I have been asked on multiple occasions now about our daily routine, so I figured I would lay it all out for you. I am knocking on wood as I write this, because I am so VERY, VERY fortunate that it has worked out this way, and naturally at that. Audrey designed this schedule herself, which has made for a happy (and well-rested) family.
7:30 - Madison and I get up for the morning. I shower, do my hair, makeup, get dressed, make the bed, eat breakfast - etc. You know, the things that usually take every new mom until the early afternoon to accomplish.
8:30 - Audrey wakes up on her own, happy, smiley, and hungry.
9:00 - I pack the now full and still happy baby into the stroller, bjorn or carseat and we either walk or drive Maddy to school (depending on the weather).
9:15 - Audrey and I are home for some play time. She likes to wiggle on her play mat, pull my hair, stare at her toys, coo at my silly faces...and that's about it.
10:30 - Already tired again and ready for a nap.
10:50 - Just kidding. I only wanted a quick snooze. Now play with me some more. Most mornings we take a bath at this point because it's entertaining and she has no doubt spit up on herself a time or two.
Noon - Okay, I'll take a real nap now. While Audrey naps, I usually do household chores, eat lunch or blog. Rarely can I do all three in the amount of time she naps. Something about her will clue in that I'm trying to be productive and then she'll wake up.
2:00 - Up for more play time, and often a bit fussy about it. This usually ends up being Mommy-carry-me time, and I try to get things done around the house with baby in tow. Everything takes twice as long, but we get at least one chore accomplished together everyday.
3:15 - It's time to pack up and go get Maddy, and whatever method we choose (carseat, carrier or stroller), she almost always falls asleep in. When we come home I try to just leave her in the seat, carrier or stroller so that she will rest well. If she's awake at this point, then we take a nap too late in the evening and that spells trouble for bedtime. Madison gets her homework done, plays with the neighborhood kids or hangs out with mom while the baby is asleep.
5:30 - Daddy is home and baby wakes up from her nap. We have dinner, more play, the occasional errand and we do our best to keep Audrey awake for her longest stretch of the day. Sometimes that means keeping her awake against her will, but she is doing this without hesitation these days.
8:00 - Madison goes to bed.
9:30 - Showing signs of exhaustion, we swaddle Audrey, she nurses one last time before bed and I rock her to sleep. The rocking is rarely necessary. Most of the time I can just feed her and lay her down in her crib where she'll fall asleep on her own. A "difficult" night would be a night when we have to go into her room two to three times to put her pacifier back in her mouth before she falls asleep for good. Once she is down for the count, I make Maddy's lunch for the next day, tidy up and get myself ready for bed.
10:30 - Sleepy time for Mom and Dad.
4-6am - Audrey will wake up once somewhere in this window, I'll nurse her in her rocking chair and put her right back in her crib where she falls back asleep almost immediately. I go right back to bed, and 99% of the time Jim doesn't even realize I have gotten up. It's so quick and painless, that I don't even feel like it disrupts my sleep.
****REPEAT****
Isn't that wonderful!?!?! I get almost NINE hours of sleep every night! Sure, I have to wake up once in there, but not for more than 20 minutes. Now that I've said all of this, perhaps I'll have to eat my words.... But God willing, we'll stick to this schedule for a few months because it is working for Audrey and it's working for me!
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