A day in the life with a 4 month old

A lot has changed since my last “Day in the Life” post – when C was 6 weeks old. Yet, so much has also stayed the same.

The biggest change would be that I have returned to work part time, working from home around 20 hours each week.

The change has brought with it many lessons in time management, although I feel as if C and I are finding our groove and settling into a fairly good daily routine. Slowly but surely.

Of course there are some days where the ‘normal’ is anything but ‘normal’, but here is an insight into what our days generally look like at the moment.  I am sure there are things I forgot to include (like snacks etc) but you get the idea…

6.30am – Mr BBB and I both get up. He heads to the shower, and I head into my ‘office’ to get a solid hour of work done. Mr BBB leaves for work around 7.15am, then it is just us girls for the rest of the day.

7.30am – I go in and wake Charlotte up (although she is usually stirring by this stage). I have to share with you the smiley face that normally greets me each morning, as it never fails to put a smile on my face too!

7.30am -  9.00am – For the next hour and half, we set about accomplishing our morning routine. I make our bed…

while Charlotte has some tummy time…

Then it is into her nursery for a nappy change and feed…

And we spend the next hour playing, and I have breakfast.

Normally its nothing too fancy – just a bowl of GF muesli, some fruit and a cup of tea.

9.00am – C starts looking a little tired, so she generally takes a short 30 minute nap whilst snuggled on my chest. I use this time to continue working, catching up on blogs and / or preparing a blog post.

9.30am – 11.00am - C is awake, and we have more tummy and play time…

Then I put her in her swing (which now lives in our bathroom) while I have a shower.

Showered and dressed, I put a load of laundry and dishes on.

11.00am – When Charlotte is due for another nap, I bundle her up in the pram and head out. Most days we will walk to the local shops and pick up any groceries we need. Other days we will take a drive if we have errands to run.

She normally sleeps for around 40 – 60 minutes after she has nodded off.

12.30pm – Home again, and its time for lunch for both of us.

I have been fairly lazy with lunches recently, tending to eat leftovers from the previous nights’ dinner or make a quick sandwich.  Washed down with a cup of tea or coffee, and a big glass of water.

1.30pm – Nap time. This time, I swaddle, and put C in her bassinet. This leaves my hands free to get back into the office for another hour or two of work – depending on how long she naps for.

3.00pm – Charlotte wakes, has a feed, and we have a bit of playtime together.

Then starts our afternoon adventures.

During the afternoon, I generally start to get dinner ready, and C is generally quite happy to sit back and watch.

With dinner bubbling away slowly on the stove, and under the watchful eye of C, I unpack the dishwasher, fold the dry laundry (with assistance)..

And hang out the wet washing.

If I can, I also like to fit in some exercise during the afternoon too. Once a week my mother in law or niece comes around for a couple of hours, and I have been trying to use this time to fit in a short run. Otherwise, I will do some upper or lower body sets using free weights a few times a week (something I have just started).

4.15pm – If all is well, C will take another short nap in the late afternoon. Recently she has been fighting these naps (despite being so much happier if she takes one), and if it gets to 5.00pm and she hasn't fallen asleep, I tend to give up.

6.00pm – This evening period is still C’s most fussiest, so we spend much of the late afternoon playing, generally trying to keep her distracted and happy, until her Dad walks in the door from work.

(Including impromptu photo shoots)

C instantly lights up the moment Mr BBB arrives home, and they waste no time in having some daddy / daughter play until it is time to start what has become our standard bedtime routine.

6.30pm – We bath C together every night, which is something that she seems to really like.

She loves these bath rings, in particular, and will look around for them as soon as she is placed into the bath!

6.45pm – With C washed and dried, we swaddle her and I give her as big a feed as she will take. Usually she will drift off to sleep after 10 – 15 minutes of feeding, and I transfer her to her bassinet. We aim to have this done by 7pm – or shortly thereafter.

7.10pm – With C in bed, we finish putting together our dinner (which is usually mostly prepared from the afternoon).

On this occasion it was corned beef, with a potato we had roasting in the oven for an hour or so (started just before bath time) and some steamed greens.

7.30pm – With dinner done, and the dishes washed, I head back into the office for a few more hours of work. If I have not had the chance to do much throughout the day, I might need to spend 2 hours in here. Or, if C has slept well throughout the day, I might not have to spend much extra time working at all.

9.15pm – Around this time, C will wake for a feed, which I do in our dimly lit bedroom. This usually only takes 5 minutes or so, and she will fall straight back to sleep.

9.30pm – 7.30am - While C was sleeping for good long periods overnight a while ago, this has all changed again. Over the last few weeks, she has been waking up at least 3 times – usually around midnight, 2.30am and 5.30am. While I am grateful that she generally re-settles quickly after a feed at these times, I am starting to feel as if my sleep bank is fast running out! Every night is a new adventure, although I would be lying if I said that I didn’t hope she starts to sleep for longer stretches again soon.

So there you have it – a day in our life! Who knows what the next few months will bring?