As we near near the middle of December, K and I are finally starting to get into a routine. I have been taking some time off from work since just before Thanksgiving and I am spending 2 full days a week with him as well as 3 afternoons (he is still in preschool/daycare 3 days a week, 6 hours a day). I’m doing some consulting which is what I use those childcare days for.
K is 20+ months now and growing and learning more each day. I love getting to see how much he changes in such a short time.
On our full days together, our day usually goes something like this (this is what happened today):
6:30-7:15 – Wake up time. I get K from his crib and bring him back for snuggles and nursing in our bed.
7:15-8:00 – Hang out together in the living room, read books, snack on some berries, drink coffee or tea (me) play with cars and trains and ramps, etc… while we both fully wake up.
8:00-8:30 – B gets up and hangs out with K while I start on breakfast. We usually have some combination of eggs, yogurt, bacon or veggie sausage, toast, fruit, or oatmeal. Today we happened to have scrambled eggs on english muffins with melted cheese. K just had the eggs and a yogurt.
8:30-9:00 – Breakfast time. B leaves for work somewhere between 9-9:30 and then it’s just me and K.
9:00-10:00 – Straighten up the house, get dressed and ready for the day.
10-11:45 – My cleaning lady came today so I let her in and walked her through what needed to be done. Then we went for a walk to the main street in Hoboken (Washington Street) because I needed to pick up a few presents. After that we went to the playroom in our building and played with toys for a while.
(In the morning we usually do an activity such as: walk to the park, cook something in the kitchen, draw with crayons or finger paint, read books, play with trains some more. If K is entertaining himself I might get into some heavier cleaning, organizing, reading, or do work of some sort.)
11:45 – 2:00 – We headed into the city today to meet up with B and another couple (our former neighbors) plus their ten month old little girl. We ate lunch at BCD Tofu House in Koreatown. I got the Bibimbap lunch special which also came with a small soondofu seafood soup. K fell asleep for a few minutes at the start of lunch but was awake the rest of the time. He ate a lot of fish and rice.
(K usually naps from 12:30-2:30 or so.)
2:00-3:00 – We headed back to Hoboken, stopped at another store to pick up another present, and came home. I took a short work call that ended in K crying (because his car fell off the table) and then I nursed him briefly to get him to take his nap. It worked.
3:00-5:00 – K naps. I work, write this post, answer some emails from my lawyer (we’re in contract on a home out in central NJ), and will probably try to get in a little bit of reading. Sometimes I do a work out video or take a nap myself during his naptime.
5:00-6:30 – I prep dinner, K plays with various trains, puzzles, cars. At this point I will sometimes put on Little Einsteins for him so I can focus on cooking. We are doing Blue Apron so I cook that three nights a week; the other four nights I will either make something simple like pasta or we’ll order in or go out with friends. If B cooks he likes to make something more interesting than my simple meals. Sometimes K “helps” me in the kitchen on his Learning Tower. I chill out and read if there’s time. Tonight’s dinner is Spiced Pork Chops with Charred Poblano Salsa & Sweet Potato Mash .
6:30-8:00 – We hang out, dinner is usually ready around 7 (which is when B normally gets home), then we eat and have more storytime after dinner.
8:00-9:00 – B does bedtime routine – bath and then bed. He sits with K until K falls asleep (which sometimes happens in 5 minutes and sometime a lot longer).
9:00-on – If I’ve managed to stay awake this long, B and I will hang out and maybe watch something on Netflix (sometimes while eating ice cream). (I have NOT been able to stay awake lately due to the fact that I am – surprise! – pregnant again, so this does not happen often… what usually happens is I pass out on the couch or in bed just around when K does. By the way, I am nearing 13 weeks now and my due date is in late June.)
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I give major major kudos to those who are stay at home moms. The job of being a mom is way harder than the job I had when I was full time in the office. I am treasuring it now because I will go back to work at some point in the near future!
Would love to hear your ideas for activities to do with a 20 month old. They are so inquisitive 🙂
Until next time!
