a day in the life - kristal

Today I am happy to introduce you to Kristal, if you haven't already met. :o) Her boy Isaac is a cutie, I'm sure he is going to be quite the ladies man. While I was pregnant I really began to enjoy reading her blog - she is a baby wearing cloth diapering momma, and though I only strap Ryann on when she is fussy, and my house contains disposables, I felt like I could learn a lot from Kristal. She seems like a pretty tough lady, and that inspires me.

***

Hi! I'm Kristal, wife to Chad and stay at home mama to Isaac, who is 6 months old. I blog over at Good Food, Good Friends, Good Life . While I documented one particular day in this post, it's pretty indicative of a typical day around our house: Isaac always wakes up early, we walk most mornings, we usually get out of the house in some way shape or form each day, Isaac’s naps are never reliable, I'm ridiculously dependent on my iPhone, and diapers always need to be washed. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my day!

6:07 Wake up to Isaac's coos. Lay in bed for a minute while I adjust to the thought of getting up. I leave Isaac in bed to talk to the ceiling while I get up, wash my face, and get dressed. Then I grab Isaac, change his diaper, give him his medicine (poor guy has a sinus infection and a bronchial infection), and get him dressed and then it's time for our walk.

6:25 On our walk - I'm thinking of a million different things (I can't forget to put the laundry in the dryer. I wonder what time the grocery store opens? Isaac's fat legs are so cute. That runner was cut! Ugh, I need to start running again. I'm ready to move back home so I can walk with my mom in the mornings. Oh! I can't forget to put that envelope outside for the mailman!)

7:15 We're home. Leave the stroller on the doorstep (I'll put it away later) and bring Isaac inside.

7:20 Feed Isaac. He falls asleep at the wheel. Check my email and Google Reader from my iPhone, then take him into the bedroom for some snuggle time with daddy.

7:45 Head to the kitchen. Put on a pot of water to boil and start the (decaf) coffee.

7:50 Coffee is done. Load up a cup with skim milk and a little cinnamon bun creamer. Yum. Wash my probiotics down with a big gulp (Since Isaac is on antibiotics, I take probiotics to ward off a yeast rash!).

7:58 Breakfast - two boiled eggs (from a friend who raises chickens), two pieces of toast (one with butter and one with apple butter), a peach, and coffee - is ready to eat.

8:10 Isaac is awake. Leave him to play with daddy while I put away clean laundry, put away clean dishes, and make the bed.

8:30 Quick break to love on the mister. Get a few laughs out of him, then start on the meal plan for the week and the grocery list.

9:00 Grocery list and meal plan are done, but now Isaac is getting fussy. Change his diaper, spray some saline up his nose, and use the boogie sucker on him. He is not a fan.

9:05 Feed him, then rock him to sleep.

9:20 He's asleep, but since his last nap wasn't long, I rock him through this entire nap. Thank goodness for the iPhone!

9:30 Chad peeks his head in and gives Isaac and I a kiss goodbye. Have a good day at work, daddy!

10:35 Isaac is awake! Change his diaper, pack the diaper bag, and grab my library books and reusable grocery bags. Take it all out to the car and while I'm out there, put the stroller back in the trunk.

10:50 Get ready to settle Ike into his car seat, but as we are walking over, he spits up over everything. Sigh. Clean up him, me, the car seat, and the floor. Get him in the seat and we're out the door.

11:00 Arrive at the library. Tie Isaac to my hip and head inside. Find a few good reads, see an adorable 4 year old with a Mohawk and look forward to cutting Isaac's hair like that, check out, collect a prize for making it halfway through the summer reading program with Isaac, and head back to the car.

11:20 Leave the library and head to the grocery store.

11:35 We've arrived at the grocery store. Pop Isaac up on my back and head inside. Immediately see another baby wearing mama with a brand new baby and stop to chat. Say good bye, grab what I need, and then come to the disgusting realization that I haven't brushed my teeth today. Awesome. Find a piece of gum in the diaper bag and move on.

12:00 We've checked out, so I head to the car, put Isaac back into his seat and load up the groceries. I'm starving, but I know I won't be able to eat for awhile so I munch on a bag of oh so healthy Raisinets.

12:10 Arrive home. Get Isaac out of the car and set him inside, then unload the groceries, diaper bag, and library books. Put away groceries while Isaac laughs from his car seat. Laughing quickly turns to fussing, so I take him to the nursery to feed him.

12:20 He's done eating so I change his diaper then start to rock him to sleep. He is not amused. Throws a huge fit that involves a red face, crocodile tears, and hiccups.

12:30 Asleep. Whew. Rock him for a bit just to make sure he's really out while I browse the Internet from my phone.

1:00 Crap. Just wasted 30 minutes on my phone. How did that happen? Lay Isaac down in his crib and then go to the kitchen to make myself a killer chicken salad sandwich. Eat it, along with some fresh blackberries, while reading one of my new library books.

1:30 Isaac is still asleep. Guess I'll hop on the computer for a bit.

2:00 He's still asleep. What the heck? He never sleeps for this long without me laying down with him. What in the world am I supposed to do with myself and my free time?! Guess I'll throw the diapers in the wash...

2:10 Diapers are in the wash, the house is straightened up and the baby is still asleep. Guess I'll read?

2:12 Oh never mind. He's awake. Go to get him out of the crib and he immediately tries to eat my face. Apparently, napping for an hour and a half works up an appetite. I nurse him and he falls back asleep. And then I fall asleep. An hour and a half later...

3:45 We're both awake. A three hour nap for Isaac! That's fabulous - maybe he's starting to get the hang of this napping thing. I change his diaper and then set him in the crib to play while I brush my teeth (finally) and put the dirty diapers on their next cycle in the washer.

4:00 We play peekaboo for a few minutes. Isaac gets quite the kick out of it.

4:15 Oh! I need to water my plants! Strap Isaac into the bouncer and set it on the porch so he can watch me.

4:30 Plants are watered, so we head inside. It's been a few days since Isaac played in his exersaucer, so we don't we give that a shot?

4:50 The exersaucer was fun, but now Isaac is getting a bit fussy. I pick him up and he tries to eat my shoulder, so I guess it's time to eat. Head to the nursery for a quick nursing session.

5:15 He's done eating, but as soon as he popped off, he started babbling and laughing. It's close to time for a nap, but I think I'll let him play for a minute first.

5:25 OK, nap time! I wrap him up and he's asleep in less than a minute. I head downstairs to put the diapers on their last wash cycle, then start editing pictures on the computer.

6:25 A little head pops out of the wrap. Mister is awake! We play for a little bit, but then he starts yawning, so it's time for our bedtime routine.

6:45 I run the water for Isaac's bath, strip him down, and lather him up.

7:00 Normally, I'd lotion him up and dress him before nursing him, but he's having none of that. So I nurse him in his towel, then put on his powder and lotion, his nighttime diaper, and pajamas. He happily plays with his toes.

7:05 Time to read! We read two books each night, the last always being Goodnight Moon.

7:15 Take Isaac to the bedroom. Turn on the humidifier and the fan, shut the blinds, lay him in the pack n play and tuck him in. Sometimes he'll fall asleep on his own and sometimes he won't. We'll see what tonight brings...

7:20 I empty out his bath water, hang up the towel to dry, and sit in the next room, listening to him coo himself to sleep. Oh! The diapers! I head downstairs and throw them in the dryer.

7:30 Throw myself together some mish mash from the fridge for dinner - cheese and crackers, peanut butter on toast, veggies with hummus, and grapes.

7:40 Tiptoe into the bedroom because I haven't heard a peep. And what do you know! Isaac is asleep. He's on his side with his arm thrown over. So sweet.

7:50 Eat my dinner while watching the latest episode of Army Wives.

8:30 Start writing this post.

10:00 It's 10:00?! Jeez, where did the time go? Head to bed.

10:30 Isaac is restless and doesn't seem to be settling down, so I put the paci in his mouth. He's immediately back to sleep.

2:15 Isaac wakes up and the paci doesn't put him back to sleep, so I pull him into bed and nurse him. He eats as if it's his first meal in weeks. I fall asleep before he's done eating.

4:15 Isaac is awake again. He probably doesn't need to eat again, but honestly, nursing him is the quickest way to get him back to sleep, so that's what I do. Again, I'm asleep again almost immediately.

6:13 Wake up to Isaac coos...time to rinse, wash, and repeat! :)

1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?

The way I mother in general shocks the heck out of me. Had you asked me 2 years ago about the mother I would someday be, I would have mostly likely told you that babies belong in their cribs, they need to be on a schedule and better be sleeping through the night by the time they are 3 months old, and if they can ask for the boob, they are too old to be breastfeeding. And babywearing? What the heck is that about?! Who would have thought that just a short time later, I'd become a bed sharing, baby led, cloth diapering, exclusively breastfeeding (with plans to continue for as long as we can), baby wearing crunchy mama. And let me tell you, I love it more than anything I've ever done. Being a mom has been the most rewarding and amazing experience of my life and I can't wait to watch Isaac grow and give him lots of brothers and sisters!

2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?

My two biggest pieces of advice would be:
- Follow your instincts. If it feels wrong, it probably is. Ignore what the "experts", your parents, or other moms tell you and follow your gut. I promise you, you're wired to be a mom and you know what's best for your baby!
- Find a group of mommies in your area to connect with, and bonus points if you have similar philosophies on raising kids. Your sanity will thank you.

3. What are your top three baby products?

A wrap (could not survive without this), muslin swaddling blankets (love these - bigger than and not as hot as flannel receiving blankets), the Boppy (I still use it to nurse, plus it has countless other uses!)

***

Thank you so much Kristal!!