Hellobee

I just reread my day in the life post from when Liam was a newborn, and I teared up looking at the pictures from him at only six weeks old! Our lives are so different now and I expect things to just keep changing as he grows. The biggest difference is that now I’m back to work, so here is a typical weekday for our family.

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

5:30am: I wake up, feed the dogs, and pump. I used to only pump in the morning if Liam slept in a bit, but I started running low on milk, so now I set my alarm and make sure to do it every single morning. Our puggle is food obsessed, so as soon as my alarm goes off, she is whining to be fed, which actually helps me get up and not snooze because I don’t want her to wake up the baby.

6:15-6:30am: Today Liam sleeps a little later than usual, so I’m able to lay back down after I pump and snooze a bit.

6:30am: Liam’s up, I nurse him laying down in bed. Then I change his diaper, but leave him in his pajamas because it’s cool in the mornings.

7:00am: I get dressed, pack my lunch and pump bag, and Liam plays with Mr. TTT.

7:20am: I nurse him on the other side to top him off before I leave.

Me with my boy before work; Liam and his nanny looking outside.

7:30am: Our nanny arrives. She comes Tuesday through Friday and my mom babysits on Mondays. The days when my mom watches him are harder because I have to pack up all of Liam’s stuff and take him to her house, but she lives close by and her house is on my way to work, so it could be worse. I do feel very lucky that we have a nanny we know and trust (she is my stepsister’s aunt) to take care of Liam at our home four days a week. After I talk to the nanny for a minute, I leave for work and eat breakfast in the car. It only takes me about 10 minutes to get there. Mr. TTT leaves a few minutes later.

8:00-10:15am: I teach my first two classes.
10:20am: I pump and eat a snack while checking my phone (email, social media, texts, etc).
10:40am-12:40pm: I have my conference period where I grade papers and plan lessons, then I teach another class.
12:45pm: I pump, eat lunch and watch a webinar on adjusting babies’ sleep schedules for daylight savings time by Nancy Holtzman of ISIS Parenting.

Clockwise from top left: the view from my desk at work; pumping – I always wear a cover even though I pump in my classroom with the door locked because adults on campus have keys and sometimes come in without knocking; webinar on preparing baby for the time change; grades – the bane of my existence.

1:15-3:15pm: I teach my last two classes.
3:20pm: The school day is over, but the traffic getting out of the parking lot is so bad that I usually pump again before I leave.
3:45pm: I leave work.
4:00pm: I’m home! The nanny leaves and I nurse Liam right away, then we play.

Liam is almost crawling! He loves his dogs, but sometimes they get a little too excited and need to be put on time out.

I also look over the nanny’s notes for the day. She writes down what times he eats and sleeps, which is nice so I can see patterns develop. Here is what Liam’s schedule looked like today:

8:40am: bottle
9:00-10:35am: nap
11:00am: bottle
11:20am: oatmeal, banana, butternut squash
12:40am: bottle
2:00am: bottle
2:20-3:45am: nap

Each bottle I leave is about 3 ounces. Today he napped very well, but usually his naps are shorter and sometimes he only naps once during the day, then takes a short snooze with me when I get home. On Mondays when he is with my mom, he barely naps at all, but she is working on that.

4:30pm: Liam has a snack – we tried one of those pouches with organic purée in them today. This one was peas, spinach, and pears.
4:45pm: I change his diaper and onesie because it got food all over it, even though he wore a bib.

Eating a snack – I just love that face; playing with his genius blocks (my nickname for them – they were a gift); outside on the picnic blanket with the nerf basketball; someone is sleepy!

5:00pm: I nurse him again because he’s whiny and then we play.
5:30pm: I feed the dogs and we play outside until Liam starts rubbing his eyes and I know he is ready for bed.
6:00pm: Liam takes a bath, then I put on his diaper and give him a massage with lotion. He hates getting his pajamas on and fusses the whole time until I nurse him. Sometimes we read a story, but tonight he’s too whiny, so I skip it.

Happy in the bath; sad getting dressed.

6:30pm: Liam is in bed (sometimes this is later, but always by 7:00pm). I watch TV and work on grades.
7:00pm: I make dinner, which tonight meant opening a can of soup and heating up some bread. I haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping this week, so it’s one of those pantry scrounging nights.
7:30pm: Mr. TTT is home, so we eat and watch TV. The second Presential Debates are on our DVR, which were very interesting this time around.
9:00pm: I shower, then hit the sack.

My days are FULL now that I’m a working mom. Sometimes I’m sad that I can’t be home with Liam all day, but I know that we are very lucky with how things are working out, so I count my blessings daily. Plus, only eight more weeks until winter break! Three weeks off with my sweet little boy will be amazing.