A Typical Day with Abby

Today Abby and I thought we'd share with you what our typical day is like, just in case you were wondering what I do all day.

5 am - Abby wakes me up with her noise making. Sometimes she wakes herself up, but normally she finds her thumb and goes back to sleep all by herself. It normally takes me about 30 minutes to get back to sleep. Maize normally wants let out too.

6:20 - Steve's first alarm goes off. If Abby hasn't had her early morning snack yet, she normally is up around this time to eat, get clean diapers, and then go back to sleep.

6:30 - Steve's second alarm goes off. He gets up. Some days Abby gets to take her dad's spot in the bed (if she and mom are both awake when dad gets up).

7:30 - This is the latest that Abby will sleep in the morning before her first morning snack. She usually goes back to sleep after her snacking.

9:30 - Abby wakes up for the morning (after she takes her first early morning nap from 6 or 7 am). Every other morning or so Abby takes a warm bath and gets dressed up. She always wakes up smiling in the mornings.

10:00 - After Abby gets washed up and dressed (and I get dressed, but not showered) we have some playtime. Abby loves reading books and currently is a big fan of standing up on me, or Steve, or the couch. We have to let Maize out if Abby is going to play on the floor. After playtime Abby is ready for a snack and has vitamins in her bottle so the milk is cherry flavored.

10:30 ish - Abby takes a nap for 2 or so hours. If I am not to exhausted, I try to sneak in a shower, do dishes, and get lunch.

1:00 - Abby is awake again by 1 and wants some more food. After she eats we try to run any errands that we have so we are home before her next napping period. I often have to go do errands without a shower, I usually remember to at least put on deodorant and my glasses or contacts.

4:00 - It is Abby's naptime again. She is cranky by the time she gets to her afternoon nap, so we usually have a little bit of crying or whining before Abby falls asleep. This is usually a time when we read books again. Especially Junior's Colors. We are espeically grateful for Abby's many pacifiers at this time. She highly recommends the Soothie pacifiers. While Abby naps I may be able to get a shower, I have to start dinner, and Maize normally is feeling left out by now and needs to play a round or two of fetch. If I have time I try to read a little or check my email. This is also laundry time, pick up time, and bill paying time.

5:10 ish - Abby's dad gets home and she plays with him while they wait for dinner to get ready. She likes to stand on her dad and stomp her feet on him. She gets another bottle before dinner and then sits in her high chair at the table while we eat.

5:30 ish - Abby and her dad watch SportsCenter or some other ESPN program while her mom does the dishes.

6:00 ish - Either we take a family hike around the neighborhood, or if needed we head out to do our weekly shopping. Sometimes I go out by myself and sometimes Abby and Steve go too. I try to do all of the grocery shopping and other trips where we will have more than one bag when Steve is home, since it is too much work wrangling a baby carrier, tons of bags, and unlocking and opening a door with an excited dog behind it.

8:00 - We start the calm down routine with Abby. She eats again and gets snuggled by her dad. We read books or work on a puzzle.

9:00 - Our family heads up to bed for an hour of reading time before bedtime. Steve is currently reading The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel. I am reading the collected short stories of Dostoevsky and the biography of John Adams.

10:00 - Abby gets a clean diaper, gets a snack, and gets laid down for bed. Sometimes she goes right to sleep and sometimes she talks until 10:30 or 11.

1:00 or 2:00 am - Maize thinks she needs to go outside. I assess the situation and either tell her to get back to bed or let her out (based on the urgency of the whining).