A Day in the Life

Before having Harper, I really didn't know what people did when they stayed at home with their child(ren). Since I am one of the first of my friends to have a child, I thought I would share what our everday looks like.

morning: if Harper wakes up before 6:00am, I can usually nurse her and get her back to sleep for a bit. If she wakes up after 6:00am (even 6:05), then she is up for the day. We go downstairs and start our day.

She will usually nurse between 6 and 7. She will play in her swing or in her exersaucer while I eat breakfast, take vitamins and WAKE UP!

8:30ish -- we start to get ready for leave for our morning walk. We go to the Mud Creek Soccer Complex. Harper is usually asleep by the first mile -- so I have some time after that to walk and clear my head. The morning air helps me to wake up and start my day. 

After our walk, she will sleep a little in the car, so I drive around for about 10-15 minutes. Harper only naps for about 45 minutes. It is absolutely exhausting. She will sleep longer if I hold her, but she needs to sleep on her own.

10ish -- Harper is awake and it's time to nurse. She will eat some rice cereal about an hour after she nurses. She had been doing very well eating rice cereal, but that is not the case so much anymore. She is so distracted while she should be eating.

11ish -- it's play time. Harper loves our dogs -- I mean, she LOVES them. She squeals when she sees them. It is so fun for us to see. Lately, I have been taking her swing outside so that she can watch me throw the tennis ball for the dogs. She could stay out there forever.

12ish -- nap time. I change Harper and put her in our new Halo Sleep Sack (thanks for the tip, Evan!) After her typical chanting sounds, she falls asleep. I have to make sure the dogs are outside because they like to flap their ears and that wakes Harper. I turn on Harper's sleep sheep and she naps...for 30-45 minutes.


1ish -- it's playtime again! Harper will either go in her exersaucer or on her playmat. I have to stay close by when she is on the playmate because she likes to roll onto her stomach and SCREAM because she is stuck. Also, the dogs like to lick her -- a lot. I let them lick her feet/legs, not her face.

1:30-2:00 -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep while nursing. This is apparently a bad thing -- but this is the longest nap she takes all day. She will sleep for 1-2 hours if I hold her. So, I let her nap in my arms...for both my sake and hers. I need a little break and she needs to rest.

4:00 -- Harper will wake up and it's playtime/time to eat my first vegetable. I made a batch of sweet potato baby food. Yes, you read that correctly...I made it. OK -- all I did was steam the sweet potato and puree it. It just sounds like I did a lot. Harper is slowly getting the hang of this "solid food" thing. It's making it really hard for her to poop (TMI?), so she is very fussy.   (sorry for the poor quality of the picture -- it was on my phone.)

5:30 - DAD COMES HOME FROM WORK! Hearing the garage door open is a welcome relief to the dogs (who are waiting to be fed), Harper (who wants a break from her mom), and me...who just needs a moment. This is when I will start dinner. John and I enjoy cooking together, although I sometimes like the kitchen to myself. He might put Harper in the Baby Bjorn or in the Bumbo so that she can watch us.

6ish -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep shortly after we eat dinner. This gives John and I a moment to talk about our day.


9ish -- it's time for Harper's bath. We now give her a bath every night. She loves it. After her bath, we lotion her up, read a book (sometimes...if we aren't too exhausted), put her in the sleep sack and give her a bottle. I just like giving her a bottle at night so that I know exactly how much milk she is getting. If she nurses, she will fall asleep fairly quickly which means she will make me up around midnight because she is hungry. So, I have to pump every morning so that I have milk for her at night. John and I alternate nights -- one of us will give her a bath while the other gives her a bottle and puts her to bed.

10ish -- Harper is in bed. We bring her monitor downstairs so that we can hear her. I like to clean the kitchen and get everything ready for the next day. John will work on HOA stuff (ugh!), relax or find a project to work on. Sometimes we get a chance to watch a  movie or play with the dogs. Soon we are just too tired and must go to bed.

Harper has recently been waking up several times before midnight. We will alternate who goes in there to coax her back to sleep. After midnight, if she wakes up, I go in there and nurse her back to sleep. Sometimes she will wake up every two hours. Sometimes she will sleep through the night.

So -- you've read about our routine. Is it perfect? No. Am I doing everything that I should  be doing the way I should be doing it? Definitely not. I guess we all do what works for us. Maybe if/when we have another child, I will have a better idea of how to do things. As for now, my daughter is awesome and such a good sport. She never makes me feel bad about being clueless. Add to that, I have such an amazing support system. This is just a wonderful adventure.