I love the posts where you can get a snippet into someone's daily routine. I have had a few people ask how day to day life has changed now so I thought I would share. I am very blessed to be able to stay at home with Caroline until mid August. Honestly, I wish I would have started documenting our days months ago as life right now is completely different now with a three month old than it was when Caroline was a newborn. It took about two months for the "newborn fog" to lift and for me to feel like I have (almost) a handle on our day to day life. Not saying it is perfect, there are many days where dinner does not get cooked or the dishes are left dirty in the sink. I want to remember every perfectly imperfect moment as I know she will not be this small for long.
A quick side note about my daily routine, I am exclusively pumping in order to feed Caroline breastmilk. This means I have to find time to sit down and pump every 3 hours around 6-7 times a day. We started parent directed feeding around 3-4 weeks where Caroline eats every 3 hours. This makes scheduling my pumping much easier and I will typically pump while feeding her a bottle. I will share more on my exclusively pumping in a separate post later.
8:15
Caroline gets up for the day. She still wakes up for early morning feedings at 11, 3 and 5. No matter what time she ate last, I always try and start the day around 8am. I carry her into the living room, change her diaper and then pump while feeding her a bottle. After she finishes the bottle, we play and talk for a bit before I grab a meal bar for breakfast and get ready for the gym. Below is our little corner of the living room, my pump is set up along with a Boppy for Caroline to lay on.
9:15
I head to the gym with Caroline. I have started going to Burn Bootcamp which is a local gym with free childcare. It is a group exercise class with a personal training feel. Each day is focused on a different parts of the body. The free childcare is what drew me in because I could not figure out workouts with Caroline at home. Typically, Caroline naps while we are at the gym. Today is a good day and she is sound asleep when I pick her up.
10:30
We head home and I quickly shower while Caroline continues to nap. She is not a great napper, but I can normally manage a quick shower before she gets too fussy. I get dressed and straighten up the bedroom while she continues to rest.
11:00
Caroline wakes on her own and I sit her down for a bottle while I pump. I quickly re-pack the diaper bag and we head to the library. A new library has opened right down the street from us and is having baby story time. Thankfully, the timing is perfect and falls right after she eats which almost guarantees she will enjoy it.
12:00
After hanging out at the library a bit longer to chat with the other moms. I head to Chickfila for some lunch. Thanks to their quick drive through service I am home with lunch in less than 10 minutes. Caroline fell asleep in the car seat so I let her nap while I eat and squeeze in another pumping session. After lunch, she is still napping so I take time to start a load of laundry and clean all the bottles and dishes from last night and this morning.
1:45
Caroline wakes up from her nap and I feed her a bottle while watching a bit of television. Then we head upstairs to her nursery for tummy time. She used to love tummy time but has started fussing the minute I put her on her belly so it never lasts long. I end up watching her play on the mat for about 45 minutes.
3:00
Caroline starts to get fussy so I rock her to sleep in the nursery. Naps are tricky these days so I end up holding her while she sleeps since I know the moment I put her down she will wake right back up.
4:00
The nap did not last that long. So, we head back downstairs. We cuddle and talk for the next hour while I watch a bit of television. Some days I will place Caroline in a wrap and wear her while getting a bit of housework done but I was feeling a bit lazy today.
5:00
It is time to eat so, I feed Caroline a bottle while I pump. I grab an afternoon snack while Caroline rests on the Boppy pillow. Then we head outside for a walk around the neighborhood around 5:45.
6:30
After the walk, Caroline is in a great mood. So I place her in the swing to play while I clean up some more around the house. She loves to kick and "talk" to her mobile and can be entertained for around 30 minutes in her swing.
7:00
Joe gets home from work and plays with Caroline for a bit. It does not last long though. This time of day is the worst for Caroline so we end up rocking, bouncing and cuddling a lot. I take a quick shower and blow-dry my hair while Joe rocks Caroline. My trick for getting ready quickly in the morning is to do my hair at night.
7:30
We aim for an 8pm bedtime but it does not always work. Tonight is bath night so we start that a bit earlier. Joe and I double team the bath then Joe feeds Caroline her last bottle before putting her down for the night. During this time, I head downstairs to make dinner. Tonight is nothing special and I end up heating up leftovers from the weekend.
8:30
Caroline is asleep in the bassinet in our room. Joe and I hang out for a few minutes before I decide to call it a night. I pump one last time, get ready for bed and am asleep by 9:30. Some nights I stay up later and we will catch up on shows and hang out. But exhaustion has caught up with me tonight and I decide to call it a night early.
I would say that this day is pretty typical. Some nights I have dinner waiting on the table when Joe gets home. But more often than not I make dinner while Joe puts Caroline to bed. Napping independently is something that I am working on with Caroline so she can learn to fall asleep on her own. Honestly, I have not pushed it as I love holding her while she sleeps. Our house is in desperate need of cleaning and life is far from perfect but spending time with Caroline is a priority right now and I try not to take any moment for granted.
