For the past week or so, I’ve wanted to capture what an average day is like for Ada and me. I wanted to document a day where we had absolutely nothing special planned – no doctor’s appointments or visitors – and where the weather was decent as our average days involve walks and parks whenever remotely possible.
I’ve wanted to do this project for two reasons. First, someone asked me recently how having a baby differed from how I thought it was going to be. That made me realize that I’d never really thought about how it would be – I had no clue. Ada is the first baby I’ve spent any real time with. Secondly, in the vein of the wistful saying that the days are long and the years are short, I know this time will pass quickly and I won’t remember the small details that make up our everyday life with a six month-old.
Here goes!
June 6, 2016
7:07 AM. I hear Ada stir on the baby monitor. Will and I alternate who gets up with her to give her her first bottle and today he takes one for the team. I go back to sleep.
8:11 AM. Will comes in to wake me so I can pump before he leaves for work. Pumping is so much easier when he’s home so he can watch Ada and I can sit at the counter and mess around on the iPad while I’m pumping. Today, Ada went back to sleep for 45 minutes after her first bottle so this point is moot but it’s still very helpful to know that I won’t have to stop mid-pump to attend to her.
Today I’m reading r/legaladvice on Reddit while pumping.
9:03 AM. After pumping, I go spend time with Ada on the floor. We have a couple yoga mats and blankets spread out but now that Ada is a roly-poly, most of her time is spent directly on the floor. I redirect her when she rolls too close to a liter box. We listen to podcasts while we play on the floor. Ada will be so immersed in political podcasts that I foresee a budding civic career in her future.
9:37 AM. Ada is trying pears for the first time today. I feed her with her sitting in my lap on the floor. Soon she will be able to sit up unassisted and this feeding will move to the highchair.
While Ada plays, I answer quick emails and clean up the kitchen and living room. My main focus lately has been sweeping and mopping the floors so our budding crawler doesn’t get too dirty as she scoots around.
10:19 AM. I froze some batches of pears and squash I made over the weekend and they are ready to be transferred to freezer bags for storage. They will join banana and sweet potato purees already frozen. We are currently doing one-ingredient purees so we can identify any allergies more easily.
10:23 AM. Second bottle of the day.
11:19 AM. Morning nap! Ada’s morning nap is my most-productive working time. I typically get an hour to an hour and a half. Today’s nap was a little later than normal as she slept a little after her first bottle.
12:14 PM. Second date with the pump. This mid-day pumping usually takes place while I’m sitting on the floor playing with Ada but she’s still asleep today so I read Ask a Manager on my iPad instead.
12:44 PM. I heat up leftover chicken curry for lunch.
1:09 PM. She’s up! Yes, morning nap sometimes occurs on the floor rather than in a crib or any other more-traditional baby containment device. I learned months ago to let sleeping babies lie.
1:23 PM. Third bottle of the day. After this one I get us ready to go to the park. The stroller is always packed with Ada’s sunhat and our picnic blanket, but preparations always include lathering mother and baby in sunblock as we are both quite pale.
We head downstairs and I take the recycling down with us. We also stop along the way to drop off a bag of outgrown baby clothes at the JDRF donation cart that is on the way to the park. I’m constantly culling outgrown baby clothing.
2:46 PM. I spread out the blanket in a spot in the shade. Our favorite shady spot is taken, but the best thing about Hamlin Park is that there are plenty of trees. After a groggy start, Ada rolls around on the blanket with the two toys we brought.
Ada also enjoys rolling to the side of the blanket to examine the grass. I let her rip the grass out of the ground but stop her from eating it.
3:46 PM. I load a tired baby into the stroller. Despite her best efforts at staying awake, Ada is asleep before we leave the park. On the way home, we stop by Walgreens to pick up a prescription and some Haribo gummy cola bottles (I love those things!).
Ada is still asleep as we near home so, not being one to squander a good stroller nap, I head towards our building’s side yard so Ada can sleep and I can read my book. I always (optimistically?) have my Kindle with me when we go places. I very rarely use it. Today is no different as Ada wakes up before we maneuver the stroller into the side yard. I spread the blanket out again and she plays some more.
4:38 PM. We head back upstairs.
4:44 PM. Fourth bottle of the day.
5:39 PM. Will comes home. He plays on the floor with Ada while I pump again. This time, I play Spider on the iPad. Thank heavens for the iPad.
7:30 PM. Ada falls asleep in the Rock n Play. Will starts prepping asparagus for dinner.
8:18 PM. Ada stirs a little and I rock her back to sleep while Will cooks. I alternate between reading my newest book on the Kindle and beckoning Will over to the window to check out the sunset as it is spectacular tonight.
8:34 PM. I Instagram the sunset.
9:03 PM. We watch Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight and eat sausage sandwiches (breakfast for dinner!). After we eat, we spend time relaxing – reading, watching YouTube channels, doing nothing on the couch together. It’s during this time that I start to miss my sleeping baby despite having spent the whole day with her.
10:51 PM. Will feeds Ada her last bottle of the day and changes her into an overnight diaper and her sleep sack. He puts her in her crib but doesn’t shut her door yet as he knows I’ll want to peek in on her one last time before I go to sleep. We get ready for bed. I peek in on Ada.
11:03 PM. I pump for the last time. We go to bed. We always listen to podcasts as we go to sleep but I haven’t heard the end of one in a while. Sleep comes very easily.