Morning:
Harper wakes up between 6 and 7. If she wakes up earlier, I nurse her and she goes back to sleep until maybe 8...if we are lucky. John will usually get her in the morning and change her. She goes in the swing in our bathroom while he gets ready for work. This gives me a little more time to rest. Once that bathroom door opens I know that I am on the clock. I take Harper downstairs, she nurses and then plays on the floor or in her bouncer. I use this time to pump. Without going into too much detail, I am a producer and must pump ASAP in the morning. I have been told that this is a good problem to have. (I have also been told that this is why not all of the baby weight has come off...that and chocolate.)
About an hour after Harper nurses, I give her oatmeal mixed with some veggies. She does quite well eating. She really loves the cereal puffs that she can feed herself. I still have to be careful that she doesn't a) choke on them, and b) feed them all to the dogs.
Two (or so) hours after she wakes up, Harper goes down for her morning nap. This is at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 hours. I would like to say that this is when I go on the treadmill or clean the house...and sometimes I do. Sometimes I like to nap. [side note: the dogs know when I put Harper down for her morning nap. they are usually waiting for me in my bed. honest. they need cuddle time, too. i don't want to neglect my dogs. i am just resting for their sake, not mine.]
Afternoon:
Harper is usually awake between 10:30 and 11:30. We like to go to story time at the library. We have three different ones we go to...on Mondays we go to the Central Library, Tuesdays are at Kemp Memorial Library on Due West Road and Wednesdays are in downtown Kennesaw. Wednesday is the best day. There are a many more kids Harper's age at Wednesday story time. Now -- here is the problem. The end of story time sometimes marks the beginning of her nap time -- meaning that I have to keep her awake all the way back home. Sometimes I win this battle, but more often that not, Harper is victorious. If I can keep her awake, she eats when we get home (mixed fruits and veggies) and then goes down for a nap. This nap can last anywhere from 1-2 hours.
Harper will usually be awake around 3. We will go get the mail, play with the dogs, visit Nana and Popi....find things to keep us busy. She is a happy baby as long as she is doing something. Lately, we have been making many trips to craft stores.
John gets home around 5:30. Sometimes I will start dinner as soon as he gets home or we might cook it together. SOMETIMES dinner was cooking all day in the crockpot. Those are glorious days.
Evening:
Harper will start to get sleepy/fussy around 6. We usually let her nap for 30-45 minutes. We don't want to her to sleep too long and mess up bedtime, but if she doesn't take a little cat nap, she will be a nightmare until bedtime. Once she wakes up, we prepare her dinner. This consists of banana oatmeal and either a fruit or veggie (depending on what I gave her for breakfast.)
7:00 means it is time to start our bedtime routine. We give her a bath every other day, although sometimes we do it everyday. She loves bath time. We play music for her (the Raffi station on Pandora is the best. hands down. If you don't know Raffi, get to know Raffi.) She loves to splash and play with the 6 ducks, 1 squirrel, 1 whale, 1 octopus and fish that she has in the tub. (I know there are more but I can't think of them.)
Once Harper starts getting visibly tired, we take her out of the bath. It is lotion and pajama time. We will let her play for a little bit before we give her a bottle. Now -- since I pump in the morning I have a whole bottle for her. She will not nurse very long at night...giving her a bottle lets me know exactly how much she is taking. Some people says that it doesn't matter, but I want to know. (This also means that I have to pump before bed -- but I just use that milk to make her oatmeal the next day.)
Since I also pump at night, it gives me the chance to go on the treadmill. Like I said before, I am a producer, so jogging is not fun for too long. Jogging at night is also tough because I am so exhausted. I try to jog every couple of days. I try. I also try to straighten up the kitchen at night before bed -- a messy kitchen messes with my head.
If Harper wakes up at all, it is just because her pacifier came out. If we pop it back in her mouth, she goes back to sleep. She may wake up at 3:00 or 5:00 to nurse, but that doesn't happen everyday. She is a wonderful baby. A sweet baby. We adore her.
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