Good day parental travelers, how are you doing? I just finished watching the latest episode of The Following and figured it should play into the title of today’s post. No, this is nothing to do with a cult or Kevin Bacon, the following I am referring to is following a routine with your kid and sticking to it at all costs.
Today is Day 3 of many and I would have to say I have adjusted nicely to being home instead of the office. I still have a lot of anxiety about getting stuff done, but I am working on it.
Today is just one boy, the baby. So that makes it a little easier to handle. Sadly for the adults in the house, our other kiddie was wide awake before 6 am so it has felt like a long day so far.
I have managed to: clean my desk area, clean the cat box, put out the garbage, do Harry’s laundry and tidy up the kitchen and living room. Yes, yes I have been taking care of Charlie as well.
He likes to watch me clean honest.
So what did baby and I get up to today so far? Well, we went for a long dog walk this morning for about 45 minutes. It is still cold out but it was nice being in the sun. Charlie of course missed most of it because he dozed off.
I have gotten him back on his 5 bottle schedule so far meaning getting in 3 hours between feedings. That last few days, he had it up to 6 bottles, that sneaky guy.
The baby is napping right now and hopefully will go for another hour or so. That should give me time to get some blogging etc. in.
Then it is off to pick up Harry at school.
Tonight will be different as my wife is not coming home for dinner. She is going to a friend’s book launch and won’t be home until late.
So that means a boy’s dinner and putting both little monsters to bed. Sounds tiring but it is fun when you compare it to what others have to do all day.
So today was the day to try to establish my routine for one son days.
Routine
Harry gets up with mom and has breakfast.
I get up with Charlie and give him breakfast X 2 and then swing chair him up for a cat nap.
Wife drops Harry at school on the way to work.
When Charlie wakes up, I get him dressed, we play downstairs watching TV until next bottle.
After that, we go for a dog walk or other activity and try to make it past 11am.
Then it is playtime and lunch.
Around 1pm it is another bottle and then ideally a 3-hour swing nap.
I will add to this later on as I cannot possibly predict the future with a baby. They are crafty.
So check it later on tonight for the full update on the day.
Update 8:33 pm
Well that was a tiring few hours. Both boys are down but only one is sleeping. The other is stalling with books. Anyways as long as he is in quiet and stays in bed, I can live with it.
The end of dinner to bed tonight felt really long. Maybe because my wife was not hear to tag in, or maybe I had just done such a good job tiring out the baby. He was ready a good 30 minutes early but we managed to keep him going until 7:30 pm. Harry did some of his magic that only a big brother can.
The bottle to bed thing was as easy as ever. I had Charlie in the crib sleeping before the sun was down. Makes it easy since the lamp in his room has the loudest clicker ever to turn it off.
Harry was pretty easy too. He was super tired after being back at school. I don’t have much idea what they do over there, but whatever it is, it tires him out. A few games of bowling on my phone and he was ready for bath.
So Day 3 is in the books and today ideally would be a blue print day that I would love to have over and over. Everything went to plan and on schedule and for the most part it was a good balance of baby time and alone time.
Now, a blue print with a baby is a funny idea. Don’t get my wrong, I know it won’t always be like this.
Friday and the end of the first week is tomorrow. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Sounds like you are doing a great job and have everything under control. Well done!