It has been a couple months since I’ve done ‘a day in the life’ post, but I might start recapping these monthly again as I enjoy going back and seeing how much things change from month to month.
Cullen is 16 months old today, and I am enjoying each month more than the last. Cullen is finally walking (He started at about 14 months.), which is so nice. Everyone made it sound like it is worse when your baby could walk because they will get into everything, but he doesn’t get into any more things than when he was crawling. Now I can set him down and he can walk from room to room on his own, which I really like.
I’m not sure that this is a typical day for us, but then again I’ve quickly learned there isn’t a typical day with a baby.
Tuesday, February 23
7:45 p.m. Cullen goes down for the night. It (usually) has been much easier to get him down at night. (See the end of this post that that is not always the case.)
9:30 p.m. Lights out for me. I need to be better about getting myself to bed at a decent hour (like this) every night.
11:30 p.m., 12:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m. Ugh! Cullen woke up three times this night. No, he still is not sleeping through the night. He can and has, but it isn’t very consistent yet. Craig has to go check on him otherwise when I do, he is up-up, and we’re up for 2 or 3 hours before he’ll go back down. Apparently mommy = let’s play. He will go right back down when Craig checks on him, but being woken up and getting out of bed three times is no fun. Plus we often have a hard time falling back asleep. I was really hoping by this time I would be able to write that he is finally sleeping through the night. He’s been battling a cold the last week, so that doesn’t help.
6:45 a.m. I get up for the day. I know I didn’t get 8 hours of sleep (with all of Cullen’s wake-ups and having to fall back asleep after each one), but I feel mostly well-rested, so I decide to do some computer work.
8:00 a.m. I start making breakfast for everyone. Cullen wakes up for the day.
8:20 a.m. Breakfast – I make quick-cooking steel cut oats for Craig and myself. Cullen has raspberries, blueberries, yogurt, and some bread. This was an awesome combination: steel cut oats with maple syrup + sea salt + dates + pumpkin seeds + a scoop of Earth Balance peanut/coconut butter spread.
8:30 a.m. I clean up the kitchen and put clean dishes away. Cullen loves helping by taking things out of the dishwasher and handing them to me.
9:10 a.m. I change Cullen’s diaper and clothes, and then we FaceTime with my parents.
9:45 a.m. We were supposed to meet my friend Erin for a run, but her little guy is sick, so Cullen plays while I do things around the house: fold laundry, sort more laundry, call about tickets to MN this summer, have a snack, reply to a couple e-mails, and make the bed.
Cullen has to be carrying something in his hand when he is up walking around. Here he’s got a mini cucumber in his hand. He doesn’t like all vegetables, but he loves roasted broccoli, cucumbers, and peas.
11:00 a.m. I don’t know where the last hour went, but now we definitely have to get our for our run. Run 7 miles with the stroller. We run out by the airport, so Cullen can see all of the airplanes. He does great the whole hour we are gone, which makes me very happy.
I was super excited because for about half of my run, I got to run on DRY pavement. I think it has been since October that I last ran on dry pavement. All winter long, this is what I’ve been running on: slick ice that is not full of ruts and bumps. . . .not so fun pushing the stroller on. I am so over winter!
12:00 p.m. We return home. Craig is home for lunch, so we chat with him for a while. I grab a few snacks to hold me over until I can get something more substantial. I have my protein shake, a handful of trail mix, and dried coconut.
12:30 p.m. Cullen and I go upstairs for his nap. I change his diaper, read to him, rock him, and then put him in his crib.
12:45 p.m. I am getting ready to take a shower, but within a few minutes I hear Cullen talking and moving around. Usually once I walk out of his room, I don’t hear a peep. I wait a few more minutes, but he still isn’t falling asleep.
1:05 p.m. I go back in Cullen’s room, rock him, and then lay him down in his crib again. Within 10 minutes he’s down for his nap.
1:20 p.m. I finally take off my wet, sweaty clothes from running. (I often stay in them too long, but usually once I get back from running I am too preoccupied with Cullen or making something to eat.) I take a long, hot shower and actually take the time to shave my legs! It’s the little things. I finish getting ready.
1:50 p.m. I start a load of laundry, grab another handful of trail mix, and then start working on this blog post. I almost always use Cullen’s nap time to get computer work done because it is too hard to do it while he is awake since he wants to punch the keys on the keyboard.
2:50 p.m. Cullen wakes up. I can pretty much guarantee he’ll sleep for 1.5 hours, but that’s about it most days.
3:10 p.m. Cullen and I eat lunch. I grill a vegan burrito which ends up burning–oops. I made a batch of vegan and vegetarian freezer burritos last week, so I would have some quick go-to meals in a pinch. Cullen has some oranges, bread, and three-quarters of an avocado! Seriously, this boy has made our produce bill skyrocket. I used to go to Costco once a month, now I go almost every week!
3:45 p.m. I start preparing dinner. I usually start earlier than I need to, but I like it that way so I am not scrambling to get everything together in time. On the menu tonight: marinated tofu, roasted broccoli, and sweet potato chips.
4:30 p.m. Cullen and I deliver soup to a friend who just had a baby, and then we swing by Target for a birthday card for my brother.
5:20 p.m. We return home and Craig is headed to the gym, so we take Sadie for a quick walk around the neighborhood.
6:00 p.m. We get back from our walk, and I pop everything in the oven.
6:40 p.m. Dinner time.
7:15 p.m. I take Cullen upstairs to start our bedtime routine. We always do a bath, but when I ask Cullen if he wants to take a bath tonight, he shakes his head “no.” I ask him a couple more times, and each time he shakes his head “no,” so we skip the bath. We have fun playing with Craig’s t-shirts and being chased around the bedrooms. We brush teeth (He loves brushing his teeth.), put pajamas on, read books, and rock. I lay him in his crib, but I am pretty sure he isn’t tired yet.
8:00 p.m. I finish cleaning up the kitchen, transfer a load of laundry to the dryer, put things away, fold some laundry, and make sure the house has to be in order before I go to bed. I tell Craig he’s on baby duty.
8:45 p.m. I get ready for bed.
9:00 p.m. I finish this blog post. Cullen finally goes down for the night.
9:30 p.m. Lights out for me.
The end.
