Today in our "A Day in the Life Of..." series is Lisa, a marketing analyst turned stay at home mama to Kairi, who is just about Weston's age! I met Lisa through another mom friend and she's been a friendly face in my mama circle these days. Thanks for sharing your day, Lisa!
6:30 AM: Derek’s alarm goes off. He slowly gets out of bed and begins his morning routine. Meanwhile, I go back to sleep for another 15-20 mins before we all have to get up to drive him the LIRR station. Uggg something I hate every morning!
7:15-7:30: I finally roll out of bed and get Derek’s lunch ready for him to take to work. Baby is still sleeping at this point. So Derek has to slowly and gently transfer Kairi into the infant car seat without waking her. Success! I’m still in my pjs but don’t bother changing since I’m just dropping Derek off and coming straight home.
7:45-7:55: We get home! I usually sit in the garage contemplating whether or not I should move Kairi out of the car seat. 9 out of 10 times, she wakes up immediately if I attempt to take her out. Today is no different…Kairi immediately cries so I try to calm her down.
8:00: I take Kairi’s night time diaper off and try to get to pee in her own potty. We are trying to potty train her early since she comes into the bathroom whenever I have to go so we figured why not? After 10 seconds of sitting there, I hear the potty song goes off which means she peed! Wohoo! Mission accomplished. Wipe her off and a new diaper goes on. Then it’s time to brush her teeth. Yes, I took a picture of her pee and sent it to my mom….something only moms can relate to!
8:15-8:45: Kairi tells me she wants some milk by opening and closing her fist. I have to say it’s been so much easier to understand her ever since she learned how to sign. Yup, I’m also still nursing her at almost 15 months…she still very much enjoys it so we’re not stopping until she’s ready. And partly because, I enjoy the closeness from nursing her too! But I’ve gotten many people ask me (mostly my husband’s family), when I’m going to stop nursing her… she’s too old! Ughh…it’s my choice and all I ask is for you to just respect that. Usually, I just smile and walk away.
8:45-9:45: Reading time-Kairi loves to read and we spend the next hour or so reading. Today she insisted that we read “Hello Ninja” 6 times before picking a different story. I don’t know what’s so fascinating about ninjas but she loves pointing and blabbing at the pictures of all the ninjas.
9: 50-10:00: Make us breakfast while Kairi entertains herself in her own kitchen. Oatmeal and fruits for her and cereal and scrambled eggs for me. After breakfast, I always have to think of a way to distract her while I give her vitamins. Those multi-vitamins + iron supplements smells awful so I can’t blame her for not wanting to take it.
10:00-10:20: She plays in the living room while I clean up all the dishes I made for breakfast. I also start to pack her lunch since we will be out today. Today she is having meatballs and pasta for lunch. Snacks are avocados, yogurt, apple/pear sauce and strawberries. I also fill a thermo with whole milk. In case you’re wondering, we are also giving her milk even though I’m still nursing.
10:25: Kairi rubs her eyes so I take that as a sign she’s getting tired. We go back to our room and I try to nurse her to sleep.
10:45: Today she is very tired so it doesn’t take long before she is passed out. This is good because she should be napping before her gymnastic class at 11:45. I take the time to surf the internet, facebook and catch up on emails.
11:30: Attempt to move Kairi from our bed to the car. This is very tricky as she screams sometimes when she realizes I’ve moved her to the car seat.
11:45-12:45: We arrive and she wakes up on her own. Kairi loves going to the play gym because she can roam around freely for the next hour and the puppet show at the end of class is her favorite.
12:50-1:30: Attempt to sit Kairi in her portable potty. She refuses so we just change a new diaper instead. I usually give Kairi her lunch right after class at MyGym and today wasn’t any different. After lunch, we go back into the car and I try to nurse her a little bit before we leave.
1:45-2:20: As I’m driving, I’m hoping she falls asleep and naps a little while I run some errands for the day. Drop off mail, get dry cleaning, pick up some stuff at Target.
2:30-3:15- We’re doing a makeup music class today. This means more time for Kairi to roam around and play with her friends. She loves banging the drums whenever we’re there.
3:20-3:50: Attempt to sit Kairi in her potty- Failed again. We haven’t really been successful unless we’re at home or in the morning. Feed Kairi her afternoon snacks. The class must have really worked up her appetite because she finished the entire yogurt pouch almost instantly and also polished off some strawberries.
4:00-5:00: Grocery shopping for the week. Since we’re already in the area, I decided we’re just going to go to Trader Joe’s to do all our food shopping.
5:30-6:00: We’re finally home!!!! Nurse her again. I’m exhausted (it’s been a long day and I’m tired) but Kairi is still full of energy and wants to play. Off to the living room we go. Her favorite toy at the moment is the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Chair. She can climb up and down the chair all day long if she could.
6:05-6:35: Potty sitting time again. No luck! Usually Derek comes home and gives Kairi a bath. But today I’m feeling ambitious and want to get that done before he comes home. Give her a bath and change her into sleeping clothes.
6:40-7:00: Try to cook Kairi her dinner while she entertains herself in her own kitchen (which is right next to our kitchen). After 10 minutes, she screams and wants me to pick her up. I give her an old empty egg carton which keeps her busy long enough for me to finish making her food. I eat a snack while I’m trying to feed her (yes, I’m starving at this point!)
7:15-8:05: I nurse her again and she falls asleep for another nap before we are ready to pick Daddy home from work. She’s napping in our bed again which means I can’t leave her alone otherwise she’s rolled off. I think about all the work I could be doing like clean the house, do laundry, etc… if only Kairi would nap in her own crib! I lay there in bed thinking how messy our house is and how unproductive I’m being… there must be a better way with time management.
8:10-8:25: Same routine- try to transfer her carefully into the car without waking her. Off to the LIRR station we go!
8:30-9:30: I’m finally cooking dinner while Derek plays with Kairi and then we sit together around the dining table to eat. Kairi gets another snack and also samples our food. I feel very bad that I keep Kairi up so late every night but we also enjoy this quality time we get to spend with her.
9:40-10:00: Load the dishwasher and tidy up the kitchen while Kairi and Derek are playing with the piano.
10:10-10:20: I brush, take off my contacts and change into pjs. Derek is helping Kairi brush her teeth and reads her a bedtime story. Her go to book is “Llama llama nighty night.” She practically has the book memorized as she knows what the next page is going to be before you even turn the page.
10:30: We co-sleep (Another mommy guilty moment) I know everyone says not to do it but it’s the only way she will sleep) so Kairi gets into bed as I try to nurse her to sleep. Tonight she is being difficult and doesn’t want to sleep. So I take this opportunity to go take a shower while Derek plays with her some more.
11:45-12:00: Kairi finally falls asleep and I’m passed out too. Derek stays up for another 30-45 mins to get ready for bed before he joins us.
2:14: I look at my phone and it’s 2:14. Ughh I’m tired….Kairi is crying frantically. I nurse her again to comfort her. After 20 minutes or so, she falls back asleep.
3:50: Crying again so I nurse her again. We think she is teething so she’s getting crankier these days. Oh teeth, why can’t you just all come at one teeth and be done with?
5:00: Repeat! Nights like these makes me wonder why I’m still nursing her. But when I wake up every morning and see that big cheesy smile on her face, I would do it all over again!
Bio: I was a marketing analyst doing a 9-5 desk job when I decided to leave my job to become a full time mom/wife! This “SAHM” job is the hardest job I’ve ever had and I still feel like I’m clueless about it. There are days when I miss working but when I look at the way my daughter looks at me, I know I’ve made the right decision to be there for her. Every day is full of new challenges but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and figure things out one step at a time. I love to pretend that I’m going to be a DIY type of mom and look forward to many crafty projects with her when she gets older.
