Routine

Just because I want to remember what our days are like at this point, here’s a typical day at our house right now:

7:00 or 7:30am-Some mornings(like today) Ryan woke himself up and was ready to eat.  Other days I have to wake him up to get the day going.  I’ll feed him, change his diaper, and keep him awake until 8 or 8:30.  Most of the time Paige wakes up during this time and climbs in bed with Ryan and I and we watch Playhouse Disney or Noggin. 

8:00 or 8:30am-I’ll swaddle Ryan in his blanket and lay him back down for more sleep.  Paige and I will eat breakfast and lounge for awhile (we’re NOT morning people). 

9:00-I shower while Paige plays on the computer, draws, or watches TV.  Ryan is still sleeping.

9:30-Paige has been enjoying playing on our back porch lately, so many mornings she will play outside during this time.

10:00 or 10:30-Ryan will eat again while Paige continues to play.  After his feeding, Ryan gets a bath.  This is normally a very sleepy time of the day for him so a bath helps to wake him up and keep him awake for awhile. 

11:00ish-If we have errands to run, we’ll typically do them now.  We’ll also use this time to go to the park or library.  Ryan will fall asleep in his car seat most of the time. 

12:00-We’re normally home from errands or playtime by now…when we get home, I lay Ryan down in his crib and fix Paige and I lunch. 

1:00 or 1:30-Ryan eats again and we stay up until about 2:00.

2:00-Paige and Ryan both go down for their afternoon naps and I will either be productive and clean and pick up the house or somedays I just need to sit in the recliner and play on the computer and watch TV (something other than a cartoon!) Ryan will sleep until 4 or 4:30 and Paige is about the same.  Sometimes she wakes up earlier and if she does I get her a snack and we snuggle.

4:00 or 4:30-Ryan eats some more!  He gets extremely tired at this time so he’s normally back to sleep by 5:15.  On game nights, we are typically leaving to go to a game by this point. 

6:00-On non-game nights, Stephen is getting home from practice and Paige, Stephen, and I are sitting down to eat supper together.  After supper, Stephen and Paige play a game together or go outside to play while I clean up the kitchen.  I’ll make Stephen’s lunch for the next day also. 

7:00 or 7:30-Ryan eats yet again!  Paige gets her bath during this time and we start winding down our day.  Everybody gets PJs on. 

8:30-Ryan lays down for some more sleep…it’s his fussy time of the day so sometimes he cries off and on for about 30 minutes before he goes to sleep.  This is my most stressful time of the day!  When Ryan is asleep, the rest of us snuggle in our bed and read a story and watch Olivia. 

9:00-Paige goes to bed.  Stephen and I finally have more than 5 minutes of alone time. 

9:30-We wake Ryan up for one more feeding and put him right back down for bedtime.  He’s been sleeping SO well for about the last week and a half.  For a couple of nights, he eats at 9:30 then doesn’t wake up again until 4:00am-ish (when Stephen has to wake him up because I’m about to explode and NEED to feed the boy!).  Last night he woke up on his own at 3am to eat and went back to bed until 7am. 

 

That’s our day right now!! I try to be flexible, but the routine really is my lifesaver.  I need to know what’s coming next and having a routine gives me that.  Of course in between all of these feedings and playing I’m doing laundry, cleaning, preparing supper, etc.  No wonder I’m exhausted!