A day in the life of little JT.

I was always curious what it was like to live on a baby's schedule before actually having one of my own. I had heard it all. You never sleep. You never shower. 'My baby slept through the night at 2 weeks'. 'My baby is 2 years old and still hasn't slept through the night'.
At the end of the day, I realize every baby really is different, as I really can't equally compare our experience to any other that people have told me about. And while one of the wonders of the baby lifestyle is that it is ridiculously spontaneous (I mean, why not poop on a brand new outfit, or wake up 7 times to eat in one night?), we have gotten into somewhat of a schedule in the past week or two. Taking an average of the good days, the bad days, and the zombie on auto-pilot days, I have put together a little walk through of a day in the life of my handsome man/his busy mama.

12:00am: this is usually the time Jackson wakes up for the first time to eat. On our best night he has made it until 2am, our worst night he goes to bed at 9pm to wake right back up at 10:30. On average though, 12:00-1:00am is where our first middle of the night party is at. We eat, we cuddle, and he is back in his crib within half an hour or so.
2:00am: party number two (or one, if mama is lucky!) eat, burp, cuddle, and back to bed.
4:30am: wake up again. Usually after his 2am feeding, he goes back to bed, but not for more than 2 hours at a time. Our long stretch is typically when he first lays down to that first feeding, about 4 or so hours. If I want rest, that is when I'm gonna get it.
6:00am: despite partying all night, sleep is usually done for the night at this time. I let Jackson snuggle in bed when Mike leaves for work, and even if he is awake he is usually so content to cuddle that I can manage another hour or so to lay in bed.
7:00am: MOMMMM I'm hungry!!!!
7:30am: happy, milk drunk baby smiles, looks around and cuddles while mom drinks her much needed coffee.

8:30am: we go out for a run. I am so in love with my jogging stroller, I have already gotten so much use out of it. It is made to fit our carseat, so it clicks right in facing me, so I can watch my boy while I run. My little man LOVES being in the stroller, he is happy 99% of the time if he is going for a ride.

looking stylish and ready for my walk!

9:30am: mama showers, baby snoozes in his bouncer/swing.

checking out my mobile

9:35am: MOMMMM I'm hungry!!! I literally barely make it out of the shower before he demands more food. Luckily I am the master of quick showers.
10:00am-12:00pm: this tends to vary from day to day. Sometimes we go into town and run errands, sometimes we grab lunch with grandma, and sometimes mama tries to clean the house. On days where Jackson is particularly demanding, I am able to fold approximately 2 pieces of laundry at a time before he demands to be picked up/held/cuddled/fed. On those days, we spend a LOT of time on the couch..

im just going to keep spitting out my nuk and then crying for it. repeatedly.

12:00-4:00pm: again, this timeframe varies from day to day, but for the most part I get baby to nap for at least 2 or so hours during this time frame. While he sleeps, I clean, I cook, and when I'm feeling like it, I bake the goodies that I later blog about (brown butter banana brownies, mmm). People say nap when baby naps...

This picture says it all. Very occasionally I squeeze in a nap, but most of the time I squeeze in tasks that keep me feeling sane.

4:00pm: dad gets home and enjoys some baby cuddles.
4:05pm: MOMMMMM..(I think you all know what he wants..)
5:00pm-6:00pm: somewhere in here, we eat dinner. Usually the babe decides he is hungry right as we sit down with food in front of us, which means I stare at my plate of food while feeding him. I pass him off to Mike the second he is done eating and try to enjoy my meal before it is TOO cold.
6:00pm: TV. Mike and I squeeze in a show, talk about our days, or play with our baby. Real exciting things.
7:00pm: depending on the day, this is when we do bath time. On no-bath days, we wait a little later before switching into some baby jammies. You know, from his soft, comfortable, daytime baby clothes.

cuddly in my jammies.

7:30pm: baby eats meal number 50 (at least that's what it seems like) of the day. Some days we give him a bottle at this time so Mike can feed him, some days I just feed him because it's easier. He likes to constantly spit out the bottle, take burp breaks, and get distracted by shiny things, making his final meal of the evening an hour long process.

but mom I don't want to sleep, I just want to cuddle and stare at you

(seriously, how do I say no to this face).

8:30pm: if he doesn't fall asleep while eating, we go in his room and rock, while mom tries to sing. Despite my lack of talent, he seems to like it, and a couple songs are usually enough to put him out.
9:00pm: Mike and I squeeze in watching a show, or some nights I am off to bed almost immediately after baby. After all, only three hours until we wake up to do it all over again...

sleeping, for now..

This is a tentative schedule, and it can change so much from day to day. In fact, the last two nights he stuck it out in his crib until 5:30am, and only woke up twice (this is a good thing, compared to his prior trend of every 2 hours...)
I am working hard to ease into a schedule that I can transfer over once I go back to work, but not too hard. I am enjoying every day of being home with my little guy, and while I am pretty sure I am going to cry the day I have to go back to work, I think I will enjoy having an entire half hour over lunch to eat, uninterrupted.

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