So I know this post is long overdue, but what can I say other than, I've been busy. Our baby boy is 11 weeks and mommy is back in the office.
I shuttered at the thought of returning to work sooner than 12 weeks, but it was a sacrifice I made because I knew it would be best in the long run. Brayden has adjusted to daycare, this week being his third week. His teachers adore him and he is consistently smiling, laughing and cooing during drop off and pick up (when he's not sleep.) Brian and I receive real-time updates to monitor his feedings, diaper changes, infant development, and naps. It's awesome.
I am finally in the swing of things, juggling motherhood, working full-time [with a killer NOVA commute], keeping house, and maintaining a healthy relationship. I've read dozens of articles on how all dynamics shift once the baby arrives. I was determined to keep things as normal as possible and my ambition paid off.
A day in the life: My day starts at 0415-0430 having just dozed back off from a 0230 feeding. After I am finished getting myself straight, I wake Brayden for another feeding, a diaper change, and get him dressed for the day. Brian and I have our morning prayer and he carries Brayden to the car. We arrive at daycare about 0550. It opens at 0600. Yes, he is one of three early arrivals at "school". I get on the highway to make my way to the office by 0740. It takes me about an hour and 15/20 min. Off at 1530, to pick the baby up at 1705. Once we arrive home, I clean and sterilize his bottles to prep them for the next day. Start dinner and feed/change Brayden again. While dinner is cooking, I play with him if he's awake.
After dinner, we give Brayden a bath, feed him again, read a story or watch Sprout Educational TV on Nick Jr. After Brayden is sleep, I prep his bottles, take a shower, and pull out our clothes for the next day. If he isn't sleep by then, it's Father/son time so I can have mommy time lol
Brian puts away dinner and we are all in bed by 2200-2230. Somewhere in there Brian has gone to the gym and I've tried to do some squats and calf raises.
Now I know you're probably wondering where the fun stuff is... trust me it's in there. We have fun bathing Brayden together or watching Sprout together. It's enjoyable watching Bray talk to the characters or to us if we aren't paying him attention lol. Brian and I catch up during my 2 hour commute home. Communication is key. Especially when we are both working full time and trying to squeeze "us" time in. Family time is the new "us" time, but we still carve out time to be Brian and Ciera. He still takes me on dates and I still leave little notes for him to find after I leave the house in the morning.
Major housework and errands are left for the weekend; I only wash a few loads of laundry during the week. Baby clothes pile up very quickly. And there are so many!!! [because the article was just too cute not to buy for him.] Lol
We have a schedule and right now it works.
The goal is to find a routine that works for your lifestyle. I told yall, my lifestyle pops, but I wanted to keep things normal; cooking and cleaning is my norm. Can't slack on hot meals everyday. One, it's expensive to eat out daily, and two, it's not always healthy. Yall know I'm still working on my post baby body. (That's another post to come later). Basically, my crockpot is my friend lol
Brian's norm is hitting the gym after work, so that has continued. We alternate the short and long days so he can be here with the baby and help me out.
Now add packing. Yep, one of the things on the horizon I mentioned a few FB statuses ago is our move. We are moving to a bigger space in less than 30 days. We are excited and overwhelmed lol but such is life.
We have it figured out for now, only time will tell though. In the meantime, I'll continue to post my Post-pregancy, motherhood journey.
If you have any questions or have things you'd like me to post about please let me know.
Until next time.....
<3
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