It is becoming more and more difficult to remember “LBC” (ie “life before Charlotte”). Our current days seems to disappear in the blink of an eye. It feels as if one minute she is waking up for her first feed, and the next thing I know we are trying to settle her for the evening.
While we don’t have any firm routine in place at the moment, there are some consistencies in our day. And, given that I am set to return to work next week (part time from home), which will undoubtedly mean that things change even more, I thought it might be nice to capture “a day in the life” while Charlotte is 6 weeks old and I am not yet back at work.
Keeping in mind that not every day looks like this. Some days she sleeps and feeds more, some days she sleeps and feeds less (I think she likes to keep us guessing). Some days we head out for adventures, some days we stay at home, but most days we at least head out for a walk at some point.
Here was our day yesterday.
7:30am - I hear Charlotte stirring in her bassinet beside me, and I know what this means. Charlotte is awake and ready to start the day. It seems she has slept in a little later today than usual though.
I un-swaddle her, and while she is doing her wake up stretches, I make the bed.
Then it is time for a feed, nappy change and then a little tummy time.
And down onto the activity mat for Charlotte, and breakfast for me.
I use this opportunity to put the dishwasher on from the night before, then get down for playtime with Charlotte.
9:00am – I swaddle Charlotte for her morning nap. She resists, but finally falls asleep on my chest after 15 minutes or so of patting and rocking, and I am able to put her in her bassinet.
Not knowing how long Charlotte will nap for, I start dashing around the house – fitting in as much as I can before she wakes up. This morning, I use the time to prepare a blog post, send my daily email & Charlotte photo to my Mum, and put a load of washing on.
9:45am - After only 30 minutes she is awake and crying – so it is a short nap today its seems. I try to get her to re-settle, however she is having none of it. I give her another feed, a nappy change (and an outfit change this time too!) and we have some more cuddle time.
By now I am thinking that I should get dressed, so I put Charlotte in her swing in our bathroom while I shower.
It keeps her entertained for 15 minutes or so. When I am ready, I give her another feed, then start getting everything together so that we can head out.
Charlotte will normally take a nap over lunchtime, and I generally use this time to run chores, go for a walk, or prepare a make ahead meal. Today, I have a couple things that I need to get done at the local shopping centre, so we load up the car and head out together in the sunshine.
11:00am – With Charlotte now asleep in the pram, I get my chores done – including stops at both Medicare and the Bank.
I even have time to stop in and do a little shopping for me, and manage to find something that I have been looking for for quite a while…
All to be revealed.
12:30pm – We arrive home from the shops, and Charlotte is now awake. She is happy to go back down on her activity mat, while I make and eat lunch.
1.00pm – Charlotte herself is now hungry, so it is time for another feed, nappy change, followed by some cuddles.
2.00pm – Just as Charlotte starting to fall asleep on my chest, my mother in law arrives (she comes over each Thursday afternoon) and is more than happy to take over the sleepy cuddles with her granddaughter while I head out for a run.
2.15pm – My second post-baby run – and I manage to cover a very slow 5km (with a couple walking breaks) along my old running route.
Although, in hindsight, perhaps I should have timed Charlotte’s feed and my run a little better as I still feel rather “full” and heavy…
3.00pm – I arrive home, hot and tired, and quickly make myself a snack and a cup of tea before Charlotte wakes up, then unpack the dishwasher.
3.30pm – Right on cue, Charlotte wakes up, and we start the cycle of nappy changing and feeding once again. This time she shows her grandmother just how tricky she can be when having her nappy changed, with it taking 3 attempts and a clothing change before she was all cleaned up 
4.30pm – My mother-in-law heads off for the afternoon, so Charlotte and I have some more playtime and a little photo shoot while waiting for Mr BBB to get home from work.
I also hang out some washing, and put another load on.
5.30pm – “Evening” Charlotte starts to make her appearance, and she begins to grizzle despite being fed, changed and warm. Mr BBB arrives home from work, and we bundle her up and head out for a walk in the dark – which generally calms her down.
We wander to the local supermarket (about 1km away), and pick up a few things (milk, soy milk, chai latte powder…you know….the essentials).
6.30pm – We return home, and I immediately heat up some of the cottage pie I made the other night for dinner. We eat at the dining table while Charlotte plays on the activity mat beside us, and she is in relatively good spirits this evening.
7.00pm – Another feed for Charlotte, and then its time to try and get her to settle for the evening. This can take 10 minutes, or this can take hours. Every couple of days we give her a bath at this time too. Tonight she is rather unhappy at first, but by 8.00pm she is fast asleep on my chest, and I even manage to watch a bit of The Block. Compared to some nights we have had recently, this is a very good evening! Now if only she would take this sleep in her bassinet….
9.00pm – I am starting to feel a little tired myself by this stage, so I decide to head to bed. I swaddle Charlotte, and give her a dream feed, before placing her in her bassinet. She stirs a little, but settles again quickly, and I read a few chapters of my book before falling asleep.
3.30am – I hear Charlotte stirring in her bassinet beside me and after looking at the clock, I realise she has slept for over 6 hours! Most nights she will have woken for another feed around midnight or 1am, but sometimes she will sleep right through to 3.00am (like tonight). I feed her while sitting in bed, change her nappy, re-swaddle her, then take her into the dark study for the remainder of her feed. While she finishes, and starts to fall back to sleep, I read some blogs (a habit I started when trying to keep myself awake during the night feeds). By 4.15am I am convinced that she is sound asleep, so I put her back into her bassinet and crawl back into bed myself.
6.00am – Again, I hear Charlotte stirring in the bassinet beside me, and give her another quick feed. This settles her for another hour or so, but by 7.00am she is awake and well and truly ready to start the day again!
So there you have it - a day in the life of Miss Charlotte at 6 weeks old. I think it will be rather interesting to see how things change over the next few months, particularly given that I am back at work as of next week.
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