Our Daily Routine

Our Daily Routine

When Joey was new, I read so many things about daily routines, wondering just what my days with a baby were “supposed” to look like, and though I’ve since realized there’s no “right” way, I’m still really fascinated to find out about other families’ days. We settled into a good daily routine with Joey when she was around two months old, based entirely around her natural sleep/wake habits, and so far it hasn’t changed three months later. I can tell, though, that we’re on the precipice of some big changes (rolling, crawling, napping less, oh no!), so I thought it would be kind of fun to document what our days look like now — so we can look back in a few months and miss these lazy days!

(The scene currently: she wanted to cuddle with her pineapple pillow)

I stay home with Joey three days a week and on those days, I let her dictate our schedule. I truly believe the more she sleeps during the day the better she’ll sleep at night and, especially, the happier she’ll be, so I try to keep our days as laid back and relaxed as possible so she’s able to go to sleep whenever she wants. We also have a lot of fun. Obviously not every day is the same. Sometimes she sleeps more or less or is ravenously hungry at random times, but here’s what most of our days look like:

6 a.m. — I wake up M-F to work out while everyone else is sleeping. (I’ve been doing Piyo workouts for the last couple months and love it.) If I don’t get a workout in first thing, it’s not going to happen… especially once Ruby the dog is awake and insists on getting in the way!

6:45 a.m. — Andy starts getting ready for work. I pump, take a shower and eat a quick bowl of cereal.

7:35 a.m. — Joey often wakes up around 6 but dozes on and off, coos and plays with her toes until Andy and I (and Ruby) go in to say good morning before Andy leaves for work. This is my favorite part of the day because Joey is always so happy when she sees us. I’ll change her diaper and then take her downstairs to the couch for a bottle.

8 a.m. — After Joey eats, I feed the cats and dog. Joey plays next to me on the couch while I write blog posts, get caught up on emails, watch The Today Show, etc.

8:45 a.m. — Joey falls back to sleep on the couch.

10 a.m. — Joey wakes up and I give her another bottle and then she’ll play quietly for a bit.

11 a.m. — Joey takes another nap. This is my chance to get a little done around the house (while keeping a close eye on Joey — or I’ll take her upstairs to her crib if I need to get something done that means I can’t watch her) or mostly I’ll just be super lazy and stay on the couch to watch her and Rachel Ray.

11:45 a.m. — If I’m organized, I’ll eat lunch while Joey is still sleeping.

12 p.m. — Joey wakes up and is hungry for another bottle. It’s also time to feed Ruby lunch and let her outside to run around. Noon always ends up being chaotic because everyone seems to want everything at the exact same time, and half the time I’m also hungry from forgetting to eat while Joey was asleep!

12:30-6 p.m. — Joey usually is usually more active in the afternoons and her naps are shorter and less predictable. She sometimes takes a 20 minute nap or sometimes sleeps for two hours — you just never know. When she’s awake, we play with toys, practice tummy time (she hates it), run errands, read stories, listen to music, go for a walk with Ruby,  sit in the backyard, give Joey a bath, or just hang out on the couch some more. She gets a bottle every two hours (all of her bottles are 4 ounces).

6 p.m. — Andy gets home from work and we try to decide where to go for dinner (I can’t wait until we’re cooking at home again!). We feed Joey another bottle.

6:30 p.m. — After Joey finishes her bottle, we hurry to leave for dinner so she’s relaxed and not likely to get hungry while we’re out — but we always take a bottle just in case!

7:30 p.m. — we get home from dinner and start getting Joey ready for bed. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but when we decided to start trying a specific bedtime routine, Joey immediately started sleeping through the night (at 9 weeks old), so we make sure to stick with it in the same order every day. I like to get her room ready before she comes in, so she’ll know it’s sleepy time. I’ll turn on her sound machine (on the “summer nights” setting that sounds like crickets), lay out her pjs and a bottle, turn off the overhead light.  Andy brings her upstairs and says goodnight to her, and then I’ll change her diaper and put her in her sleep n’ play. She and I sit in her rocking chair and I feed her a final bottle, sing her a song and put her in her crib wide awake. We use an Angelcare Movement Monitor (which we LOVE), so I turn it on, turn off the light, and leave the room quickly before she can get upset.

8 p.m. — I’ll join Andy on the couch to watch some TV together. Joey usually rolls around and sucks her fingers for a little while before falling asleep for the night.

10 p.m. — One more pump and time for bed!

Basically our days are pretty boring, in the best possible way, haha. I’d love to hear all about your family’s routine!