Becoming a stay at home mum was a big adjustment for me. I worked with children in the past but it was only once I had found my feet as a parent that I realised that being at home with a baby 24/7 was bloody hard work.
It took me a while to find my rhythm. Eric has never been one for a strict routine so things chop and change all the time and have kept me on my toes. However, lately I finally feel like we have established a good little daily routine that means we both get the most out of our day whilst still being completely flexible.
Now I'm by no means a mum expert, but because it did take me so long to find something that worked I wanted to share what we currently do. We are about to go through a big life adjustment with the new baby coming so now more than ever it is imperative that Eric is settled, and knows what he is doing.
I should also say that whatever we are doing let Eric know. I talk him through what the plan is as and when it happens so that he isn't left confused. He may only just be exploring his words but I never underestimate his understanding.
Morning: The time Eric wakes up everyday does vary and I don't make him keep a strict wake up time because he does occasionally still wake up and stir during the night. So the time he does get up in the morning is a pretty wide window between 6am-7.30pm.
As soon as I go in to get Eric I gauge his mood. Sometimes he wakes up starving and grumpy and other times he is in a pretty good mood so I can get him dressed before breakfast (I always do this step first on a Monday and Thursday because Eric goes to the childminder.
Breakfast for Eric usually consists of the same thing everyday (check out my post about what he tends to eat here). He eats in his highchair (which is now a toddler table) and I will put on a Julia Donaldson animated short for him to watch. This gives me time to drink a lukewarm coffee and grab some breakfast.
After breakfast and a nappy change / getting dressed we will either head out somewhere or (if the weather is dry) go into the garden for some play. I am a big fan of free play so leave the patio door open so we can go in and out as we please.
Then, around 3.5-4 hours later (usually around 10.30 - 11am) it's time for biscuits and bed. Eric will go to the kitchen to find his biscuit and he knows that means we are going upstairs for stories and nap. He walks up the stairs, puts his biscuit on the bed, then I lift him in and he will "tell" me what stories he wants to listen to.
If he's in the mood to sleep, a nap will last about two hours, although this is Eric we're talking about, so sometimes it barely lasts two minutes!
While he sleeps I try and nap, then I'll sort out the dishwasher, grab a snack, watch some trash TV and enjoy the peace.
Afternoon: When Eric wakes up I tend to seize the opportunity to give him a bath. We throw in lots of toys, make loads of bubbles and he has some water play and a wash. I'm not going to lie - doing this means I can have a wee (or poo) and brush my teeth if I haven't been able to that morning. I dry him off and put his nappy on in the bathroom and they we are on the build up to his lunch.
One of Eric's favourite things to do after a bath is to run into our bedroom, jump on the bed and then potter around with our books or my makeup and jewellery. He thinks it's hilarious. When I finally coax him out I get him dressed in his bedroom and then we'll head downstairs.
While Eric has his lunch I'll have mine. I will put on something for him to watch (at the moment it's usually Baby Shark or some of the Simple Songs episodes on Amazon Prime) and then it's play time, a class, or I try to take him out somewhere again.
Being as pregnant as I am right now I'm not always in the mood to go out (the tiredness hits me around 3pm) so I do have to admit defeat and have a movie afternoon with him where he will watch the film, colour in and play with his toys. He seems happy to do this sometimes but if he does want to go outside again he will let me know bring me his coat and shoes as a cue.
Evening: Dinner time for Eric (if he has it) is in between 4.15-5.30pm depending on how the day has panned out. I will cook for Eric and tidy round the living room, putting away toys, folding clothes and generally making it a more grown up space ready for when he goes to bed.
Eric isn't the best at tidying but will help by taking any nappy sacks to the bin for me. And if I need to finish off the dishwasher he will pass clean plates, bowls and cutlery to me so I can put them away. Then I clean up around the living room and hallway as and when it is needed or attempt to put some washing on / collect it from the line or dryer and fold it up ready to go upstairs.
Ryan usually is home for around 7pm (on a good day) so he does the bedtime routine. If not, I treat Eric to a biscuit so I can get him up the stairs again for bed. He's not the biggest fan of going to sleep at night and will protest so whatever gets him in the mood to walk up the stairs works for me.
Mondays & Thursdays: Eric goes to the childminder twice a week so on those days I try and get housework done as well as having time for myself. We do have a cleaner now who comes bi-weekly which has taken some of the pressure off me but I save up any big errands, cleaning or creative work until Eric is out the house so I can concentrate on it fully.
No comments:
Post a Comment