Wednesday, July 24, 2013

A Day In The Life {Maternity Leave Edition}

*Somedays seem so, so long but most of the time they just FLEW by!  I would sit down at night and wonder what I did all day and why I felt like I had so much to do yet! :)
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[4a] Feed the Baby | I try so hard to savor these early morning with just my little man because I know they'll be gone soon.
If I'm lucky this will be the first time I've fed him, if I'm not I will have been up at 1 or 2a.


[6a] Exercise | Only if we had a good night and the weather is decent--my goal is 3 days a week.  I was cleared to run at 4 weeks, so I try to do some sort of activity {Run, Walk, or a Workout Video}



[7a] Jordyn Wakes Up | I would love to say she lays in her bed and talks all cute, but in reality she yells 'mama' 'mama' 'mama' and kicks the wall with her heels until I run in there!  :)  I go grab her and her blankie {a new habit} and bring her back to bed with me...for about 3 minutes.  When I can't take the jumping and flopping anymore we all get up. :)



[7:30a] Breakfast + Vitamin for Jordyn | Then diaper change and clothing change {+ baths if we didn't do them the night before/aren't going to the pool/splash park}



[8a] Feed Cullyn | I usually have to wake him for this bottle.  After he eats, I change his diaper and clothes.  He typically falls back to sleep after this.



[9-11a] Morning Activity/Errands | I try to take Jordyn outside and give her some one-on-one attention {which is pretty easy since Cullyn usually sleeps}during this time.  We liked to go to Story Hour and the Jump House when it was chilly, but now our favorite thing to do is going to the park or the splash pad.  If we have errands {Target, HyVee, Post Office, Drug Store, Oil Change, Dr. Appointments, etc.--it's always something, isn't it?!} we do them in the morning.



[11a-12p] Lunch | SO often {if it was good weather} we had picnics in the park.  Sometimes I packed sandwiches and sometimes I picked up lunch {Jimmy Johns, McDonalds, etc.}.  A couple of times we met dad and dined our for lunch...which were of course our favorite lunches!



[12p] Feed Cullyn | After he eats, I change his diaper and he typically 'plays' {on playmat or in swing} for 30-60 minutes.



[1-3p] Jordyn Nap | She usually goes down between 1 & 2 and will sleep for an hour or two, depending on how hard we played that morning.  Cullyn typically falls asleep at one and sleeps until 3 or 3:30.  I tried to quickly pick up the kitchen and throw a load of laundry in before laying down for a nap myself.  Towards the end of maternity leave I quit laying down {to get myself used to going without one and also to catch up on projects -- like baby books and photography work}



[3p] Snack Time | Jordyn doesn't typically get a morning snack, but usually always requests an afternoon snack when she wakes up.  Cullyn was usually still sleeping, so we would snuggle and eat a snack on the deck while she wakes up.



[4p] Feed Cullyn | After he eats, I change his diaper and he typically 'plays' with us for 60 minutes.



[4-6p] Play Time | I would love to say this is where I made dinner so it was ready when my husband came home, but let's be honest...that happened once!  Generally, we played in the playroom during this time.  We usually read books for a good portion of it.  But also lots of coloring, playing with chalk, flashcards & puzzles, and dancing/music went on too.  I tried to pick up the living room and switching out laundry during this time.  If we didn't run errands in the morning, we did that after naps.



[6p] Dad's Home! | The rest of the night is pretty 'normal.'  If we don't have plans I feed Jordyn, Adam makes our dinner, we eat {usually taking turns, because I swear we won't eat at the same time until we're 70!}, I give the kids baths and Adam cleans the kitchen.



[8p] Feed Cullyn | After he eats, I change his diaper and switch him to jammies if it wasn't a bath night.



[8-9p] Jordyn goes to Bed | We don't have a set bedtime.  We usually just wait until she gives us the signs that she's tired.  We take turns, but usually Adam would tuck her into bed while I snuggled Cullyn.



[10-11p] Bed | I would usually snuggle C until 10 and then work on photography or home stuff until 10 or 11.  After I went to bed, Adam would feel Cullyn again and then bring him to bed with me.

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One or two days a week {depending on our schedule} Adam took Jordyn to daycare from 8a-11a so I could sleep or catch up on house or photography stuff.  Most days I used this to catch up on JORDYN'S {yep, I was that far behind!} Baby Book and start Cullyn's! :)

**Looking back at all of these photos makes to so thankful for all of the wonderful, fun memories I was able to create with my kids during this time.  I'm one blessed mama!  


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