Day in the Life

Around here there is no such thing as a typical day... But I thought I'd make an attempt at recording a snapshot of our "routine" (not sure if that word can be used as loosely as I need it to in order to apply to this scenario, but we'll go with it.) It's easy to forget the nitty gritty of this stage (when you're this tired it's easy to forget anything) so it'll be nice to be able to look back and answer- what did we do all day?

We haven't been totally successful in getting Piper on a schedule yet, but there is at least a pattern to her days. She eats every 2-3 hours during the day, and follows a Eat, Play, Sleep routine, so that each day is pretty much divided up into chunks of alternating hours of awake and asleep time. She feeds for about a half an hour, and then is awake for another half an hour to an hour, and then (hopefully) takes an hour to hour and a half nap (though some days we're lucky to get her down for 45 minutes at a time.) We repeat this throughout the day until bedtime, when she goes down for anywhere from 3-6 hours at a time. The details vary (wildly) but more or less here is how we spend our days...

Middle of the night feeding
Our first interaction of the day is kept deliberately low key. Piper usually eats quietly and falls asleep in my arms. If I'm lucky she won't poop, so I can just put her back in the crib. If I'm not lucky, I have to change her, which inevitably wakes her up enough to require a bounce-back-to-sleep session. The goal is to have her go back to sleep quickly, so that Dustin and I can actually asleep again too. I can't tell you how many nights the two of us have struggled to go back to sleep, even though we were beyond tired. It was actually better (in a way) when she was waking up every two to three hours. After each round of that we'd be totally sacked out immediately. But now that she's (sometimes) going five hours at a time, my body seems to think that's enough sleep. I disagree emphatically.

Wake up
If it's more toward the 7 mark when she's done eating, I like to put her back down for another hour or two of sleep. If it's closer to 8 then we get up and start the day. (if Dustin hasn't left for work he'll help with this round of diapering and rocking, which is awesome- it means i get to go back to sleep, or at the very least have a chance to pee and brush my teeth.)

Breakfast & pumping time
It's a struggle to get up sometimes, but I find being with her actually puts me in a good mood. I may dread getting out of bed, but by the time I am up changing her diaper, watching her silly little stretches, I'm usually feeling better. I plop Piper in her boppy on the couch so I can pump. We sit and making faces at each other, talk and play with her hands and feet til I'm done. Then I scarf down some cereal or a yogurt and a granola bar. By now she's usually been up 45 minutes or so, and gets sleepy again quickly. We might go upstairs and read a book or sing some songs until she looks tired.

Early AM nap
I usually use this window to grab a shower and get dressed. But if I'm going to work out at home I try to get that done first. If a shower isn't immediately necessary I'll try to tackle some stuff around the house instead, like dishes, laundry, or just general tidying up.

Morning awake time
This time around I'll usually get her dressed. If it's bath day (couple times a week) this is a good window for it- bathtime keeps her entertained and gets her looking pretty for the rest of the day. Depending on what we have planned for the day, we might leave to meet someone (usually Dustin) for lunch. If we're not going out then we'll play a little- try some tummy time, sing more songs or read a book.

Mid day nap
Now it's my turn for lunch. Other than that I'll try to catch up on whatever didn't get done during the first nap. If I didn't shower yet I grab one now, or I'll try to wrap lingering chores. But most likely I spend the time online- blogging, uploading/editing/sharing photos or answering emails etc.

Afternoon awake time
If we haven't gotten out of the house yet, now is the time. I go a little stir crazy without a daily activity (no matter how mundane) so I try to make sure we have somewhere to go most days. Most often we head to the grocery store, or some similar errand- like a trip to Target or JoAnn's. But if we did have a lunch date that's usually enough action so we'll head home and let that trip bleed into the next nap. On the rare day that we don't have an outing, or if we had plans in the morning (like on yoga days) we'll spend this time- you guessed it- singing songs, reading, or just jabbering and making faces at each other. If we've been inside all day I try to have some other activity I want to do- like taking photos, or even something lame like trying out a carrier or toy she's never used. Something different helps break up the day a bit, and makes me feel like we accomplished something.

Afternoon nap
By now I'm usually pretty wiped out. If I'm feeling particularly industrious I'll start preparing dinner or clean up whatever messes we've made throughout the day. Usually it's getting some dishes washed, or picking up toys. But most likely at this point I'm more in the mood for some reading or a nap. That doesn't always happen, but if I do get the chance to relax a bit I take advantage if it and try not to feel guilty.

Late afternoon awake time
This is one of the tougher time periods for me. By now I'm typically ready for Dustin to come home, but that's usually an hour or so away. Often after she eats this time around she's still sleepy, and it's hard to not just let her snooze, but I know if I do that her schedule will be wacky for the rest of the night (even more than it already would be). Sometimes I'll have her sit in her bunny or play on her mat for a bit while I get a few things done (anything I procrastinated and don't want Dustin to see!). Or we'll do another round of tummy time or playing. By now it's usually dark, so we hang out in her room because for some reason I find it less depressing than downstairs. If she's restless we'll walk around to different rooms to "see the sights" or we'll spend some time looking in the mirror (one of her favorites). Depending on her schedule, sometimes Dustin's return lines up with nap time, so he'll change her and put her down. It's a shame that he doesn't always get to see her right away, but keeping her up just makes her cranky, so we try to stick to the schedule even if that means he has to reunite with her on the next round.

Evening nap
When things go well this is the perfect time for Dustin and I to grab dinner. I try to make sure we get in a little bit of quality conversation- usually we swap stories about our day. But often we're both tired, and the time alone seems to goes quickly. I'll never understand the relativity of time- her naps seem to go so fast, but the (admittedly rare) crying jags seem to last forever.

Evening awake time
This is our chance for some family time. If we're not finished with dinner, I feed Piper and then she hangs out in her bunny or on our mat. Too often we still have the tv on...I wish we could say we always gave her our undivided attention, but with her bedtime being so late, we really don't get a chance to have much of an evening before it's time for us to go to bed too. The alternative though, is putting her to bed in the early evening, which reduces the time we get with her, and adds another middle of the night feeding. No thanks!

Bedtime
This tends to be Dustin's domain. I give her one last good feed, and then he does the night routine while I pump. Piper gets a fresh diaper, some nighttime lotion, vitamins, Zantac and some pj's. Then it's time for the swaddle, and a few (like 10+) minutes of bouncing and shushing to get her sleepy little eyes to close for good. Sometimes we can get get into the crib without waking her up, and tip toe out, but more often we have to do a couple rounds before it "sticks". On particularly bad nights, she'll be too fussy or gassy and will refuse to be put down, causing us to give up and put her in her bouncy chair. Not ideal, but at least she (and we) get some sleep that way.

It may not be totally predictable, but we're starting to settle into somewhat of a routine around here. I know a baby will never run like clockwork, but it's comforting to have at least some stability in our lives. And it's true what they say, each little segment of the day can sometimes seem to last a lifetime, but collectively, it's all flying by.