a day in the life
Just in case you wondered what an average weekday is like for a family with a baby (or a particular family with a particular baby….), this is us these days:
midnight: z wakes up, comfort him back to sleep
3:30am: z wakes up, attempt to comfort him back to sleep. 70/30 he will refuse to be comforted until fed
4:00-5:00am: z rolls around, waking up mommy and daddy and possibly himself. 70/30 will not be comforted back to sleep and may require a parent to get up early and keep him company
Note: any attempt to return him to his bed usually results in immediate tantrum and another 30-45 mins of lost sleep either attempting to get him to sleep there, or giving in and bringing him back to bed with us
5:30am: alarm goes off, hit snooze until 6:00 unless Z is awake, if he is – up an at ‘em!
6:00-6:30am: get ready for work/daycare: make lunches, change/dress baby, pack up pump & breast milk & any diapers/wipes/food that daycare may need
7:00am-6:00pm: daddy works
7:00-7:30am: mommy hangs out at daycare with Z
8:00am-5:00pm: mommy works
5:20pm-5:50pm: mommy hangs out with Z a bit before she picks him up
6:00pm: mommy & z pick daddy up from work. z usually sleeps in the car here, but may be fussy and require company in the back seat
6:30pm-6:45pm: arrive home
7:00pm-7:30pm: eat dinner, usually pre-made from the weekend
7:30pm-8:15pm: play with Z
8:15pm-9:00pm: comfort/rock z to sleep
09:30pm: z wakes again, briefly & needs to be comforted back to sleep
09:30pm: mommy goes to bed between here and 10:15
10:45pm: daddy goes to bed between here and 11:15
11:00pm: z wakes again, briefly & needs to be comforted back to sleep
midnight: cycle begins again!
Note that the 9, 11 & midnight wakings are variable. Lately he’s been down to only 1 waking after falling asleep but in previous months 3-5 was a pretty regular occurrence. He’s getting better though – some nights he doesn’t wake until 3:30!!
This is 3 days a week – the days we both work. Each of us works a 4 day week to get some bonding time with Z (and same $$ on childcare). Sorely needed bonding time – we only “see” him about 2 hours on a normal day! :(
Everyday follows a similar sleep and wake schedule. The 4 days he’s with us he usually naps about 20-30 mins around lunch, and maybe another 20-30 mins in the afternoon. Unless you’re driving somewhere – he’ll sleep a lot longer in the car if you catch him at a nap time.
Letter to Zain:
Hey Zephyr-boo,
How are you? Good? Good. Just wanted to let you know that we’re on our way. And we’re bringing a baby of our own. He will make your life either beautiful or miserable. There’s no in between. You’ll adore him and want no one but him, or you’ll cry for rescue. He won’t let you sleep. He’ll play with all your toys. Peak-a-boo? He can go all night. I just want you to know, … no rescue shall come. This is where you get a smidgen of a taste of what the past nine months have been like for your parents. Kissypoo!
Auntie Bette
Damn, you are on top of shit.
Hmm, my time stamp must be off from DST. That should read 9:33.
I’m always here, Andy. O_O Always.
Man, I could come be a drunken angry version of Mr. Belvedere for you.
OK, but you’d damn well better have hard-fought life lessons for us!
And it wouldn’t help if you were ambiguously gay and had an accent.
What I don’t show enough gay all of a sudden? I get kind of a slur going on while drinking too. So I figure that’ll work.