Almost a year ago exactly, I wrote a post sharing a day in our life when Henry was just 4.5 months old. I really enjoy reading these types of posts from other bloggers because I like to see how other moms (especially my fellow stay at home mamas!) structure their schedules with little ones. And since I have a feeling that our days are going look significantly different at this time next year when we’ve got two under three, I thought it would be fun to share what our day looks like right now with just one 🙂
To be honest, I feel like things are fairly easy and low-stress right now. Like I said, I’m probably going to come back and read this post down the road and laugh once we’re in a more chaotic season of life, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying this stage! And I realize I have things pretty good right now; I’m able to stay home full-time with Henry which is what I want, and my husband works from home so he’s around a lot to help, which is really nice. I definitely don’t take our situation for granted!
Currently, our days tend to follow the same loose structure, but there’s also quite a bit of variance to the activities that fill our time. I was just going to share one day, but I thought that wouldn’t necessarily be the best representation of an “average” day since each one is different. So I decided to go ahead and share two days (Monday and yesterday) to give a better idea of what our life looks like at this point in time. This post is way too long and unnecessarily detailed because, after all it’s me and I honestly don’t know how to write a blog post any other way 🙂
(I jotted these notes down in my phone with the times over the past two days, just FYI)
Monday 4/25
8:18am – I wake up after a night of restless sleep thanks to crazy pregnancy dreams, but thankfully Henry is still asleep! Cam just got out of bed, we are not super early risers around here clearly 🙂 I spend a few minutes catching up on social media on my phone before getting out of bed.
8:30am
– Get out of bed, and I strip our sheets to throw them in the wash. Cam
is already making breakfast and coffee, so I put in my contacts and then go downstairs and put the sheets in the washer (and look in
the dryer and realize there is a load of clean towels in there from I
don’t know when, whoops).
– Get out of bed, and I strip our sheets to throw them in the wash. Cam
is already making breakfast and coffee, so I put in my contacts and then go downstairs and put the sheets in the washer (and look in
the dryer and realize there is a load of clean towels in there from I
don’t know when, whoops).
8:40am – I finally hear
Henry stirring on the monitor, but he’s just giggling to himself in his crib. So I talk to Cam about the day before he starts working and then I call the vet to make an appointment for Lola for later that afternoon because I realized she’s out of flea meds and overdue for a vaccine.
Henry stirring on the monitor, but he’s just giggling to himself in his crib. So I talk to Cam about the day before he starts working and then I call the vet to make an appointment for Lola for later that afternoon because I realized she’s out of flea meds and overdue for a vaccine.
8:53am – Cam is in his office getting ready for his 9
am call, so I go up to get Henry. I change him and get him dressed, and then get myself dressed. Monday mornings are usually when I go grocery shopping, but since we took a big Costco trip this weekend, we’re going on a hike today instead. I have no idea what to wear because it’s kind of cool and looks like it’s going to rain, but I don’t want to overdress because it’s supposed to be in the 60s. Spoiler alert, I end up wearing yoga pants. Henry sits and reads his books in his room while I hang up some clothes, and then we head downstairs.
am call, so I go up to get Henry. I change him and get him dressed, and then get myself dressed. Monday mornings are usually when I go grocery shopping, but since we took a big Costco trip this weekend, we’re going on a hike today instead. I have no idea what to wear because it’s kind of cool and looks like it’s going to rain, but I don’t want to overdress because it’s supposed to be in the 60s. Spoiler alert, I end up wearing yoga pants. Henry sits and reads his books in his room while I hang up some clothes, and then we head downstairs.
9:15am – Henry and I eat breakfast – I have the eggs and bacon Cam made me, along with some grapes and coffee, while Henry eats a banana, some sweet potato pancakes, and drinks his milk. I call to make a reservation for Lola at the dog boarding place for an upcoming trip and then I quickly catch up on a few blogs on my phone. (I try not to have my phone at the table, but it’s hard!)
9:45am – Cam is off his call and so he comes out to say good morning to Henry and we’re talking and then I realize what time it is. Henry and I are supposed to leave by 10am and I’m not even close to ready. So I scramble and do the mad dash to get out the door that I do way too often – I make Henry a PB&J to bring with us and pack a bunch of his other snacks and water, I get myself ready (I only have time for the basics – brush teeth, wash face/moisturize, deodorant, top knot) and toss Henry’s food in my backpack. I get on Henry’s shoes and coat, slip on my rain boots, and hustle out the door.
10:10am – We finally leave the house, 10 minutes after we’re supposed to, and of course there is construction and traffic. I call my mom on the drive and manage to throw on some mascara and lip gloss on the way that I keep in my console for mornings like this. We’re going to a nature area for a Hike It Baby hike, but I’ve never been to this particular place and didn’t realize there’s super limited parking, making us even later. Awesome.
10:45am – The good thing about going to an activity with a bunch of moms and
toddlers is that other people are usually running behind too and I end up parking
by another mama that I know who is also late for this 10:30am hike. We missed the
welcome circle and the rest of the group is already on the trail, but it doesn’t take us long to catch up to everyone since they’re moving at toddler pace. And once we’re on the trail, all the rushing around is forgotten and it’s much more relaxing 🙂 It’s great to be outside and the wildflowers are beautiful right now. Love when we can start our weeks with a hike!
toddlers is that other people are usually running behind too and I end up parking
by another mama that I know who is also late for this 10:30am hike. We missed the
welcome circle and the rest of the group is already on the trail, but it doesn’t take us long to catch up to everyone since they’re moving at toddler pace. And once we’re on the trail, all the rushing around is forgotten and it’s much more relaxing 🙂 It’s great to be outside and the wildflowers are beautiful right now. Love when we can start our weeks with a hike!
12pm – Our hike finishes about 11:45 and it happens to be right near this kids’ hair salon I’ve been wanting to take Henry to. I end up calling them and they have an opening, so we scoot over there to get Henry a much needed haircut. I posted about it on Instagram, but the place was super cute, the stylist was great, and Henry did really well. Plus, his hair looks so adorable!
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| Also I basically slacked on taking pictures the rest of the day… |
12:40pm – Henry’s haircut done, we drive home, and I call my mom back since I had to cut her off earlier when I got to our hike. Also, pregnancy makes me hungry more often, so I eat a bunch of trail mix on the drive home.
1:15pm – Get home, feed Henry yogurt since he already ate snacks on the hike/in the car, and ate his entire sandwich during his haircut. I catch up with Cam a little bit, and then put Henry down for a nap.
1:40pm – Henry is down, so I sit down to catch up on some texts for a bit. I chat with Cam about the rest of the day, and then he has to leave to run an errand before a work event later on in the day.
2:15pm
– I switch over laundry from this morning, start
a new load, and make myself lunch. Henry is still wide awake in his crib, but he’s not crying or upset, so I figure he’ll fall asleep eventually.
– I switch over laundry from this morning, start
a new load, and make myself lunch. Henry is still wide awake in his crib, but he’s not crying or upset, so I figure he’ll fall asleep eventually.
2:35pm – I sit down to eat and turn on an episode of SATC, my guilty pleasure 🙂
2:45pm – Henry is finally asleep after being wide awake in his crib for an hour.
3:05pm – I could hypothetically get up and be productive, but Henry is asleep, Cam is gone and I’m tired and playing the preggo card. I start another episode of SATC, and call to switch Lola’s afternoon vet appointment so that I won’t have to wake Henry up from his nap since he fell asleep so late.
3:35pm – I’m in SATC binge mode now, so I start another episode since Henry is still asleep. Definitely enjoying the fact that I can lay on the couch alone and watch TV because I have a feeling that’s probably not going to be as easy to do after October.
4:0pm – Henry is still asleep, but I decide to turn off TV and plan to get some things done before he wakes up, but then I start texting with my sister and time gets away from me.
4:45pm – Henry is awake (and not in the best mood from the sound of the monitor) so I go upstairs to get him. He doesn’t want his diaper changed (which is always fun when it’s dirty and needs to be changed) but then we sit up in his room for awhile and read books like we always do after his nap.
5:10pm
– We come down stairs, and Henry plays in his play area while I switch over the laundry and start another load. Henry’s in a mood and so I get him a snack, but he gets even more upset because apparently strawberries are not what he wanted for a snack. I just let him get it out of his system and make myself some avocado toast. When he sees I’m not phased by his outburst, he eventually calms down, eats all of his strawberries, and then has some cheese. Toddlers man! I load the dishwasher and fold a load of laundry while Henry plays. Cam calls to say that he’s on his way home from his work thing, which is awesome because that means I don’t have to take Henry to the vet with me. He gets home, I take the dog and run out the door, and Henry gets some playtime with his Dada.
– We come down stairs, and Henry plays in his play area while I switch over the laundry and start another load. Henry’s in a mood and so I get him a snack, but he gets even more upset because apparently strawberries are not what he wanted for a snack. I just let him get it out of his system and make myself some avocado toast. When he sees I’m not phased by his outburst, he eventually calms down, eats all of his strawberries, and then has some cheese. Toddlers man! I load the dishwasher and fold a load of laundry while Henry plays. Cam calls to say that he’s on his way home from his work thing, which is awesome because that means I don’t have to take Henry to the vet with me. He gets home, I take the dog and run out the door, and Henry gets some playtime with his Dada.
6:20pm – I get to Lola’s appointment on time (thank goodness our vet is close!) and they tell me she’s super healthy which is awesome, but I after the exam, vaccines, and her flea meds, it still ends up being a relatively expensive visit. She’s worth it, but man, it’s annoying.
6:45pm – I leave the vet and swing by the grocery store to pick up bananas and a few other little things we didn’t get at Costco. It’s definitely a lot quicker grocery shopping solo!
7:25pm – I get home and feed Henry some dinner while Cam goes outside and does some quick yard work. Normally, we’d eat dinner as a family but this week is a little different since Cam has a few work commitments and we’re getting ready to go out of town. I’m still full from my avocado toast, so I tell myself that I’m going to make myself some dinner after I put Henry down
8:05pm – It’s bath night for Henry (he only gets a bath every other night/every third night or so, otherwise, his skin seems to get dry, plus as cute as he looks in the tub, it’s one more thing to do at the end of the day and ain’t nobody got time for that. Or at least I don’t…ha!) and it’s my turn to give him a bath, so I get that done and then brush his teeth. Cam comes in from outside, and we all go upstairs. He does the rest of Henry’s bedtime routine (aka diaper change, pajamas, sleep sack, and reading him a few books) while I finally put the clean sheets/duvet cover back on our bed.
8:45pm – We both head back downstairs, and Cam tidies up the family room/kitchen (which is relatively neat today) while I switch over the laundry and put in load #4 of the day. We try to spend time at the end of each night after Henry’s in bed quickly picking up to get the house back in order before we sit down to relax and it helps keep things from getting too messy 🙂
9:00pm – I’m still not very hungry, so I go ahead and get in the shower. I love taking a long shower when I don’t have to rush and be somewhere so I enjoy every minute!
9:45pm – Cam is watching a show I’m not a huge fan of, so I eat the cupcake he brought home for me and work on my homework for my women’s Bible study the following day.
10:20pm – I join Cam on the couch to watch some HGTV, and we get annoyed over how ridiculous the people on Tiny House Hunters are. Once that’s over, we turn on an episode of Chopped, when we really should just get in bed…
11pm – I fall asleep on the couch, which is such a bad habit, but man, it feels so good 🙂
12:30am – Cam nodded off at some point too, so he wakes me up so we can actually get in bed. I get ready for bed, and then I remember I need to switch over the laundry. So annoying, but I do it anyway. Of course this wakes me up, and I am not tired when I actually get in bed. Whoops. I probably fall asleep around 1am after scrolling through social media for a bit, even though that’s an exceptionally terrible way to make yourself sleepy.
Tuesday 4/26
7:42am – Henry crying on the monitor wakes me up about 30 seconds before my alarm goes off (and yes, I weirdly set my alarm to really random times) and I realize I have a pounding headache. Which I’m guessing is caused by a combination of eating a cupcake for dinner and scrolling through Instagram after midnight. Way to go Jane, way to go
7:54am – Henry calmed down after his initial wake up so I stay in bed for a few more minutes, but then head downstairs, drink some water and take some Advil (which my midwife said is ok at this point in pregnancy), and then go back upstairs to get myself dressed and get Henry ready for the day.
8:15am – Henry and I are both dressed, so I carry him downstairs but his breath smells so horrible (he had salmon cake for dinner last night) that I instantly feel sick. I quickly stick him in his play area and go in the bathroom and start throwing up. Awesome. (Sorry if that’s TMI, ha) Sometimes I get so focused on Henry and doing other things that I almost forget I’m pregnant, but then things like this remind me! But on the upside, my head feels way better, so I brush my teeth and start getting ready for the day. Cam makes breakfast (bless him) and Henry plays in his play area in the kitchen.
8:35am – We all eat breakfast, and I stay off my phone to keep my headache from getting any worse.
8:55am – I start to scramble to get out door, so Cam helps out and puts on Henry’s shoes and coat, and loads him in his car seat while I finish getting ready and packing up the diaper bag for the day.
9:08am – Henry and I leave the house, surprisingly not late, and I talk to my sister on my drive.
9:30am – Get to church for my weekly women’s Bible study, drop Henry off at the nursery, and get some coffee (I love that they always have coffee ready because it’s nice to have it while I can actually drink it uninterrupted and enjoy it!) The women’s pastor gives a talk on today’s lesson to the larger group, and then we break out into our small groups to go over our homework from that week. There is a really wide range of ages in this Bible study from moms in their 20’s with young kids to women in their upper 70’s, and I really enjoy all the sweet ladies in my group!
11:45am – Pick Henry up from the nursery, which he loves and the ladies that work in his room every week are so good with him! We head out to the jewelers to go pick up my ring that’s there being cleaned, but luckily it doesn’t take long and then we’re on our way home!
12:40pm – Get home, eat lunch, and then catch up with Cam after his lunchtime class at the gym. Henry goes down for a nap around 1:30 and I get a few quick things done around the house.
1:45pm – Henry is fast asleep (which I’m thankful for because he has been pulling this whole stay awake in his crib shenanigans lately) and I leave for my 2pm hair appointment. One of the nicest parts about Cam working from home is that I can leave when Henry naps to get things done, and today I spend an hour and a half getting my hair cut and then running a quick errand.
3:35pm
– I get home from the salon, Henry is still asleep, Cam is working so I decide to take the opportunity to relax
before Henry wakes up and turn on SATC and catch up on social media while eating some leftover Easter candy. Solid life choices.
5pm – Henry is finally awake (after a nice long nap!) and so I go up to his room and read books like we usually do when he wakes up. Boy loves his books!
5:30pm – We come downstairs, snack on some goldfish, attempt to start packing for our upcoming trip, but end up FaceTiming with my parents for awhile instead. Cam had some dinner plans tonight, so Henry and I keep busy playing with his toys in the family room and just being silly.
7:30pm
– It’s dinner time for Henry and I know I should eat something too, but nothing sounds appetizing. Thankfully, I haven’t been feeling sick this pregnancy, it’s just that healthy foods like meat and veggies don’t really sound appealing. Meh. So I tidy up the family room a little while Henry eats his dinner (a turkey quesadilla and a yogurt) and then Cam gets home.
– It’s dinner time for Henry and I know I should eat something too, but nothing sounds appetizing. Thankfully, I haven’t been feeling sick this pregnancy, it’s just that healthy foods like meat and veggies don’t really sound appealing. Meh. So I tidy up the family room a little while Henry eats his dinner (a turkey quesadilla and a yogurt) and then Cam gets home.
8:30pm – It’s time for Henry to
go to bed, and since Cam was gone this evening, he does his bedtime routine (sans bath tonight) which Henry loves because I’m pretty sure that he reads him more books than I do before bed, ha! I put on my PJs on and get some of the clothes
out of my closet I want to take on our trip because I’m planning on packing some more tonight.
go to bed, and since Cam was gone this evening, he does his bedtime routine (sans bath tonight) which Henry loves because I’m pretty sure that he reads him more books than I do before bed, ha! I put on my PJs on and get some of the clothes
out of my closet I want to take on our trip because I’m planning on packing some more tonight.
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| I caved and downloaded Snapchat and I honestly hate it and I will probably never post because I think it’s so dumb. I literally just downloaded so I could to things like this with Henry and he’s obsessed with this dog filter. LOL. |
8:45pm – Henry is in in bed so I eat some dinner (kale salad and a turkey quesadilla) while Cam watches a show and I think about doing some packing.
9:30pm – I abandon the idea of actually doing any packing tonight. Cam and I sit on the couch, watch the new Mindy Project, and eat some Talenti gelato (so good). Then I decide to get out my computer to write this post, which I assure Cam will only take like 20 minutes. He knows that I’m full of it, and eventually goes to bed. I suddenly don’t feel tired and enjoy just having some time with the house all quiet to type up a blog post, even if I should be going to bed. Before Henry was born, I used to stay up sometimes and blog; being a night owl, I really enjoyed having time to myself to sit and write and enjoy the quiet. Now that I’m a mom, I find that I still value this time, and it’s worth it to me to lose out on a few hours of sleep. I definitely don’t do this as frequently now since I do need to sleep sometimes (hence why I don’t blog as much as I used to) but it’s nice to be able to enjoy the quiet of the night and just write, even if this post only really matters to me and I get to bed way too late 🙂
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So there you have it, two back to back days in our life right now!
Just reading through this post, it’s obvious there are some things I could do differently (aka work on my blog when Henry’s napping instead of watching trashy TV) but oh well. And I realize I do stay up kind of late and I know I could easily get more sleep, but most mornings I’m not up before 8am, so I usually get 7-8+ hours of sleep, which I feel like is not too bad? Obviously if I had a job where I had to be up early or a baby who was an early riser, I’d have to adjust my schedule, but right now the schedule Henry is on works well for us so we’re just going to go with it as long as we can 🙂
Also, most weeks, Cam would go to the gym after work (a few of the days at least), I’d cook dinner a few days (and we’d have leftovers the other nights), and then we’d eat as a family when he gets home from the gym. This week was a little different since he had work stuff in the evening, but then again, there are often weeks where I’ll have blog events or plans with friends in the evening and so it’s not all that abnormal for one of us to have plans at night. And depending on how much we’ve got going on, I don’t always lay around and watch TV in the middle of the day; but if I have the time, I figure I’m pregnant so why not relax a little? And I’m totally soaking in this time to rest and definitely don’t take it for granted! I’m almost done with working my way through all the seasons of SATC (I’m on season 5 now) and once I’m done, I’m telling myself I’m going to read while Henry naps instead 🙂
(Unless I get sucked into a new show…ha)
Our other days seemed to get filled with different things – play dates with friends, date nights, going to the mom’s group I’m a part of, midwife/pediatrician appointments, trips to the children’s museum/science museum, playing at the park, meal planning/going grocery shopping, going on walks, and of course, cleaning (some of that will need to happen today actually…whomp whomp). One thing I haven’t made as much of a part of my schedule lately is time for me to workout, but I’m looking forward to getting back to prenatal yoga soon. Plus, I feel like I’m a lot less sedentary overall than I was when I was working on the computer Mon-Fri. Schlepping Henry (who definitely weighs over 25 lbs now) around and chasing him all over the place is definitely a workout in itself!
Having Cam working from home has been a little bit of an adjustment for both of us over the past few months and it hasn’t always been easy (especially in a house with one bathroom – it never fails that he’s ALWAYS in there when I need to use it – blergh!) but overall, it’s awesome to have him home. It’s super nice to be able to go out and do things while Henry naps, but it’s also just great to have him around during the day and Henry loves it. Plus, even though he’s working, because we’re together so much of the day, it makes it easier for each of us to feel like we can go out in the evenings and do things individually without feeling like we haven’t seen the other person all day.
Finally, it always seems like we’re always either packing for or unpacking from a trip, and if not, then we’re usually planning where we’re going to go next. But that’s what works for us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. So that’s pretty much life in a nutshell these days! Henry is at such a fun age right now, and so we’re really just try to enjoy every minute of this phase 🙂
