Some of you may have caught on to the fact that I have not returned to my office job. The way things worked out we just decided it was best for our family for me to stay home with Fallon. Life with a newborn was a hot mess. A total shit show. Schedule? What schedule? Such a thing did not exist. Fallon is almost 3 months old now and while we absolutely are still winging it, our days do have a bit more semblance of order.
Baby girl has not been much of a napper since birth. If she did sleep during the day there did not seem to be a consistent pattern. I spent time trying to get her onto a nap schedule but it failed miserably. So we now have a morning routine and an evening routine and the rest of the day just kind of happens the way it happens. And honestly, it's working out pretty well so far.
Contrary to her day time sleeping habits, Fallon is very predictable with her night time hours. She's up for the day between 7-7:30 every morning and I nurse her first thing. If Chris isn't at work he will go feed all the furbabies and let the dogs out. If not then I take Fallon downstairs, change her diaper and put her on her play mat or in her mamaRoo while I tend to the other kids. I eat breakfast and have some coffee then play with Fallon for a little bit. We do tummy time, play who's that baby (look in the mirror) or hang outside with the pups.
Sometime between 9-9:30 my giggly, happy little girl starts to fuss. If she is going to take a morning nap, this is when it's going to be. I take her upstairs to her room and rock her for a few minutes until her eyes get heavy then lay her down in her cradle. She might sleep for 20 minutes, she might sleep for 2 hours. The former is more likely. Sometimes I'll take her on a walk instead and she cat naps in the stroller or we run errands and she sleeps in her car seat. If she's really fussy but refusing to nap I'll put her in my wrap and that usually does the trick.
Fallon is nursing every 3-4 hours so she usually is ready for another feeding after her nap. If we stayed home I typically work out while she sleeps so then I either get a shower and we run errands or I try to get some laundry and cleaning done. Chris is home by 1 (usually 11) if he worked and he goes on daddy duty while I eat lunch and shower if I haven't yet. We spend time together until he goes to bed around 4. Sometimes Fallon takes an afternoon nap. If we go somewhere she almost always sleeps in the car and is content in her carseat if she wakes up. There are days she falls asleep on one of us at home and we just lay her down in her cradle or in her dock-a-tot.
If Chris has to go to bed for work I'm usually nursing Fallon again around that time. The next few hours we play inside or go in the backyard with the dogs or sometimes she rides around in my wrap or hangs in her mamaRoo while I work around the house. She might take a 30 minute nap around 6/6:30 but I definitely don't try to put her down as with a morning or afternoon nap. I have learned that will backfire big time so she's either going to take that one in the wrap or the swing or my arms or not at all.
Fallon loves being outside so if it's nice we will usually take a walk around the neighborhood to wind down before the bed time routine. That begins at 8 o'clock with a bath, her favorite. I let her hang out for a bit because she really seems to enjoy just laying in her little tub in the sink. Afterward she gets her lotion and pajamas on and I nurse her for the last time before bed. She gets very sleepy while nursing so we just snuggle or read a book before I take her upstairs between 8:45-9. I lay her down in her cradle sleepy and put her pacifier in her mouth and she's out pretty quickly. After putting her to bed I finish folding laundry, work on the blog or take care of finances. I'm usually in bed by 11 but sometimes 10 if I'm super tired. At this point Fallon is usually only waking to nurse once a night and then falls right back to sleep.
So our schedule isn't much of a schedule but we do have more a morning and an evening routine now. Fallon is a baby that is not easily overstimulated and either sleeps or seems content while out and about so we typically do leave the house most days. Napping on the go and rarely sleeping for long stretches doesn't have any effect on her night time sleep or her general mood. We have days when she's fussy for seemingly no reason and I end up wearing her a lot in my wrap. We have days when she takes a really long nap or 2-3 fairly long naps and I get a ton of stuff accomplished. We have days when we run around all day and days when we stay home all day. Unless we have something specific planned I just see where the day takes us.
If you stay home with your kiddos, what does your typical day look like?
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