A day in the life..

Just one more post. I find I'm already having a hard time remembering what daily life with Aaron was like before he switched to 2 regular naps a day. I just wanted to remind myself of what life is like at (nearly) 14 months with Aaron.

We get up between 6 and 6:30am on most days. Thom gets Aaron up, changes his diaper and then takes him to get the newspaper at the end of the driveway. I drag myself out of bed, go turn on my computer, check e-mail, and then join Thom and Aaron in the dining room. Thom and I have coffee and try to read the paper while Aaron plays with his toys. We take turns going to our computers, checking e-mails, checking stock prices (Thom) and checking online forums (Liz). And we take turns getting on the floor with Aaron when he wants more attention.

Between 7 and 7:30 I make Aaron breakfast, usuallly banana oatmeal or toast and yogurt. We move into the kitchen and continue our coffee while we take turns feeding Aaron. Then we plop him in his playpen (near the kitchen) while we eat breakfast and clean up the kitchen. (I love the playpen - I put toys in there that he only gets to play with in the playpen and he is happy to sit in there for 20-30 minutes at a time while we eat or do chores in the kitchen.) Most days he will poop like clockwork after breakfast when we put him in the playpen. I know this is TMI for some of you, but as a new mom, this is great news for me. I like predicability when it comes to these things.

After that, Aaron goes down for a nap between 8 and 9am. Thom and I take showers and get dressed. I clean up Aaron's play area and start work, usually in the dining room so I don't disturb Aaron's nap. Thom leaves for work by 9:30am.

After Aaron's morning nap, we will either play at home if a sitter is coming, or we will go out. Either to run an errand, go to a playground (indoor or outdoor), or meet with friends for lunch. Playing at home consists of playing with his stacking rings (he can put them all on, but not in the correct order), playing with his Duplos (he can even stick them together sometimes - and then he claps for himself), playing with blocks, pulling all the books off his shelf and paging through them, putting junk mail in his new block box (I need to post about this wonderful box my dad made, but I need time to put the pictures and story together), and playing with his chunky farm animals puzzle. There is also usually some crawling around and trying to crawl off the steps into the living room (I'm still trying to figure out a gate solution there) and being chased and tickled by mommy. This produces shrieks and fits of giggles.

This morning, I am going to try to make it to a mom's group sing along at a park about 15 minutes from here if Aaron wakes up on time. I found a mom's group in my city on Meetup.com and joined, but so far have only made it to one meetup. They have a ton of activities, something almost every day of the week. But some are geared towards pre-schoolers and some conflicts with nap time or my work schedule. I have to admit that I had to force myself to make small talk with some moms last week because I'm not really in it to make friendships. I'm in it for Aaron. Despite the fact that his father and I were shy and introverted well into adult-hood, Aaron is the most gregarious toddler I've ever met. And although I do have friends with kids, most of them are not in the same city as we are and I like the mom's group because I don't have to make plans far in advance. When I know I am going to have free time, I can check their calendar and see if there is something to attend. With my other mom friends, I feel bad for always calling at the last minute to do something.

If I don't go out to lunch, I try to get home by lunchtime to feed Aaron here. Then he'll go down for a nap between 1 and 2pm. If I don't have a sitter, I need that nap to work. If I go out to lunch, I risk him falling asleep on the way home. He won't transfer to his crib without waking up. He may play quietly in his crib for an hour or so, but it is not the same for me. I have trouble concentrating as long as he is making noise. It usually takes him 20-30 minutes to fall asleep and I usually read up on blogs or read news online during that time. Speaking of naps, since his molars came in, he goes down so much easier for naps and at bedtime. He may take some time to get to sleep, but it doesn't escalate into tears like it often did just 6 weeks ago.

After his afternoon nap, if I have a sitter, she will watch him until 6 or 6:30pm while I work. If I don't have a sitter, I like to go out again. I think we both get bored playing in the same room with the same toys every day which is why I like to go out. On Tuesdays, we'll go to the farmer's market downtown. Today we might go for a walk at the park. When we get back, it is time for dinner.

Dinner is between 5 and 6pm. Aaron's favorites so far are lentils and rice, polenta lasagna (which for him is just two slices of polenta, pasta sauce and shredded cheese), and rice with salmon and broccoli (the latest thing I've tried). We also still do state 2 baby food, sometimes with some mixed grain cereal mixed in for texture. He likes the turkey dinners and chicken stews. He does not like stage 3 baby food with chunks. Dessert is usually 1/2 a banana, or lately, we've been able to give him pieces of apricots and white nectarines from our trees. He loves apricots!

After dinner, if there is time, we might play some more. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and usually one weekend night, we give him a bath (or the sitter does if she is here). Thom is usually home by 6:30 and we often will go outside, either in the yard, or just out to the swing. I love these long days and the warm weather we've been having. Then I nurse Aaron, Thom and I read him two stories, and then he goes down to bed between 6:45 and 7:15pm. He is generally asleep by 7:45pm.

Last night, he slept through the night! But most nights, since his molars came in (during which time he woke up 2-3 times a night) he wakes up once, sometimes before I go to bed, but sometimes at 12 or 1am. I nurse him and he is back to sleep within 10 minutes. I'm barely awake for 15 minutes, so it doesn't affect my sleep too much. But I'm still hoping that he will start sleeping through. All in all, though, I think he does pretty well with sleep, so I can't complain.

I have started to wean him, but since he's been turning his nose at cow's milk, it has been a challenge. After reading some advice from various mom's on Babycenter.com, I have started mixing whole milk with strawberry Kefir (drinkable yogurt). I looked at some other options, like drinkable YoBaby, but it has more sugar. Yesterday, he drank 4 oz of the mixture, although it was over a couple of hours. It was still a big improvement over his outright rejection of a sippy cup with milk. I'm not in a huge hurry to wean him since he still enjoys it, but I have to admit I feel some societal pressure. I think it is normal to nurse at this age and that it still provides health benefits to him, but most moms stop by 12 months, many much sooner, so I feel awkward nursing in public or even talking about it. And I do know I want to stop by the time he is 2, especially since I hope to have a little sibling for him not long after that. And I worry that the longer he nurses, the harder it will be for him to give up.

Well, he is still asleep. It is always good when he goes past the 45 minute mark. Tuesday he slept about 40 minutes in the morning and woke up crying and unhappy. Maybe it was a bad dream or he slept in a weird position, I don't know. But if he makes it past the end of the first sleep cycle without waking, he will usually go 1 1/2 hours or more and usually, but not always, wake up happy.

So I'd better work while I can. No sitter today.