“It will be so easy to have balance and routine in my life once the baby is born. All they do is eat, sleep and poop anyway. How hard can it be?”
Then reality hits.
My life is no longer my own. I am responsible for another human. A real live baby that is mine. I can’t hand him back to his parents after a few hours and go back to my gym routine, hair & makeup, and meal prepping. He’s with me 24/7. I get to figure this out.
Each month brings new challenges. Every time I think I’ve conquered something, or think I’ve gotten into somewhat of a routine, another milestone happens for Noah.
0-3 months
Noah would eat, sleep, and poop. Nothing else. He would only fall asleep in my arms, so my routine looked something like this:
6am Wakeup, feed, cuddle, take pictures and videos of little man and cuddle some more
8am try to make some breakfast while holding Noah because he would scream if I put him down
9am Feed, hang out in the rocker
Do pretty much the same thing all day and pray for the minute that Joe would get home at 4pm to relieve me.
There was no routine. It just wasn’t possible. Breastfeeding was a mystery to me. My body wouldn’t produce enough milk. Noah would cry and I thought he just wanted food all the time (he really wanted to nap). I was starving and lacked energy. Didn’t feel like leaving the house. Post Partum depression settled in.
3-6 months
Things finally started to become a little easier. Noah became more independent. He was able to hang out in the bouncer for 10 mins while I cooked breakfast. I decided to end my breastfeeding journey, and eventually he was able to hold his own bottle. We even got him on somewhat of a “schedule”.
It looked something like this:
6:30am Wakeup, feed, give Noah a bath + play
8:30am Nap + Feed
10:30am Awake + Feed + meet a friend or go out to Target or do grocery shopping
12:30pm Nap + Feed
2:30pm Awake + Feed + Hangout & Play, maybe go out again
4pm Nap + Feed
5pm Awake + (maybe feed) + make dinner
6:40pm Go upstairs, turn sound machine and salt lamp on, change diaper, feed, and in bed by 7pm (Then being up all night at crazy hours)
During that period of time, all I strived for was surviving another day. Another day of getting through this motherhood thing and enjoying every moment with my baby.
6-9 months
Around 6 months we started taking him to our local gym and leaving him at the Kids Club while we worked out. He also was able to stay awake for longer periods of time. So then, our days looked a little more like this:
7am Wakeup, Feed + Play
8:30am Gym time for mama! Noah goes to Kids Club
10am Feed, then Noah falls asleep in the car. I bring him in the house and he sleeps for 2 hours. Mom eats breakfast and works on business things.
12pm Awake, Feed, Play or go out and about
3pm Feed
4pm Nap time. Mom makes (a late) lunch, and resumes business endeavors.
5:30pm Awake + Play
6pm Feed, Mom & Dad make dinner
7-7:30pm Give Noah a bath, Play, Feed, and asleep by 8pm
I’m sure my routine will change even more as he gets older. But basically, I stay present in the moment while he is awake. Then I work and get things done while he naps. Each mom has her own agenda. For me, it’s working on a side business, so that I can be a stay at home mom and never miss a moment. For other moms, it may be cleaning up the house or watching some TV. Whatever you decide to do with precious nap time is in your control. Use it to relax and recharge, or to work on your dreams.
What did your routine look like as a new mom? What did you do during nap time?
Michelle Carvalho 