Routine

When I was teaching, I used to hate the days where the schedule was thrown off...assemblies, parties, fire drills, random announcements, etc. I like to have a plan and I like things to be predictable. That is why motherhood has been a little challenging...I haven't yet been able to get in a routine. Every time I would see some sort of a schedule, something would throw it off--sickness being the worst. Well, now that Heidi is feeling much better and is almost 5 months old (when did that happen?) I am starting to see a routine emerge and I am more than thrilled. The mornings seem to be more predictable than the afternoons, but hey, I'll take it.

Heidi usually goes to bed around 7:30 but she would go down at 5:30 if I let her. She is just like her mother--not a night owl. I have tried to give her a cat nap to hold her off until closer to 7:30, but she wants none of it...it's the real thing or nothing! Sooo...we do cereal around 6:45, bath, nurse, bed. Sometimes she can't even make it getting dressed and she has been known to start dosing off while she gets lotion rub down. And trust me--it doesn't matter how much she sleeps in the day, she does not like to see anything past the 8:00 hour!

Around 3 or 4am she wakes up. Her congestion is SO much better now so she makes it much longer, but that is about the time she starts getting stuffed up again. She will usually take the pacifier until 5 or 5:30.

Then, I get her up to feed her. Would she take the pacifier and hold off a little longer? Probably. The problem is, I am so excited to see her and kiss her little cheeks that I get excited to hear her stirring and she usually wakes up chattering and it is just too cute. After I feed her she HAS to have cuddle time. If she does not get this time, she is clingy and crabby. She likes to lay with me and snuggle. Sometimes she falls back asleep, sometimes she just likes to be held close. She loves Sat. and Sun. when dad is there to snuggle too. It is all of our favorite time and even though we know there are critics of this time, we don't really care because she will only be this little once and our next baby probably won't be so cuddly.

Around 6:30 she gets dressed and watches me run on the treadmill. Now that she is sleeping better, I am desperate to get the rest of this baby weight off. I was doing so well and then I was exhausted from only catching a few hours of sleep that I made excuses. No more. I need to get back into it so when the weather finally gets warmer we can try out the jogging stroller. Heidi loves this time. She uses this time to squeal at the treadmill and practice rolling over. When I finish and do push-ups and sit-ups she finds it extremely hilarious. She giggles and giggles. Then we usually play awhile and work on rolling.

Then it's shower and another feeding for the little one. She usually plays 1-2 more hours and takes a nap. Then it's chore time for me. I try to get all the big stuff done during her first nap, and yes, she still naps in the swing. I need to start getting her to nap in the crib, but until Jeff gets the monitor hooked up, it's easier for me to listen for her in the swing. Sometimes she takes a short 30 min. nap, sometimes closer to an hour and half. When she gets up we use that as our reading time and mat time until the next feeding.

After her third feeding she usually takes another nap and that's when I usually work on projects for the school or scrapbook. When she wakes up I feed her again and then we play until it's time to make dinner. Once dinner is made, we anxiously wait for dad to get home. It's still not as scheduled as I would like, but hey, it's a start. I feel so blessed to get to stay home and watch my sweet little girl...who is growing way too fast. Everyone told me how hard motherhood would be, but not many told me how much fun it can be--what a pleasant surprise.