the neighborhood.
8:45am - Change Sarah's outfit for the day. Read a book and a Bible story. Play on the changing table while I stretch and we listen to music. Sarah will usually be happy laying on her back and playing with toys for about 30 minutes. I sing and talk to her. We transition to the crib to do some tummy time. I've noticed she lasts longer at tummy time when she's on a softer surface than the ground, and the crib ensures that she doesn't roll away.
9:30am - Nap. Ideally, this would happen in the crib, but these days she just loves napping in my arms. I try to think about how this time won't last forever and be happy that she loves me and feels safe in my arms, but some days it's hard to ignore the fact that if she would just nap in her crib I could get so much work done, but Sarah doesn't care if the house is clean and I've made a nice dinner, right? She just wants my love and time, so that's what she gets.
11:00am - Diaper and bottle.
11:30am - Activity mat. She loves swatting all of the toys. She gets really hyper vocalizing and squirming around.
12:00pm - Daddy's home!!! We hang and eat lunch. I enjoy talking to somebody who can actually respond.
1:00pm - Nap. These days she can nap in the crib in the afternoon for about an hour, wakes up crying, I go and get her, and she sleeps in my arms for another hour.
3:00pm - Diaper and bottle.
3:30pm - Check the mail. Is it sad that this is an activity? Run errands if I need to. Otherwise, Bumbo, eye to eye time where we "talk," sit in the bouncer on the kitchen table while I cook. Talk on the phone to somebody.
5:00pm - Daddy is home for the evening!!! Hand over the babe and go to the bathroom. haha Sarah usually gets very upset around this time. I feel sad for Robert because it isn't much of a welcoming. It also stinks for me because then Robert wonders if the whole day has been like this. I assure him that it hasn't and that it has nothing to do with him. It still makes both of us sad.
5:30pm - Dinner. If we're lucky, Sarah will be entertained by the Bumbo, activity mat, or bouncer for 20 minutes so we can both eat, but let's be serious. Usually we eat in shifts and reheat food. This will end one day. Before we know it Sarah will be eating at the table in her high chair with us.
6:00pm - Contemplate doing something "fun" like driving around, milling around a store, playing a game. Get realistic and decide to tidy up and veg.
7:00pm - Feed Sarah and change her diaper. If it's been an incredibly long day we'll tuck her in now. If we're all in a good mood we'll keep hanging out and playing. On Wednesdays and Sundays we'd still be up at church during this time.
9:30pm - Bottle and diaper in the dim nursery while the sound machine plays ocean noises. Tuck her in for the evening.
10:00pm - Check our phones, talk a bit.
10:30pm - Bed and dream of feeling fully rested again one day.
I feel like I just spent a day with you. You're a great writer.
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