I wanted to write down a little sample from one of our days so I can look back and remember all this. It's going by so fast and I am enjoying every second staying at home with James. He is the best baby and I am so fortunate for his chill and easy temperament!
Here we go...a day in James' life at 5 weeks old:
3:30/4:00 AM - James wakes up crying (the saddest little cry!) I scoop him up and go into the nursery so Dad can sleep. Turn on the night light, nurse for 20-30 minutes, change his diaper, reswaddle him and head back to bed.
6:30/7:00 AM - Wakes up crying, go into the nursery and nurse and fall back asleep in the chair. Our glider reclines so I super super struggle to stay awake while he is nursing during the 6AM feed. I almost always fall asleep in the chair too.
8:30/9:00 AM - I guess he is extra hungry in the morning because he usually wakes up about 2 hours after his early morning wakeup (sometimes an hour later). Nurse in bed (Dad has left for work) cuddle and hang out in bed before heading downstairs.
3:30/4:00 AM - James wakes up crying (the saddest little cry!) I scoop him up and go into the nursery so Dad can sleep. Turn on the night light, nurse for 20-30 minutes, change his diaper, reswaddle him and head back to bed.
6:30/7:00 AM - Wakes up crying, go into the nursery and nurse and fall back asleep in the chair. Our glider reclines so I super super struggle to stay awake while he is nursing during the 6AM feed. I almost always fall asleep in the chair too.
8:30/9:00 AM - I guess he is extra hungry in the morning because he usually wakes up about 2 hours after his early morning wakeup (sometimes an hour later). Nurse in bed (Dad has left for work) cuddle and hang out in bed before heading downstairs.
9:30AM - head downstairs and James goes in his bouncy seat and I make oatmeal and straighten up the kitchen.
10:00 AM - James has had enough bouncy seat and wants to be held. I pick him up and we head to the couch and cuddle before he falls asleep.
10:15-11:00 AM- Nap for James. I usually nap at all morning naps too. After 12:00 or so I stay awake and do other things during his naps.
11:00 AM - James wakes up hungry, nurse for 30 minutes or so, change diaper, and then I usually just hold him some more. :)
12:00 PM - Dad comes home for lunch. (woohoo!) Put James in his bouncy seat or MamaRoo and Austin and I eat lunch together. Luckily almost every day James is chill and we get to eat and chat.
1:00 PM - Dad heads back to work and James and I will play a little (Tummy time on his mat, more MamaRoo time, etc).
1:30 PM - Ready for food!
2:00 PM - Swaddle James and put him down for a long nap (usually 2 hours) during that time I work on Windy Peak stuff or catch up on house work. If nothing needs to be done I will take a nap myself, especially if I didn't get a morning nap.
4:00/4:30 PM - Wake up and eat again for 30 minutes.
5:00 PM - Dad is home from work and we are excited to see him. We usually do something to get out of those house (go to target, take a long walk, etc) but I'll feed James again before we head out of the house.
7:00 PM - Back home and we fix something for dinner. About once a week we go out to eat, more so just to get out of the house. I get cabin fever! Tonight we went to Carolina Ale House and had a few beers. (They say beer helps with milk production so I am all about the daily beer.) And it's so weird I have been craving beer like crazy and I usually am not a huge beer drinker.
8:30 PM - Back home and time to get ready for bed. We bathe him some nights but they say not to bathe him every night because his skin is still too fragile and will get too dry. We bathe him a few times a week and just wash him down "bird bath" style the other days.
9:00 PM - Time to eat again, then I swaddle him up and lay him down. We usually just hold him or lay him on the couch until we are ready to go upstairs to bed.
12:00 AM - I'll nurse James again and we head upstairs and put him in his Rock-n-Play sleeper by our bed. He's out cold until 4:00AM or so. Austin and I are both total night owls. It's rare we go to bed before midnight.
And there you have it. Now, REPEAT!
**I'm nursing James on demand every 2-3 hours so he doesn't have a set feeding schedule. We are doing baby-led feeding and it's working pretty well for us.
** James has a pretty huge appetite and my body is struggling to keep up. I've struggled with low milk supply from the get go. I have to supplement him a time or two a day when he seems hungry after nursing. His diet is about 85% breast milk and while I struggled with that a ton in the beginning I am learning to feel proud that I can at least give him that much!
