5.00am – Maia wakes up and I feed her for 15-minutes and put her back to bed. I feel like a zombie although we’ve slept for five hours. Looking back at it, I don’t know how I survived the first weeks and months with the newborn. Maia wakes up again two minutes later – sigh – so I pick her up and rock her back to sleep. We sleep for another hour.
6.30am – Good morning! Maia is up and this time for good (you can tell because she has a poo when she’s properly awake, not before). She’s so happy and cuddly – I love her especially in the mornings! Even though we wake up at 6.30am… I’m not an early bird so I take her next to me where she entertains herself for half an hour letting me wake up slowly enough. Bless her!
7.00am – We get up and I change her nappy and clothes. I leave Maia to cuddle with her daddy while I make myself a cup (ok, a mug) of coffee and a bowl of bran flakes with blueberries. Daddy leaves for work and it’s playtime for us.
8.00am – Maia is starting to get hungry and tired and I take her to the bedroom for a feed and a nap. She sleeps for an hour in her bed during which time I have a shower and get dressed.
9.20am – Maia wakes up from her nap and is back on a good mood. I put her in her play corner and do my morning chores; tidy up the flat and set the dishwasher and washing machine going. Maia is happy to play by herself as long as I go wave some toys in front of her every 5-minutes or so.
10.20am – Feeding time! I grab another cup of coffee and sit down on the sofa to feed Maia. Surprisingly she is still tired and falls asleep on me after 15-minute feed. A longer feed would have been better since we will soon be leaving for our ballet class but she doesn’t want to wake up to continue feeding. I decide to let her snooze and put her on the rocker while I get our bag ready for ballet (my ballet slippers and a sling).
11.10am – Maia wakes up from a 40-minute nap as I put her in the pram and rush off. It’s a gorgeous sunny weather outside! But why am I always late?!
11.30am – We just make it to our Barre & Baby ballet class on time! I really enjoy this class – losing myself in the music with Maia against my chest in the wrap sling. ❤️ She no longer snoozes through the class the way she used to a few months ago, but she’s happy as long as I keep moving. Maia gets a bit bored during some of the barre work but otherwise she’s fine. I put a small rolled up towel behind her neck for extra support for when she starts to get tired (the only downfall of my Ergobaby sling).
1.00pm – Class is over and Maia falls asleep in her sling. She snoozes as I chat with the other mums and get some valuable tips about weaning. I’m tempted to go for a coffee when invited but I know I should head home because my little one needs a feed and a proper nap. I’m hungry so I get a green protein shake from a juice bar on the way home – so good and tasty!
2.00pm – We are back home and I change Maia’s nappy. For the next hour I try to feed her and put her down for a nap but she is too tired to feed without fussing and is fighting sleep. I blame myself for it since our ballet class coincides with the midday nap (why are the classes never at a convenient time??). Somewhere in between the feed and sleep attempts I manage to make myself lunch from yesterday’s leftover home-made burger, a bagel and avocado. I also snack on nuts and raisins while I breastfeed Maia because I’m still hungry.
3.00pm – Maia is sleeping. She sleeps for two hours in total but wakes up in the middle of it and I feed her for another twenty minutes. I think she didn’t feed enough before her nap but used her energy fussing and crying until she fell asleep. I use the time she sleeps to relax a bit myself. It’s surprisingly tiring looking after a baby because it’s so full on and non-stop.
5.00pm – We are up and I have a quick shower and change (I was still in my ballet gear) while Maia lies on her playmat. Then we combine chores and play as I fold laundry on the bed while singing to Maia who practices her rolling over trick. She is often a bit more clingy in the evening and I end up unpacking the dishwasher one-handedly (it’s not so hard, you learn quickly). To entertain her I read her Peppa Pig-book and we practice the baby games we’ve learned like the “wheels on the bus go round and round”.
6.20pm – We sit down on the sofa for a feed (20-minutes). I have a cup of herbal tea. Maia is getting sleepy but I tickle her a bit to keep her going.
6.45pm – Bath time. When Maia starts to get sleepy I run the bath for her. This way she won’t fall asleep for the night “too early” but preferably between 7pm and 8pm. It also relaxes her and signals “bed time”. We read her bath book again, which I’ve memorised by now. I dress her in PJs and put her in her sleeping bag. Evening feed in the dimly lit bedroom for half an hour. Maia’s daddy comes home just as she is falling asleep and gets to wish her good night.
7.45pm – Maia is sleeping in her Moses basket and we get started on dinner. Another day with my baby is over. ☺️
To be continued tomorrow!
xoxoxo,
Sini