Hi friends!
I am so happy to be in a semi-regular blogging routine again. After Fiona was born in November, I kind of took a little bit of a “leave” and slowed down to enjoy our life as family of four and the holidays. It was necessary to find our new normal and a new routine. It felt much more seamless with the second baby, to be completely honest with you. The first baby really rocks your world, but second… not as bad for us, personally.
For some background, I stay home with our two girls. My career prior to kids was a Sr. Copywriter and I have been working as a professional writer for nearly a decade. One of the many perks is that I can freelance and work from home while I raise our kids (yay!) So aside from running this blog, I also work for a couple companies as a freelance writer. Finding time to juggle it all is not always easy but it is worth it. With that in mind, here’s a look at what our new “routine” looks like. It is very loose and the timestamps are not on the dot always but this is typically what it looks like.
6-7AM: Fiona has been taking a bottle once during the night, if that, which is very nice. She typically wakes up anytime between 6-7 for her first morning feed and Willow gets up around 7. Willow has a cup of milk to hold her off while I pump and until I prepare breakfast.
7-8AM: My (very awesome) husband will watch the girls while I get myself ready for the day. This is also the hour that I will empty dishwasher, prep bottles for day (I exclusively pump), and get Willow’s breakfast ready.
8-9AM: Willow and I eat breakfast and Fiona naps in her lounger next to us. Breakfast clean-up, etc.
9-11AM: Joe goes to work and the girls and I head to the living room for the morning. This is the official play area of our house for now so Willow will keep herself busy for a bit while I feed/tend to Fiona. But we also read stories together and just kinda hang out. I’ll fold laundry if its done, catch up on emails, answer messages on IG, see what’s going on for freelance, pump, etc. Since it is winter, we really haven’t been getting out too much. But we find things to do inside, too. Some of Willow’s favorites lately: blocks, dress-up, coloring, trampoline, pretend play in her new play kitchen, and tea parties.
11-NOON: Time to get Willow’s lunch! I set Fiona down with us or wear her and we all sit and eat lunch together. Well, Fiona get’s a bottle.
NOON-1PM: We wind down upstairs in Willow’s room with some books. Usually Fiona is napping again by now and then Willow goes down at 1 for her nap.
1-3PM: Freeeeedom! LOL This is my time to do my thing. Sometimes it is freelance work or cleaning while other times I can just sit back and catch up on some reading, TV, or YouTube. I cherish this alone/quiet time.
3-5PM: Afternoons are a bit more relaxed. I will generally put on some TV for Willow while she plays with toys, runs around, or follows me around the house. I feed Fiona, pump again, and just do what needs to be done. This is also the time where I start to get really tired/ready for Joe to get home so it is kind of autopilot mode and just do the bare necessities to get us to 6.
5-6PM: I will prepare dinner while usually wearing Fiona if she is not napping in her SnuggleMe in the pack ‘n play. I play some music and Willow hangs around and we have dance parties in between. This has been part of our routine for a very long time. Making dinner = dancing. She generally just loves to watch me cook dinner and will often want to help.
6-7PM: Joe gets home! This is powerhour now – dinner, Joe plays with girls/feeds Fiona while I clean up after dinner, more dance parties, bath time, wind down, and Willow’s bedtime at 7-7:30. We try to put Willow to bed together but if Fiona is not cooperating then we will split up. Lots of books before bed.
7-9PM: Once Willow is down, Joe spends some one-on-one time with Fiona while I pump, shower, and get ready for bed. It’s my “me” time and I love this. If I have freelance work, I’ll do that. If I don’t, then we’ll snuggle up on the couch and catch up on our favorite TV or talk or whatever. It’s just nice to finally relax and get time to ourselves. Fiona will feed often toward end of day to gear up for sleep. She has been taking a bottle around 8PM and then goes out while we have some nice silence.
9-10PM: Fiona’s dream feed is around 9:30-10 and my husband does this so I can get a head start on sleep to tackle any middle-of-the-night wake-ups/feedings. I change her, swaddle her up, and she is fed and out until usually 3-4AM before getting up at 6-7AM. Sometimes she sleeps right through (which is AMAZING) but that does not happen every night.
So that’s a look at our day, start to finish! It’s fun to put these posts together because I know I’ll love to look back on these days. I know it is not very exciting, but this is our life lately. I wouldn’t change a thing. I am soaking up these slow moments as much as I can. This time is fleeting. xx bianca
