A Typical Day
Me and the baby have fallen into a pretty good routine. Here’s what it looks like:
6:00 AM: Baby wakes up, but falls asleep again right after nursing and a diaper change. Sam generally gets up at 6:30, so we mumble our benedictions as I’m climbing back into bed and he’s climbing out of it.
9:00 AM: Baby wakes up for realz. He’s generally all smiles in the morning, so even if I start by moaning “ten more minutes, Baby,” we’re generally both in a good mood shortly after I fully open my eyes. It’s hard to be grumpy when you’ve got a smiling baby cooing at you.
9:00-10:00 AM: After changing him and nursing him I usually put him down on his playmat for a bit, while I fix myself a cup of coffee and check my e-mail.
10:00-11:00 AM: We chill. Usually this time is spent with Robin on my lap while I surf Teh Intarwebs.
11:00-11:30 AM: Robin lets me know when it’s time for him to be changed and nursed again. Sometimes he goes right to sleep after this nursing, and sometimes he’ll stay up for a while after, but he gets progressively fussier until it becomes clear that it’s time for his morning nap.
12:00-1:00 PM: While Robin’s sleeping, I have lunch, get dressed, and pick the house up a bit. This is also my best opportunity to get some writing done.
1:00-2:00 PM: As soon as he wakes up from his nap, Robin gets changed and nursed. The after-nap window is also a good time for doing tasks with the baby, like giving him a bath. Today I’m going to try the new exercise video I bought, Dance Baby Dance! The idea is that it’s all cardio exercises you can do while holding your baby. Supposedly they really enjoy it, and the clever thing about it is that if you stick with it, your exercise routine gradually gets more challenging as your baby gets heavier. I got the strength-training “Baby Reps” video too. I’ll report back here after I try them out.
2:00-4:00 PM: Errand time. I figure out what’s for dinner, and put the baby in his sling for a trip to the grocery store. We also swing by the bank/post office/etc. as needed. The baby really likes walking around in his sling; in fact, he gets cranky on the days he doesn’t get to go out. Invariably at least three people stop me on the street to make a fuss over him. It’s really nice. I feel a little bit like a queen, benevolently receiving the adulation of strangers. I don’t know if this happens to all new moms, or if it’s just that there are so few babies in San Francisco?
4:00-4:30 PM: Back from the store, Robin gets changed and nursed again.
4:30-6:00 PM: Robin hangs out in his chair (actually the car seat, but it makes a good baby-carrier too) while I make dinner. Generally he gets fed up with the chair after about twenty minutes, so the next hour is spent alternating between meal-prep work and soothing-the-cranky-baby work.
6:00-9:00 PM: Somewhere in here there will be another changing and nursing period, the exact timing of which is dictated by Robin. He usually also takes an evening nap for about an hour. I generally spend this time in front of the computer, moving the baby around from my lap to the playmat to the chair in an effort to keep him amused and happy. I usually also read to him from at least one of his baby board books, because they say it’s never too early.
9:15 PM: Daddy’s home! We are all very excited. Generally I hold on to Robin while Sam has a chance to settle in and eat his dinner, and then he’ll take over the baby-minding so I can goof off for a bit.
10:00-12:00 PM: Often we’ll watch a video before bed. Robin usually drops off for the night around ten-thirty, after another changing and feeding.
1:30 AM: Robin almost always wakes up sometime in the middle of the night to be fed and changed, but occasionally he’ll sleep through this one.
I’m writing this during Robin’s morning nap, which according to the schedule will soon be over, so. That’s what an average day looks like—not too strenuous, really. If I could get better about using the nap times to get some writing done, I’d be completely happy with myself.
