A Day in the Life

I'm really getting used to time at home, but it's really crazy how quickly my day goes by. Today I thought I'd share a peek at our routine during the day, now that Hannah is one month old. I literally live life in three hour increments based on when Hannah needs to eat. It's definitely different than how we lived life before she got here. I'm sharing approximate times, but don't kid your self, this isn't always the case. Sometimes Hannah will wake up later in the morning or early from a nap and I adjust the times accordingly. Also, if we leave for Bible Study, church, or an errand, it usually throws up the schedule a bit too. I let her sleep longer if her previous nap was shorter due to a change in schedule. 

6:30/7: Hannah and Grant wake up...so do we. I feed Hannah while Grant gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and eats breakfast. I'm thankful he can do most of this on his own, as I can't do much of anything while nursing.

7:40ish: Brian takes Grant to school and I put Hannah down for a nap. She usually wants to go right back to sleep after eating. Next I eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee, get ready, and do my devotions. I really enjoy this time in the morning, and am glad I shower and get ready, even though we don't leave the house most days. Here's the devotion I'm using, it's so good!

9:30-10ish: Hannah wakes up and I feed her and play with her a bit. This seems to be the part of the day where she wants to stay up the longest. We play peek-a-boo, I sing to her, and talk to her too. 

11:00ish: Hannah takes a nap. I really have to watch for signs from her that she's ready for a nap.  Three yawns or the first fussy noise and she's getting her diaper changed and then swaddled.  I hold her for a few minutes then put her down with a pacifier if she wants it.  Then, I walk away. We are NOT doing the full blown "cry it out" but we've found that letting her fuss for a few minutes, then going in and reassuring her and walking away once she's content is much better for all of us.  We sometimes have to go in a few times, but she's falling asleep much easier than she did prior to trying this method. Next, I eat lunch, clean as needed, and might try to take a 30 minute nap.  And if I'm being honest, lunch often times looks like this: 

1:00ish: Hannah wakes up and I feed her and play with her. She's really liking her play mat and seems to be fascinated with all the little hanging toys, although she's totally surprised when she moves one with her hand or grasps something enough to hold it herself.

2:00ish: Hannah takes a nap and I have a cup of coffee, do any dinner prep I can, finish any cleaning/laundry, and maybe watch an episode of Friends or Parenthood on Netflix, or work on a blog post. Brian has been really helpful when it comes to dinner, but I am trying to use this afternoon time too for crockpot prep, or casserole/lasagna prep that I can just stick in the oven once I've picked Grant up for school. 

4:00ish: Hannah wakes up and I feed her, then we go get Grant. He seriously adores his sister and loves holding her or playing with her on the playmat too. I also end up having to change her clothes during the day once because of either spit up or a diaper blowout. By the way: Costco diapers- thumbs down.

5:00ish: Hannah takes a nap and I work on dinner and try to spend time with Grant while we wait for Brian to get home. We eat, have some family time with a board game or iPad, etc. This can be the post chaotic time at home, but has been much better with me doing early meal prep and use letting Hannah fuss for a few minutes before going in and reassuring her. It seriously has changed her going to nap process from sometimes an hour to more like 10 minutes. Plus, she gets more sleep and has had a much better disposition too!

6:30-7ish: Hannah wakes up and I feed her. Grant (and Hannah sometimes) take bathes, Brian and Grant play. Hannah is liking bathes a lot more now, but I still really try to make them quick. Grant loves  helping too!

7:30/8: Grant and Hannah go to bed and Brian and I hang out.  I may or may not fall asleep on the couch... I know this will get better once Hannah is sleeping through the night, but it's pretty much a crap shoot right now...

10:00: I feed Hannah one last time and go to bed. This is a "dream feed," where she's basically asleep, I let her eat as much as she wants then put her back to bed. She wakes up once at night, usually around 3:30. She's been going back to sleep easily....definitely an improvement from when she first came home from the hospital. Then she wakes around 7 and we do it all again!