I’ve been meaning to do a “day in the life” post for um…6 months now.[Update...I started this after she turned 6 months. She's now over 6.5 months...]
Things change all the time with babies. When Liv was a newborn I’d get up with her around 5 or 5:30 and hang out in my room with her and drink coffee. She would go back to sleep after only an hour then, so I’d put her in the rock n’play and then get some work done. I usually worked out during her second nap then. I would even put her in her rock n’play right next to the treadmill because I was so nervous to leave her anywhere else for the first 2-3 months.
Now life is very different from then.
It amazes me on a daily basis how much babies develop in 6 months. They basically go from little blobs to animated people who can basically communicate. [That's a very scientific definition of development.] I’m also amazed everyday how much goes on. Olivia now claps her hands, can move (on her belly), go from sitting up to her belly, and waves (okay not really, but she makes a waving motion.)
Anyway, going back to day in the life…
Our day starts from anywhere from 6 to (the VERY rare) 7. Yesterday, it was 6 on the dot. Today she got up at 4:50, we let her fuss it out for an hour seeing if she’d go back to sleep (she didn’t), fed her and now she’s snoozing again.
Right after she gets up she gets a diaper change & then a bottle. We go downstairs and we hang out. Then we do tummy time and she goes all over on her blanket. She’s moving like crazy and just got up onto all 4s for the first time yesterday. She even hiked her hips way up like a downdog. That was pretty impressive, but only happened once. I put toys out all around her and we play for about an hour.
After about 60-75 minutes of playing we attempt breakfast. She’s not very excited about food right now. I put a large piece of banana and a baby pancake in front of her and she picks it up and sucks on it for a second or two. Some days it’s more, some less. I also attempt to give her some broccoli puree mixed with (unsweetened) applesauce. She doesn’t mind this and eats a decent amount of it. Liv’s also obsessed with her straw water cup. She will grab it and take sips from it.
Breakfast is over and I get her cleaned up and changed. Food time = outfit changes because it’s such a mess. I will admit I do not really currently like meal times. She is so hit or miss with foods (I know this is normal) that it’s so much work. I do it obviously, but I don’t love it. We alternate between different foods and I usually give her something from what I’m eating. (I eat breakfast now too.)
We play for a little bit and when it hits 2 hours awake time (this was 8 yesterday because of an early wake up) I bring her up for a nap. I give her a kiss, turn her music on and tell her it’s nap time and I’ll see her soon. I put her in her crib and shut the door. She *typically* falls asleep quickly. Yesterday she slept for 1 hour, 45 minutes.
While she’s napping, I quickly change and head downstairs for a 4 mile interval run and core work. After I’m done I stretch, shower and get dressed. I sit down at the computer and she wakes up.
We basically start over with diaper, bottle, playtime, (diaper explosion), meals. For this playtime she will mostly sit up and play. We also play with her little motorcycle and in the bouncer. I put her in the jumparoo/bouncer and make lunch for me because I’m starving and can’t wait any longer. After I eat, I feed her. I do sweet potatoes mixed with avocado and give her a piece of chicken that’s leftover. She eats a decent amount again and we get cleaned up (and do an outfit change…again. Yes I do use a bib.)
It’s 11:45 by the time we’re done and she’s sleepy. I bring her back upstairs for her nap. She fusses/whimpers for 15 minutes and then falls asleep until 2. This time, while she naps, I clean up and do Blissful Eats and blog work. I get a nice chunk of time to get work done by 2 when she wakes. I get her, do diaper, bottle and I have a snack of chobani, fruit and almond butter. I get her water cup, put sunscreen on her and we go for a car ride to the park. By the time we get to the park it’s just about 2:45.
I put her in the swing for about 20 minutes and then we take alittle walk around the park watching all the kids. By this time she is starting to get fussy so she gets her 4 o clock bottle. (She generally eats every 4 hours during the day, but she always has a 4 o’clock bottle.) She starts to doze off, but then wakes up after 5 minutes (thank goodness, because it would have messed with her sleep!) We hang out and just enjoy the outside in 4:10-4:15 and then we get back in the car and leave.
(recycled pic. not from yesterday)
We get back to our house and go back to playing. At 4:30, we do our daily facetime with Danny on the train to see how his day was. I take a million pics a day..like this one. (Another new thing is she gives “kisses”. Not on demand, but she’ll pull your face to hers and do this. She probably is just trying to chew on my cheek…but I say it’s kisses.)
At 4:45 we go outside in her Radio Flyer wagon and go back and forth in front of the house. Dan comes home and he takes her for a spin. My mom and stepdad are coming home from work, so they stop by to say hi.
5:15 and it’s Liv’s (and our) dinner time. Most nights we eat at 6, but since she’s been up since 2 so we eat early. She isn’t really interested in eating, but took some bites of sweet potato puree plus left over carrots/applesauce. She’s really tired so Danny gives her a bath while I have a breather on the couch, check twitter, answer emails and get a little more work done. She gets her nighttime bottle at 6:30 (this is usually at 7) and is ready for bed by 6:45. We read a book and say prayers and then Danny puts her in her crib. After Olivia goes down, we clean up from dinner and whenever we’re done watch some tv.
I was tired from being up so early, so we head to bed at 9. Liv wakes up at 12:30, eats and goes back to sleep until 4:50, eats and now is still sleeping. (RARE!!)
So that was our day yesterday. Typically I plan for something to do everyday. Monday we went into the city with friends, today we have a Gymboree class, but yesterday since we didn’t have anything it was a bit boring. Days go much faster for me when we have plans, which is why I schedule 1-2 things a day, most days. Yesterday was nice though because it was beautiful out so we enjoyed the park. I do mostly schedule things around nap times, but Liv is pretty flexible and will sleep in the car.
If you’re still reading..WOW. Every single day is different with kids, but this is generally how it flows for us. Some days I have more to do, some days are pretty relaxed, like this one.
So is this more boring that you thought? haha. Hopefully I’ll remember to do one of these at about a year when she’s really moving.
What’s the most exciting part of your day? I’d say it’s taking her on different adventures. I love taking her to the swings and watch her watch the kids.
Hardest part: The hour before Danny gets home. It always drags!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I loved this post! I’m currently trying to decide if I want kids or not and this seems like a very comfortable routine you have (even though I’m sure it changes often and you never quite know what to expect.) I love how much balance you still have in your life between being a great mom, working on this site, and taking care of yourself!
I love this post. It gives the “reality” side to having babies! Which I need! Usually its either people making their day with baby seem like no mess, no tired, no problem at all, or I get the people so negative about having small children. I know it must be exhausting and you will lose sleep like never before, but aren’t there the grateful things too? So thank you, and I’d enjoy reading “Day in the life of 7 month old” as well! Hope the eating sessions get better!
Wow! Your baby seems very very easy. You are lucky! She’s adorable too.
My son is 5 months old (first) and I just typed “life of mom 5 month old” and luckily this post showed up! Im so happy because now I have an idea of what to look forward to in the next month!
My bambino isn’t sitting yet and we aren’t starting him on solids until 6 months but its nice to see the general change he will go through over the next few weeks. Thank you 
Enjoyed reading your blog
. I have a 6 month old as well. Right now I’m trying to get a set sleep sched. Going while trying to stay sane. And what I mean by that is, I stay in the house a lot due to her sleep sched. And it was nice reading this because it gave me hope that I could possible try to get out more. I noticed you wrote that your baby was up at 2pm and then fell to sleep for the night at 7pm. Is 5 hours usually how long you keep her up before bed? I was wondering if I could stretch my babies time a little before her bedtime to maybe get out a little with her. Let me know thanks 