You know when you come across moms who totally inspire you? That's Tara! She's a mother-baby nurse, a nutrionist, and owns her own "SnugBug Fitness Class" where she helps moms get in shape while wearing their babies. Not to mention she's super smart, friendly, and has a gorgeous pixie of a baby girl named....Magnolia. Swoon. Totally girl-crushing on today's A Day in the Life Of guest poster! Take it away, Tara!
A Day in the Life of Tara Allen…
6:00 AM – The alarm goes off. Magnolia has been up and breastfeeding since 5:30 (for her 5th middle-of-the-night feeding). I still set a ‘just in case’ alarm everyday.
6:15 AM – Done breastfeeding. Giggles, poking Daddy, and saying “Mama” about 20-30 times before we get out of bed.
6:45 AM – Done with diaper change, vitamins, dressing, combing hair, and brushing teeth. The brushing teeth thing is more like an opportunity for Maggie to bite my finger without being told not to bite. Teething again, right? ANY day now!
7:00 AM – Joe hangs with Maggie while I quickly wash up and throw some workout clothes on. We have 2 classes to teach today!
7:15 AM – Pack the car – carseat, baby carrier, diaper bag, pocketbook, iPad and notebook (a.k.a. my mobile office), resistance bands, water, breakfast and lunch for mini-me and me.
7:30 AM – Kisses, coats, and out the door.
7:30 AM – 8:15 AM – drive to Huntington, listen to music, news, podcasts. Turn it all off. Sing "The Wheels on the Bus". That seems better. Magnolia catches a quick cat nap. I find some parking in between construction zones. Please don’t wake my baby!
8:15AM – 8:45 AM – Mobile office open for business. Check emails. Post on Facebook about the construction / parking situation for everyone. Write routine for today’s classes.
8:45 AM – Princess is awake. Perfect timing – was just going to wake her. Quick feeding and diaper change in the car. Time to teach our SnugBug Fitness class!
6:00 AM – The alarm goes off. Magnolia has been up and breastfeeding since 5:30 (for her 5th middle-of-the-night feeding). I still set a ‘just in case’ alarm everyday.
6:15 AM – Done breastfeeding. Giggles, poking Daddy, and saying “Mama” about 20-30 times before we get out of bed.
6:45 AM – Done with diaper change, vitamins, dressing, combing hair, and brushing teeth. The brushing teeth thing is more like an opportunity for Maggie to bite my finger without being told not to bite. Teething again, right? ANY day now!
7:00 AM – Joe hangs with Maggie while I quickly wash up and throw some workout clothes on. We have 2 classes to teach today!
7:15 AM – Pack the car – carseat, baby carrier, diaper bag, pocketbook, iPad and notebook (a.k.a. my mobile office), resistance bands, water, breakfast and lunch for mini-me and me.
7:30 AM – Kisses, coats, and out the door.
7:30 AM – 8:15 AM – drive to Huntington, listen to music, news, podcasts. Turn it all off. Sing "The Wheels on the Bus". That seems better. Magnolia catches a quick cat nap. I find some parking in between construction zones. Please don’t wake my baby!
8:15AM – 8:45 AM – Mobile office open for business. Check emails. Post on Facebook about the construction / parking situation for everyone. Write routine for today’s classes.
8:45 AM – Princess is awake. Perfect timing – was just going to wake her. Quick feeding and diaper change in the car. Time to teach our SnugBug Fitness class!
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM – SnugBug Fitness class. We talk, we sweat, and I feel lucky to do what I do.
10:15 AM – Another diaper change and feeding in the car. Blog about class. Welcome new clients. A gentle wrestle and toy distraction to get M into her seat. It works!
10:30 AM – Drive, drive, drive. Magnolia needs a real nap now and this is just about the only way we can get one.
11:15 AM – She’s asleep!
11:20 AM – She’s awake!
11:30 AM – She’s asleep!
12:00 PM – Call my mom from the car (hands-free, don’t worry). We talk about some holiday plans we have coming up and schedule some Grandma-Magnolia time (which equals some work time for this Mama).
12:25 PM – Arrive in Mineola. Park and continue to work. An opportunity to meet with the web developer after this next class. Great! Take notes for meeting. Hopefully a little sweat and a baby won’t be a distraction for my meeting.
1:30 PM – M wakes up – 2 hour nap – sweet! Lunch time. We eat (where else?) in the car today. She reluctantly takes a bottle of pumped milk at this time. I’m starting to slowly wean, so this is the “no boobie” time. Diaper change. It’s warm today – we head outside for a walk and a little fun Mommy and me time.
2:05 PM – Enter the wellness center to set up for class. Magnolia loves this time as she runs around the room and we listen to music. Quick dance party. Maggie’s got some slick moves already at her ripe ol’ age of 1.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM – SnugBug Fitness class #2. Fun, fun! 2 workouts in one day is not such a bad gig, either.
3:25 PM – 4:30 PM – Pack up and head over to meeting. Joe works in the same building and can take Maggie for a few minutes while I meet with the web developer. Perfect! Concentrating on updating site to take registration for upcoming nutrition seminar I will be teaching. Oh no, is she crying?? “Mama, mama, maaaaaa-maaaaa!” Yup, she is. “We’ll finish this via email. Thanks”!
4:30 PM – Back in the “boobie” time frame. Nurse M and change diaper. We drive home in traffic and I break out the Christmas songs very early this year. She sings along with a “ya-ya-ya”.
5:30 PM – Home and unpack the car. Shower / bath time for us! Pajamas X 2 (why not?). Maggie grabs a book. We read. She eats the book. We play with her new medical kit. “Are you going to be a nurse like Mommy?” “Mama?” I’ll take that as a maybe. A load of laundry goes on, breastmilk defrosting to make bottles, and time to start cooking. I cook dinner for us, breakfast/lunch/dinner for Maggie for tomorrow, and breakfast and lunch for myself for tomorrow – I will be working all day at the hospital. A giant post-it note details all of Maggie’s meals for tomorrow so our family / babysitters know what she gets and when. This happens when you’re Type A, a bit overprotective of your child’s health, and out of the house for 15 hours straight.
7:00 PM (shoot, later than I planned) – We eat dinner. Joe will be home around 7:30.
7:30 PM – Joe is home! “Hello”, catch up for 5 minutes, and he brings M into the bath. Phew! Time to clean up from dinner, wash the dishes, flip the laundry, and start to pack things for tomorrow. Set the alarm for 4 AM.
8:00 PM – Pack my breast pump for work tomorrow, stock the diapers and wipes in the nursery. Take out the garbage and diapers. Lay out my clothes in the bathroom (so I can just slip out of the bedroom without waking anyone in the morning). Joe does lotion, bedtime stories, and brushes teeth. Sleep sack on and we meet on the couch to breastfeed. She’s not sleepy yet. She climbs on us. Sleep sack off. We chase her. She giggles – a lot!
8:40 PM – Rubbing her eyes! Let’s try again. Sleep sack on. Breastfeed to sleep. Joe and I stare for a minute as usual. She’s so beautiful! We’re so lucky! Joe scoops her up as I plant one last kiss on her forehead. “Is the sound machine on?” “Yup”. Transfer to her crib. It may only last about 2 hours, but it’s a start! Time to fold laundry, finish last minute emails, post the recipe for what I made for dinner, and catch up with Joe about the day.
9:20 PM – Crawl into bed. Try to get a solid hour or two for now. Magnolia will be up between 10:30 and 12 and will be nursing and co-sleeping with us from then on. Now’s my chance to sprawl out on the bed! Double and triple check my alarm. Goodnight!
Bring on tomorrow….
10:15 AM – Another diaper change and feeding in the car. Blog about class. Welcome new clients. A gentle wrestle and toy distraction to get M into her seat. It works!
10:30 AM – Drive, drive, drive. Magnolia needs a real nap now and this is just about the only way we can get one.
11:15 AM – She’s asleep!
11:20 AM – She’s awake!
11:30 AM – She’s asleep!
12:00 PM – Call my mom from the car (hands-free, don’t worry). We talk about some holiday plans we have coming up and schedule some Grandma-Magnolia time (which equals some work time for this Mama).
12:25 PM – Arrive in Mineola. Park and continue to work. An opportunity to meet with the web developer after this next class. Great! Take notes for meeting. Hopefully a little sweat and a baby won’t be a distraction for my meeting.
1:30 PM – M wakes up – 2 hour nap – sweet! Lunch time. We eat (where else?) in the car today. She reluctantly takes a bottle of pumped milk at this time. I’m starting to slowly wean, so this is the “no boobie” time. Diaper change. It’s warm today – we head outside for a walk and a little fun Mommy and me time.
2:05 PM – Enter the wellness center to set up for class. Magnolia loves this time as she runs around the room and we listen to music. Quick dance party. Maggie’s got some slick moves already at her ripe ol’ age of 1.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM – SnugBug Fitness class #2. Fun, fun! 2 workouts in one day is not such a bad gig, either.
3:25 PM – 4:30 PM – Pack up and head over to meeting. Joe works in the same building and can take Maggie for a few minutes while I meet with the web developer. Perfect! Concentrating on updating site to take registration for upcoming nutrition seminar I will be teaching. Oh no, is she crying?? “Mama, mama, maaaaaa-maaaaa!” Yup, she is. “We’ll finish this via email. Thanks”!
4:30 PM – Back in the “boobie” time frame. Nurse M and change diaper. We drive home in traffic and I break out the Christmas songs very early this year. She sings along with a “ya-ya-ya”.
5:30 PM – Home and unpack the car. Shower / bath time for us! Pajamas X 2 (why not?). Maggie grabs a book. We read. She eats the book. We play with her new medical kit. “Are you going to be a nurse like Mommy?” “Mama?” I’ll take that as a maybe. A load of laundry goes on, breastmilk defrosting to make bottles, and time to start cooking. I cook dinner for us, breakfast/lunch/dinner for Maggie for tomorrow, and breakfast and lunch for myself for tomorrow – I will be working all day at the hospital. A giant post-it note details all of Maggie’s meals for tomorrow so our family / babysitters know what she gets and when. This happens when you’re Type A, a bit overprotective of your child’s health, and out of the house for 15 hours straight.
7:00 PM (shoot, later than I planned) – We eat dinner. Joe will be home around 7:30.
7:30 PM – Joe is home! “Hello”, catch up for 5 minutes, and he brings M into the bath. Phew! Time to clean up from dinner, wash the dishes, flip the laundry, and start to pack things for tomorrow. Set the alarm for 4 AM.
8:00 PM – Pack my breast pump for work tomorrow, stock the diapers and wipes in the nursery. Take out the garbage and diapers. Lay out my clothes in the bathroom (so I can just slip out of the bedroom without waking anyone in the morning). Joe does lotion, bedtime stories, and brushes teeth. Sleep sack on and we meet on the couch to breastfeed. She’s not sleepy yet. She climbs on us. Sleep sack off. We chase her. She giggles – a lot!
8:40 PM – Rubbing her eyes! Let’s try again. Sleep sack on. Breastfeed to sleep. Joe and I stare for a minute as usual. She’s so beautiful! We’re so lucky! Joe scoops her up as I plant one last kiss on her forehead. “Is the sound machine on?” “Yup”. Transfer to her crib. It may only last about 2 hours, but it’s a start! Time to fold laundry, finish last minute emails, post the recipe for what I made for dinner, and catch up with Joe about the day.
9:20 PM – Crawl into bed. Try to get a solid hour or two for now. Magnolia will be up between 10:30 and 12 and will be nursing and co-sleeping with us from then on. Now’s my chance to sprawl out on the bed! Double and triple check my alarm. Goodnight!
Bring on tomorrow….
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