things, you don't learn to appreciate it until you don't have it anymore. Of course there are still 24 hours in my day like there were before. Nowadays, though, I feel like I'm living those 24 hours in short segments. Below is a rundown I promised I'd do of a "typical" day (any mom understands why I used quotes there)!
8:00/8:30 - Audrey wakes up or I wake her up. It took me forever to realize that if you don't start their day at the same time, you’ll never get them on a schedule. I felt really stupid when I read that advice. Duh.
9:45–10:30 – I walk and give her fascinating commentary on the surrounding sights and scenes. She typically falls asleep around 10, which I try not to take personally. At that point, I crank up my iPod and try to look as cool as I did when I had six-pack abs and was running those laps, as opposed to nowadays when I’m sweating like a pig, pushing a humongous stroller, and praying I don’t pass out because I can’t remember if I’ve brushed my teeth and I’d hate for someone to have to give me CPR.
10:40–11:00 – I shower while she sleeps in her carrier in the bathroom. If she wakes up at some point during this process, I start talking and singing quite loudly in an effort to try to keep her calm until I’m finished. I think my record is the “ABC” song nine times in a row, with much effort taken to enunciate L, M, N, O, & P so as not to send her to preschool thinking LMNOP is one long letter. Yes, I really do think about such things.
11:00–11:30 – This time period is a total gamble. If she stays asleep, I can fix my hair, put on make-up, and finish getting ready. If she decides it’s time to eat, that gets put on hold and I feed her.
11:30–12:00 – She eats. I talk, put on make-up, read to her, or channel surf - only stopping on the really educational stuff, of course. :)
12:00–1:00 – “Activity time." This can include many things. Play mat time, reading, singing, dancing, bath time, diaper changes, clothing changes, flashcard drills (at this point, that means me holding up the flashcards while she drools on them.) One of my favorites is folding laundry and making funny faces with her while reviewing colors or trying to explain the concept of pairs. I can’t quite figure out how to clarify that some things that are pairs have two parts (i.e. socks) and some things that are referred to as pairs only have one part (i.e. a pair of pants, a pair of underwear, etc.) Anyway…
1:00-2:30 - She naps. I finish getting myself together if I haven’t already and eat lunch. Then I do some combination of washing/sterilizing bottles, straightening up, checking emails, blogging, doing my ab work-out, washing clothes, paying bills, organizing something, putting photos in albums, etc. etc. etc.
2:30-3:15 – She wakes up and eats.
3:15–4:30 – More “activity time” or we go run errands.
4:30–5:30 – She naps. I do more of the previously mentioned tasks and/or start dinner.
5:30–6:00 – She eats. David usually gets home during this window and we catch each other up about our days. More often than not, he usually has to finish fixing the mess of a dinner I started. I try really hard not to give him a play-by-play of the number and color of diapers I changed. Usually, if nothing else, I can fill him in on Facebook gossip.
6:00–6:30 – David gets in his Audrey fix, which usually involves the play mat or working on her standing.
6:30–7:15 – If we’re lucky, she sleeps while we chow down.
7:15–8:00 - She wakes up and eats.
8:00–8:30 – We do our nightly ritual of bedtime stories and prayers. I love this family time together. It's so sweet!
8:30–9:15 – She catnaps on one of our shoulders while the other of us picks up or does laundry. Or we both just sit in front of the TV like bums. We’ve tried to lay her down during this time, but she’ll have none of it. I suspect that eventually she’ll start going to bed around 8:30, but she doesn’t seem to want to give up that 9:15ish feeding quite yet.
9:15–9:45 - I feed her and then put her to bed.
9:45–10:15 – I try to avoid doing anything else productive and just enjoy a few moments alone with David. Then we go to bed and usually have very little trouble falling asleep.
Sometime between 3am and 6am - She awakes to eat. I feed her, put her back down, and go back to sleep. Some nights this is easier than others!
I might as well have put "ish" after each time frame. It's 5:00pm now and she is in there stirring - clearly she doesn't have a watch. I just wanted to record what a day in our life looks like for now so I can fondly reminisce down the road...in between all the naps I'll be taking once she starts school.
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