Thursdays are one of my stay-at-home-mom days while the Husband works. I work on Monday and Friday, and the Husband gets to be a SAHD. Our schedule is going quite well; we’re lucky our jobs are both so flexible. One of the tweaks that we’ve made to our plan is that the SAH parent gets an hour or so to themselves in the morning while the working parent watches Henry. So far, we’re both using our free hour for naps but hope to transition them to workouts soon.
Here’s what Henry and I did this morning: Our day really started at 2:24 AM, which is when Henry woke me up for Feeding #1. I had gone to bed at 10 PM, and the Husband had given him a pumped bottle around midnight. I know not everyone supports the idea of introducing a bottle so early because it can confuse the baby, but Henry has eaten every 45 minutes – 2 hours since birth… and it’s closer to the 1 hour average (not really ‘normal’ for a newborn). I would be suffering from sleep psychosis if we hadn’t given him a bottle; plus, he’s not confused. It’s working for us. Anyway, I’m awake again for Feeding #2 at 4:48, Feeding #3 at 5:34, and we finally get up for real for Feeding #4 at 6:34. Diaper changes occur after every feeding.
Henry and I snuggle in bed and he stares at the blinds. They are high-contrast early in the morning (dark and light), which is extremely fascinating to his newborn eyes. It’s funny.
We play in bed and make a video for GrandmaHTP and my friends Sarah and Kath, and then we get out of bed. We have a dance party in the closet, and I put on workout clothes and brush my teeth.
I have a glass of soy milk.
And feed the dogs.
Meanwhile, Henry is chillin’ in his bouncer chair, which I got for $5 on consignment. Truly the best baby purchase we’ve made!
Very soon, it’s time for Feeding #5. I change Henry out of his pajamas…
And into a short-sleeved workout onesie. 
I got this one for $1 at a thrift store!
I put Maggie back in the guest room with the Husband – her legs are too short for the long walk that I’m planning. The Husband sleeps upstairs on his work nights; it’s not the ideal romantic situation but, like the occasional bottle feeding, it’s allowing us to keep our sanity. Kristien can’t be woken up every two hours after going to bed at midnight and do a good job at the clinic. On non-work nights, he sleeps in our bed and gets up with me to take care of Henry. When Henry’s feedings space out a bit more, I’m sure Kristien will ditch the guest room but… so far, it’s working.
I leash up James, put Henry in his stroller, and we’re off.
We’ve been working on our fitness, and now we’re up to 45 minute walks!
When Henry falls asleep, I put a swaddle blanket over the stroller so he doesn’t get too much sun.
Since so many people have asked, we have the City Mini 2012 stroller with the Chicco KeyFit car seat (he’s too little to just sit in the stroller). We really like it. It’s good for long walks.
Just as it’s getting to be way too hot for all three of us to be outside, we get back to the house and I make breakfast for myself.
I actually end up eating this breakfast standing up while rocking Henry because he’s having a minor meltdown. Par for the course!
Well, that’s our morning. Lots of diapers, feedings, snuggles, and walking. I guess one could see it as repetitive, but it’s tons of fun for me to spend so much time with Henry. I should have the Husband do a post about his SAHD mornings!
Henry was happily sleeping in his swing while I wrote this, but now he’s up. I’m sure you can guess what time it is… Feeding #8. And it’s only 9:00!
My babies always eat a lot and VERY frequently when they’re small. My daughter just started spacing out her feedings to almost 3 hours and she’s 8 months old. I don’t make a lot of fat in my milk so they need to eat frequently. We started bottles as soon as we got home from the hospital. My son got one before bed every night so he would be nice and full and sleep a little longer. We never had any problems with nipple confusion. I feel like you need to do whatever works in the beginning so that you can get enough sleep to function. Ha! Once they start sleeping a little better (3ish months for us) then we start working on other stuff. Glad you are enjoying your SAHM time! ; )