Hellobee

I did one of these when I was pregnant, and it’s funny to look back at how much time I had to myself back then. Now I’m only alone when I’m in the shower, and even then I’m constantly thinking about baby TTT and how he’s doing. Here’s a glimpse into a typical weekday on maternity leave with a newborn.

2:30am – Liam wakes up to eat. He doesn’t cry; he just roots and grunts and that’s enough to wake me up. I feed him sitting up in bed usually, though sometimes I feed him lying down. I don’t change his diaper in the middle of the night anymore because I’m trying to minimize activity to encourage longer stretches of sleep.

6:00am – Time to eat again!

I change his diaper and put him down to cuddle with dad (awake) while I eat and do some laundry.

Then, I feed him while lying down and we both go to sleep while my husband goes to work.

11:00am – Liam eats and I put him down in his pack n play while I get dressed.

Then, I change his diaper and get him dressed and put him on his tummy in his crib for a little exercise.

I do laundry and talk to him while he works on his head control.

1:30pm – I change him and feed him and we head out for our outing of the day. I like to get out of the house at least once a day so we both don’t go crazy. He usually likes the car, so it gives me a little break. We go to the Starbucks drive thru and he’s asleep by the time we get there. I get a frappuccino and a sandwich to eat later.

Then, we go to the ATM drive thru (drive thrus are a big part of my life now) because I need cash for my therapy appointment. I’m excited to go because it’s my first time back since having the baby.

2:30pm – I feed him in the back seat of the car while I eat my sandwich and play on my phone. I had to leave the car running because it was really hot outside and we needed the AC. Then, I change his diaper in the very back and put him in the moby.

I had a huge internal debate about whether I should put him in the moby or stroller. Ultimately, the moby didn’t work and made us both really hot and sweaty. I ended up nursing him through most of my therapy session, which was a little awkward at first, but my therapist was really cool about it so it ended up being fine. He cried most of the way home.

4:30pm – We get home, I change him and feed him, then I try putting him in the moby so I can get some stuff done around the house. He wasn’t having it, though, so I nursed some more and tried swaddling him and putting him in his crib.

That didn’t work either, so I tried the moby again with the pacifier and he finally fell asleep.

I was able to clean a bit and do some dishes before he was done.

6:30pm – I feed him and Mr. TTT gets home and changes him. I put him in the moby again (starting to really love it – it took some time to get used to it, but now I use it at least once a day) and go outside while Mr. TTT barbecues and the dogs play.

8:00pm – We eat, but about halfway through my meal, the baby wakes up hungry, so Mr. TTT cuts up my food so I can nurse while eating.

9:00pm – Liam takes a bath with daddy – one of their favorite bonding activities – and I shower.

I’ve always preferred to shower at night, so it works out with my husband being home to watch the baby.

9:30pm – I swaddle the baby and feed him in bed while watching my favorite show – Friends! For some reason, since I got pregnant, I cannot get enough Friends reruns. It’s kind of a joke now because I watch it so often.

The baby sleeps until about 12:00am and a new day begins!

I didn’t pump this day because it’s been really hard for me to find time to do it, but I’m working on it! The last couple of weeks I really feel like I’m getting the hang of things. Baby TTT is cuter every day and taking care of him is easier and easier the more we get to know each other.