Baby Talk :: A Day In the Life

Happy Tuesday people!
It's time for my weekly Link Up...BABY TALK!

I LOVE reading about the daily routines of moms. When I was pregnant I was so fascinated by and curious about what life with a baby was really like. I don't think anything can really prepare you for life with a new baby, but I found comfort in knowing that eventually (even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it) life will settle in to a routine and it really will....I promise! 

Not all moms are the same and not all babies are the same, so obviously not all routines are the same. Not only that, routines can vary drastically from day to day. Even so, I want to share a typical day in our daily life to maybe help you new mamas and mamas-to-be. Our routine changes day-to-day because Jason's work schedule is kind of random, and things are pretty different for us on the weekends and on Fridays when I am home with Kenley. But, this is pretty much a standard week day and the basis for the rest of our days as well. 

6:15am: My alarm goes off.

I start my day by hitting the restroom, throwing on some sweatpants and then getting my baby! Most days she is awake and waiting for me, others I have to wake her up (this will usually depend on what time she goes to bed the night before). 

I give her 80 million kisses, change her diaper, get her dressed for the day and then feed her. 

It doesn't matter how early it is or how badly I want to still be sleeping...seeing that little face first thing makes every day so much better. 

Once Kenley is all taken care of, it's time to get myself ready. Kens will either hang with her dad or chill in her bumbo and watch me get ready. She is fascinated by teeth brushing!

After I'm ready to go, I put bottles in to the diaper bag and make sure that my pump bag is packed with empty bottles and all of my pump supplies. Next is probably the most interesting part of our day....getting out the door. Jason always helps me pack up and load the massive amounts of stuff we need in to my car. 

my laptop, my pump, my purse, the diaper bag, Kenley's bed, play mat & bumbo, the puggle (she gets to go to daycare too) and, of course, the baby.

When everything goes according to plan (which is rarely) we're out the door between 7:15-7:30am. 

Depending on the day, Kenley goes to either my dad & step-mom's, my mom's or J's dad & step-moms. Then every once and while she'll spend the day with her Auntie Natalie. It's a lot to keep track of, but we are so grateful to have family willing to help us!
Kenley is dropped off at one of her many daycares and I am on the road to work by 7:30-7:45ish. 

I make a quick stop at Starbucks (not every day, but a lot of days) and am at the office at 8:00am, err more like 8:15am. 

I work from 8:00am-5:00pm and pump at 10:00am, 12:30pm and 3:00pm.

I've been having some problems with my supply lately, but that's a story for another day. Kenley goes through three 5oz bottles a day at "daycare" so I pump what I can and send her with formula for the rest. 

While at day care Kenley follows a eat, sleep, play schedule. She usually takes two naps during the day, a long one (2-3 hours) in the morning and a short one (30 minutes-an hour) in the afternoon. And, like I mentioned, will eat 3 bottles.

Happy girl at "daycare".

Depending on traffic I get home between 5:15 and 5:30pm, and Jason is already home with Kenley. Right when I walk in the door I label and store my breast milk and clean my pumping supplies (otherwise I forget and there is nothing worse than wasted breast milk).

Now I can finally squeeze my little Kenny! I usually change in to sweatpants and then will start dinner. I'll do as much of dinner as I can before Kenley cries, then I feed Kenny while Jason finishes dinner. We've been eating dinner at the table as a family lately and I LOVE it!

Now that is FINALLY nice out, I want to start adding walks around the neighborhood in to our routines....I'm thinking after dinner will be the perfect time!

After dinner, we'll play with Kenley {activity mat, singing songs, making noises, reading books, etc} until she starts showing signs she's ready for bed. 

I start Kenley's bedtime routine sometime between 7pm and 8pm depending on her mood. While I'm getting Kenley's jammies ready and stripping her down, Jason will fill the tub and get everything ready for bath time! 

This is Kenley's favorite part of the day! No matter how tired or cranky she is, she will instantly cheer up when it's bath time!

While I'm getting Kenley ready for bed, Jason will clean up our dinner and do all of the dishes, clean the day's bottles and run the dishwasher, which is SO helpful!

After Kenley is all squeaky clean and in her jammies we will rock in our glider and she will eat, I'll tell her stories or sing her songs and we snuggle. This is my absolute favorite part of every day. 

Once those little eyes start to look tired, I put Kenley in her crib, turn on the sleep sheep, give her a bobo {pacifier}, give her a kiss and thank God for giving her to me and ask Him to keep her safe. 

Once Kenley is in bed, it's my turn to shower. The mornings are pretty busy as it is so unless I want to wake up at 5am {which I don't}, I shower at night. After my shower, I get everything ready for the next day...I have found this to be absolutely crucial for getting out the door in any kind of timely fashion - I get bottles ready, empty dirty clothes and any other items from Kenley's diaper bag and re-pack it with a clean outfit, bib and burp cloth and will make sure it's stocked full of diapers & wipes. I make sure I have everything I need for my pump and prep/organize my lunch for the next day. 

 FINALLY I can take a load off and spend some time with my hubby. 

We are usually in bed sometime between 10-11pm and I'll sneak in a quick episode of Gossip Girl on the iPad and then get some sleep so I can wake up and do it all again the next day!

Whew! It seems like SO much when I type it all out but this has become or normal. Being a working mom definitely poses some challenges and requires some extra work and organization but it's been going great for us and I am so grateful we've fallen in to a routine which seems to be working for everyone.


Don't forget that every Tuesday is the Baby Talk link up!
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