Even though we have yet to spend a day like I envisioned sprawled out on a picnic blanket or hiking a natural trail, I still try to give B a fair share of "activities" each day. And since there may be other anxious mothers to be out there wondering just how the heck the day is going to go, I decided to chronicle a "typical" day. Not everyday has been like this but a lot of them have been close. I didn't write down exact times as they were happening but here's basically how the last twelve hours have unfolded.8:30 a.m. - H gets up to get ready for work and B is stirring. I silently curse H for not picking up B because I just got back to bed from a feed/pump session less than ninety minutes ago. Decide that B doesn't really want to wake up so I turn on the Sleep Giraffe and rock his Rock N Play until my wrist feels like it will fall off. It works. He sleeps for 40 more minutes.
9:10 - B is awake. Change shirt and diaper. Feed while laying in bed watching The Today Show. Chat, smile, laugh.
10:30 - B is getting overtired. Check forecast and see there's a 100% chance of rain. Boo. Decide I don't care and throw B in his stroller with the rain cover and set out for a walk. Head to a bagel shop six blocks away. B is asleep by the second block. Kid loves going for walks.
10:45 - Order a delicious bagel with cream cheese and lox and a 20 ounce coffee. It had been a crappy long night. Eat the shit out of it. Play with iphone.11:30 - B is waking up. Head home. Feed. Pump while he sits on my lap or on the Boppy pillow next to me. Change diaper. Chat, smile, laugh.
1:00 - B falls asleep on my chest and proceeds to take little cat naps for the next hour or so while I watch Netflix.
2:00 - Put B in his swing for 5 minutes while I do dishes and H makes us lunch. He is not having it. Pick him up and hold him. Pump again.
3:00 - B is overtired again. Throw him back in the stroller. Walk to the big park across the street. By the time I get to the lake, he is asleep. Because his afternoon nap is usually harder to sustain I walk for thirty more minutes just to ensure he stays asleep. Great calorie burner! Sit on a bench for another thirty minutes and read my Kindle.
4:00 - B is starting to wake up. Head home. Change diaper. Eat. Place B on his activity mat for 10 minutes while I do more dishes. H leaves to go out, which means I'll handle the nighttime swaddle and put down which I've only done a handful of times by myself at this point.
5:00 - Call my Mother In Law while bouncing B on my lap for thirty minutes. By the time the phone call is over he is a cranky mess. Attempt to put him in swing. Fail. He cries on and off ten seconds at a time, a sure sign he has earned a One Way Ticket to Swaddle Town. Try as I may, I cannot beat his early bedtime tendencies.5:40 - Swaddle B and put him in his Rock N Play. Sing Christmas carols until he falls asleep. Take a nap.
7:00 - B starts crying in his sleep. Rock him a little until he stops. Go back in the living room to have a glass of wine and pump.
8:00 - Make dinner. Check on B. Write blog post.
For the past six weeks he will sleep for six hours after his initial nighttime swaddle but lately he starts to fall apart earlier and earlier in the night. I've tried various techniques to move the six hour stretch to later in the night but without success. So I will pump again at 10 and then head to bed. B will likely wake up at midnight, 3, 5 and 7. LOL. So that was our day!
B is 11 weeks old and has never seen a working dairy farm.
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