A Day in the Life

I was reading through a new mom's blog the other day and she had detailed what a day in her life with a 3.5 month old looked like.  I thought it was kind of a fun idea, and gives a little glimpse of what life looks like over in Thathouse until I start back at work again.

24 hours with a 4.5 month old.

3:30am - Thatbaby wakes up for a bite to eat.  I use this time to read blogs on google reader (which is why many of you probably see my comments dated at odd hours), and snack on some cherry tomatoes.

6:45am - Thatbaby wakes up for the day.  He eats his breakfast and we do our first diaper change.  While he eats, Thatboy gets ready for work and brings his breakfast into the nursery to join us.

Someone has bed-head

 During the day, feedings take forever because Thatbaby likes to chatter.  He takes frequent breaks to tell me all about how his night went.  The first meal he is also distracted by Thatboy.  Subsequent meals he is distracted by the dog, his reflection, a lamp, a computer, the dresser, his bed, a shadow.......

7:35am - My turn for breakfast!  During meal times Thatbaby sits at the table with me in his highchair.  I want him to get used to the idea of what meal times are since we'll potentially be starting solids in a little over a month.  This morning he plays with his feet while I munch on a Luna bar, a blood orange, and fill him in on what we're doing for the day.

7:45am - Thatbaby does some tummy time on his playmat while I put up the laundry.

Thatbaby eating one of his friends.  Probably a reason why he doesn't have very many human friends.

8:30am - Thatbaby takes a nap.  Usually this is his long nap for the day, so I get in a quick On Demand workout, shower, do my hair, get dressed, and so on.  However, yesterday I had just stepped into the shower after my workout when Thatdog started barking like a madman.  Sure enough, moments later I heard Thatbaby through the monitor.

9:09am - Rock Thatbaby back to sleep.  (This entails sitting in the glider and singing him a lullaby.  This time it was James Taylor's Sweet Baby James)

9:15am - Thatbaby is back to sleep.  I get dressed and do my hair and makeup.  I backup my ipod Nano so I can send it in for the recall.

10:04am - Thatbaby's second meal of the day.  Then we do another diaper change and he gets dressed for the day.

Ready to hit the road!

10:49am - Errand time!  I have a bunch of stores I have to hit up - Staples, Ulta, Trader Joes, the UPS store, the Supermarket.  Luckily for me, Thatbaby does some really good sleeping in his carrier while I run errands.

Nap #2 is a "fieldtrip nap"

12:49pm - We're back home and Thatbaby is ready to eat again.  And another diaper change.

1:28pm - Lunch for me.  Thatbaby plays in his high chair while I have some paneer tikka masala I picked up at Trader Joes.

1:51pm - More tummy time for Thatbaby while I throw the laundry in the dryer.  He's still not anxious to roll over, but I try to coax him with the promise of my plastic straw in my water cup.  He loooooves that plastic straw.  And yet, he stays firmly planted on his stomach.

2:10pm - Thatbaby's afternoon nap.  While he naps I make Thatboy's lunch for the next day and our dinner.  I wash all the dishes and catch up on last week's Private Practice.  (We are woefully behind on our DVR).

Thatboy's lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich, carrots and bell peppers, grapes, biscotti, and gummy bears

Our dinner simmering away on the stove

4:00pm - Thatbaby wakes up from his nap and eats again.  I change his diaper and bundle him up in his warm clothes.  I wrap him in his moby and then I bundle me up in my warm clothes because the rain?  She is a comin' down.

5:00pm - Time to walk Thatdog!

5:15pm - Tummy time for Thatbaby while I fold the laundry.  Because he does such a great job with his tummy time, this last activity period of the day is where I throw in his favorite activities.  Which is his new favorite game.  It's modeled after those crane games in arcades.  Basically Thatbaby stands up while I help support him.  Then he squats down, picks up one of his toys, stands up, and drops it.  Then the whole thing begins again.  And again.  And again.  Sometimes the toys make it into his mouth.  Sometimes he can't quite get the toy up - which is the case with his large, heavy toys.  These variations add to the fun of the game.

What?  Your games are more exciting?

5:45pm - Thatboy arrives home from work.  Just in time to play the crane game with Thatbaby's stacking cups.

6:00pm - The boys head to the bath and I head to the gym!

Rub a dub dub - Thatbaby in a tub

6:40pm - Home from the gym, dinner is ready to go, Thatboy is putting the baby to bed.  Looks like it's just me, the computer, and a nice glass of wine. 

It's Me Time!

 7:00pm - Dinner with Thatboy. We start trying to make a dent in our DVR list.

 

Lentils and Potatoes with Curry (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Tenth Anniversary Edition)

1 cup red lentils, washed and picked over

3 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 red potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 Tbsp butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the lentils, water, and curry powder in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils start to absorb the water a bit, about 15 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes and cover the pan completely.  Cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.  
3. Stir, and add butter. Cover and continue cooking until the lentils are soft and beginning to turn to mush and the potatoes are tender at the center, another 5 to 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

8:30pm - Pump and wash bottles/pump parts.

10:00pm - Bedtime!