Today I've got Meredith from La Buena Vida to share a day in her life. I first 'ran into' Meredith on The Nest, and now I love reading her updates about Lizzy, as well as the rest of what she has to say on her blog. Enjoy!
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Hi y'all, I'm Meredith from La BuenaVida. I'm married to Justin, who works for a plumbing company, and we live in Southern Oregon. I'm also a first-time stay-at-home mom to Lizzy, who is now just about six months.
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Before my sweet husband and I made the decision for me to stay-at-home, I worked as a case supervisor for a non-profit that acted as court advocates for children involved with child welfare. I loved my job, but feel truly blessed to be able to stay home with Lizzy. Staying home is not without sacrifice, but it has been SO worth it for our family.
I was so excited when Ashley asked if I'd be a part of a series about how moms spend their days--because I'm always curious how other new mommas make it work! Over the past two weeks, I've tried to keep my camera close at hand to snap photos from various parts of my days. It quickly became apparent to me that no two days are the same, but they do seem to have a similar flow that goes something like this:
6:30am-9:45am: Lizzy is usually ready to get up by at least 6:30am (though this morning, it was more like 5:30am!). I change her, and nurse her. Then, tummy time/crawling practice while I head outside to water the garden. After I come back in, I try to quickly toss on some clothes and get ready for the day. About an hour after she first got up, Lizzy eats some applesauce or other fruit. She LOVES to eat "real" food, and often tries to steal things off the table. After she eats, we usually snuggle on the couch for awhile, and then she (hopefully) falls asleep. I like to let Lizzy nap on my chest or next to me for at least one nap during the day. I might not get as much done around the house, but to me, the time is precious, and I know that she won't want to snuggle forever.
9:45am-1pm: When Lizzy wakes up from her nap, I feed her right away. Then, we're off. I've made a point to have lots of activities that I'm able to go to at some point in the day, but that if we don't make it to, it's also no biggie. Right now, I have something from 10am to noonish every morning but Fridays (Mon- Bible Study with friends, Tues- Mommy and Me swim lessons, Wed- Park playgroup with Mom's Group, Thurs- Mommy and Me swim lessons). Have I mentioned that Lizzy LOVES to swim, and that getting out of the pool spurs huge temper tantrums as seen above? Anyway, after our morning activity, we get home and Lizzy naps. While she's sleeping, I usually either run on the treadmill (I'm doing the Couch to 5k program, so I try to run at least 3 times a week) or take some time to read outside. If I run, I also try to hop in the shower before Lizzy wakes up, though I will confess that this does not always happen.
1pm-4:00pm: This is the least predictable part of the day for us. See, sometimes Justin is off work at 3:30pm. Sometimes, he's off at 5pm. Sometimes, it's earlier or later. I never know until the day of, and sometimes not even then! So afternoons for us are pretty relaxed--after Lizzy wakes up, I nurse her, and then we read books, do chores, play, or whatever.
Right now, she loves the exersaucer that I picked up at a local second-hand store. I fondly call it her "Command Center". Sometimes, she'll cat nap for 30 minutes or so at about 4pm, but that's happening less and less often. Depending on what time Justin gets home, one of us feeds her (this second solids is not super firm...it doesn't always happen), and then I get dinner going.
4-10:00pm: Somewhere between 5pm and 6pm, I nurse Lizzy. At almost 6 months, she usually eats every 2-3 hours during the day. I spend a LOT of my day nursing her. But I digress. We eat dinner, and talk about our days. Evenings are usually pretty busy for us, and we don't often have a ton of time at home. Justin is in a band along with his siblings and one of mine. I'm technically a member too, but more on the business side. So, Lizzy and I often go to practice with Justin. Lizzy loves to watch them play music and also to watch her cousins play. We try to be home by 8pm and start her bedtime routine, the 5B's--Bath, Boob, Bear, Book, Bed. We often spend 30 minutes (or more) getting her to sleep.
Once Lizzy is asleep, we sometimes take her monitor outside and work in the garden. Or we might watch some TV together, or sometimes we just talk. Lately, Justin has been popping in a movie, which he watches, and I curl up next to him and fall asleep! And there you have it!
Ashley also asked me to answer the following questions:
1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
How much I love my baby. I mean, I knew that I'd love her more than anything. But I don't think I was prepared for how all consuming that love would be. I used to hear other moms describe being a mom as walking around with your heart outside your chest. I also used to roll my eyes at that 'sappy, over-emotional' sentiment. Now, I know that they were 100% correct. That is exactly what it's like.
2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
Trust your instincts. LOTS of people will tell you that you're doing things all wrong. But for the most part, you know in your gut what's best. And trust me, you WILL know when your baby is sick!
3. What are your top three baby products?
An Angelcare Monitor, a bouncer or swing, and Sophie the Giraffe.
Much love,
Meredith
9:45am-1pm: When Lizzy wakes up from her nap, I feed her right away. Then, we're off. I've made a point to have lots of activities that I'm able to go to at some point in the day, but that if we don't make it to, it's also no biggie. Right now, I have something from 10am to noonish every morning but Fridays (Mon- Bible Study with friends, Tues- Mommy and Me swim lessons, Wed- Park playgroup with Mom's Group, Thurs- Mommy and Me swim lessons). Have I mentioned that Lizzy LOVES to swim, and that getting out of the pool spurs huge temper tantrums as seen above? Anyway, after our morning activity, we get home and Lizzy naps. While she's sleeping, I usually either run on the treadmill (I'm doing the Couch to 5k program, so I try to run at least 3 times a week) or take some time to read outside. If I run, I also try to hop in the shower before Lizzy wakes up, though I will confess that this does not always happen.
1pm-4:00pm: This is the least predictable part of the day for us. See, sometimes Justin is off work at 3:30pm. Sometimes, he's off at 5pm. Sometimes, it's earlier or later. I never know until the day of, and sometimes not even then! So afternoons for us are pretty relaxed--after Lizzy wakes up, I nurse her, and then we read books, do chores, play, or whatever.
Right now, she loves the exersaucer that I picked up at a local second-hand store. I fondly call it her "Command Center". Sometimes, she'll cat nap for 30 minutes or so at about 4pm, but that's happening less and less often. Depending on what time Justin gets home, one of us feeds her (this second solids is not super firm...it doesn't always happen), and then I get dinner going.
4-10:00pm: Somewhere between 5pm and 6pm, I nurse Lizzy. At almost 6 months, she usually eats every 2-3 hours during the day. I spend a LOT of my day nursing her. But I digress. We eat dinner, and talk about our days. Evenings are usually pretty busy for us, and we don't often have a ton of time at home. Justin is in a band along with his siblings and one of mine. I'm technically a member too, but more on the business side. So, Lizzy and I often go to practice with Justin. Lizzy loves to watch them play music and also to watch her cousins play. We try to be home by 8pm and start her bedtime routine, the 5B's--Bath, Boob, Bear, Book, Bed. We often spend 30 minutes (or more) getting her to sleep.
Once Lizzy is asleep, we sometimes take her monitor outside and work in the garden. Or we might watch some TV together, or sometimes we just talk. Lately, Justin has been popping in a movie, which he watches, and I curl up next to him and fall asleep! And there you have it!
Ashley also asked me to answer the following questions:
1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
How much I love my baby. I mean, I knew that I'd love her more than anything. But I don't think I was prepared for how all consuming that love would be. I used to hear other moms describe being a mom as walking around with your heart outside your chest. I also used to roll my eyes at that 'sappy, over-emotional' sentiment. Now, I know that they were 100% correct. That is exactly what it's like.
2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
Trust your instincts. LOTS of people will tell you that you're doing things all wrong. But for the most part, you know in your gut what's best. And trust me, you WILL know when your baby is sick!
3. What are your top three baby products?
An Angelcare Monitor, a bouncer or swing, and Sophie the Giraffe.
Much love,
Meredith
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Oh, and Meredith did mention in my comments yesterday that, yes, she does indeed change Lizzy's diaper, even though it was never mentioned. Just to clarify for any crazies who thought she never did :o).
3 comments:
LOL! I didn't even notice that she didn't mention any diaper changes. I guess as a mommy, you just know that is a given.
Great series!
As a soon-to-be SAHM (in November), I'm really enjoying these posts. Looking forward to next week!
Hi Ashley, I am so excited to be a part of this series. I also love reading Meredith's blog, she is such a great Mom. Looking forward to reading about all of the great ladies you chose!
Karen
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