A Day in the Life of Me

I thought it would be fun to share what a typical day looks like for me and Hannah (is that the proper English or is it Hannah and me?  or Hannah and I?  I never know.)  Hannah is 3.5 months now, so life is just starting to get a little more exciting.  She has really come alive in the last month or so.

• Our day begins at 6am (well, sort of).  Brian usually wakes Hannah up (unless she has already woken us) and brings her to our bedroom.  After a minute of cuddling with Daddy (she won't cuddle for long because she is STARVING!) he hands her to me so I can feed her.  I change her diaper, shower her with kisses, and we smile back and forth for a couple minutes.  Then I put her back into her crib for her morning nap.  I usually go right back to sleep as well!
• We are up for the day between 9 and 10am (sometimes earlier...depends on what Hannah wants to do).  If she hasn't already woken me up, I will get her by 9:30am and bring her downstairs for her next feeding.  I try to wait until 10am to feed her, no matter when she wakes up.  So if it's early we will play for a few minutes first.  This could be anything from laying on the floor and starring at each other to sitting in the exersaucer while mommy checks e-mail...just depends on her mood.  At 10am (or a little earlier) I feed Hannah again and change her diaper.
• After her tummy is full, I put her in the pack n' play that we have in the playroom downstairs.  I put her on her tummy and put a couple toys and a mirror in her reach.  I set the timer (right now we are doing 7 minutes at a time) and leave the room.  This is her "independent playtime".  I try to stay out of sight and let her explore on her own.  We are trying to work up to 15-20 minutes at a time, but I don't add minutes until she is able to go the allotted time without fussing or crying at all.  That shows me that she is capable of more alone time, so I add another minute next time.  While she is playing I usually try to wolf down a bowl of cereal or something for breakfast (7 minutes doesn't give me much time to digest, but at least it's something).
• When "independent playtime" is over, we usually head back upstairs to get dressed for the day.  I put Hannah in the bouncy seat in our bathroom and shower while she plays with a few toys.  This is not always very relaxing though.  She usually fusses the whole time and I am constantly reaching out of the shower and trying to pop the paci back into her mouth (after dripping her with so much water that she is soaked...opps!)  After a very quick shower, I hop out and get dressed as fast I can before another melt-down starts.  If I'm lucky I can take a minute or two to brush my hair (forget about makeup!).  Then we head into Hannah's room to get her dressed.  She gets her bath at night, so we just change her clothes (although I sometimes just let her stay in whatever she slept in...just depends on how dirty it is).
• Once we are both dressed, we head back downstairs for some more playtime.  It is usually around 11:30am at this point.  We spend time in the playroom playing with different toys, looking out the window, practicing different skills (sitting up, rolling over, etc.), listening to music, bouncing in the jumper, and just hanging out.  This playtime doesn't really have a time limit; Hannah decides when it's over.  But it's usually at least 30 minutes or so.  One or two days a week I use this morning playtime to run errands.  After we get dressed, we head out to go grocery shopping or to meet a friend for lunch.  I can't stay in the house all day every day...I'd go crazy!
• At some point during the morning, Hannah starts to get fussy, so I try to let her take a cat nap.  I don't put her in her crib for this nap, I just let her fall asleep where ever we are (in her bouncy while I'm showering, on our bed while I'm getting dressed, in the playroom while we are playing, in her car seat while we are out and about, or even in my arms.)  There is no schedule with this nap (imagine that...me without a schedule!)  Ultimately I'd like her to stay up during this time so that she is good and tired for her afternoon nap, but I certainly don't force her to stay awake.
• Depending on what time it is after all that is done, we will sometimes go on a short walk around the neighborhood before her next feeding (which is at 1:30pm).  All depends on how our morning has unfolded.
• Between 1 and 2pm I feed Hannah again (I aim for 1:30pm).  Right after this feeding, she goes down for her long afternoon nap (2-3 hours).  This is when I do whatever it is I want to do (clean, prepare dinner, blog, check email, rest, eat lunch, finally feed Bubbles, finally take Bubbles out....opps!)
• Hannah wakes up somewhere between 4:30 and 5pm.  I try to push her feeding until 5:30pm, so if she wakes up before that, we play for a few minutes.  I feed her and then usually put her in her exersaucer in the kitchen while I work on dinner.  Then it's just the waiting game for daddy to come home from work....our favorite part of the day! :-)

So that's our day in a nutshell.  I can't wait to see how this all changes as Hannah grows up.  It will be fun to look back on how different things are as she gets more mobile and interactive.

Here is video of Hannah from the other morning.  I just loves those laughs!!  Enjoy! :-)
Click here to see the video