a day in the life - dana

Hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday. Enjoy a day in the life of Dana from One Step at a Time!

***

Hi everyone!! My name is Dana and I am a stay at home mommy.

I began blogging while dealing with infertility and now I feel blessed to get to blog about my precious son Noah! I am a southern girl so don't be surprised if the word y'all is all in my post :D My husband and I have been married for five years and had a rough time getting pregnant.

After fertility meds, 2 miscarriages, 2 failed IUIs, and IVF we finally were successful with our last frozen transfer and conceived Noah! We feel super blessed to get to be parents and give God all the glory for our little miracle!

Todd is my husband and is a pharmacist! He works weird hours at CVS and so on this Sunday that I am giving y'all a glimpse into he is at work. It has been a rough couple of days because Noah is 3 1/2 months old and he has a cold and a very hurt bottom. His antibiotics have really made his tummy upset and now his behind is super red. Yesterday we had several meltdowns after diaper changes and it was really hard to see my baby in so much pain. Thankfully, we have some medicated cream for his bottom and I am praying that soon it will heal!

And before I start telling y'all about my day I must tell you about my night because the nights can make our daily routine so different. Noah is still getting up at least once at night to eat and then usually at 6 am. Last night he went to sleep at 8 and got up at 1:40 I changed his diaper and then he ate. I usually do not change his diaper at night unless it is super wet or is a poopy, however with our diaper rash issues I needed to get the dirty diaper off of him and get more meds on him to soothe his bottom. After he ate he babbled a little and went to sleep. Only to wake back up at 4 and eat a little and then did not want to go back to sleep. Around 5:30 Todd went in and helped get Noah back to sleep. I was exhausted and so I was very happy to let him take over! Noah slept til 7:30 and talked til I finally got him out of his crib at 8. I just let him talk because he seemed very content and I was a very tired mommy!

We got up and started our day! Even though he is sick he always greets me with a smile!

I just love his squinty eyed smiles! I take him to the bathroom to change his diaper because I am using warm washcloths to help ease his pain. He does okay with this diaper change and only fusses a little bit. We go downstairs and take our dog Maggie out to potty. I am glad to feel the cool weather and can see fall weather right around the corner. Once she has done her business we go back inside and I make Noah a bottle. First I give him his meds for his cold and then he eats (at 8:33). After he eats and burps we get on the floor for some play time. Then I remember that I need to run upstairs and get the dirty bottles from last night, dirty diapers, and my allergy meds. Here is a picture of Noah having some bumbo time.

Noah starts sneezing so I grab the suctioner thingie (for some reason its name has left my brain). Noah hates this and you can tell by how he eyes it in this picture..haha!!!

My momma calls to see how the night went and offers to come over to help me out. I told her that so far Noah was doing great and that I would call her if things got crazy like yesterday. After playing and some bumbo time Noah starts to rub his eyes and fuss which tells me it is now naptime (at 9:19). I take him upstairs and start rocking him and singing 'you are my sunshine'. It isn't the best singing, but Noah seems to enjoy it. He burps again and dozes off to sleepy town. Poor thing spit up when he burped and I did not know it so he fell asleep in his spit up! I put him in his crib and go get the video monitor. By the time I get downstairs he starts to cry, so I run back upstairs and put my hand on his chest and try to get him back to sleep. He fights it but goes back to sleep. I go downstairs again and within minutes he is crying once again. I run back upstairs and then remember that I should swaddle him and maybe that will help him stay asleep. I pick him up, swaddle him, and rock him. He goes to sleep for the third time and I am hoping that this time he stays asleep. I put him in his crib, so far so good. Then Maggie barks! Oh no, he opens his eyes and then shuts them. Whew!!!! I go back downstairs to finally eat breakfast. It is now 9:40. Here he is on the monitor.

I grab two cereal bars and a big glass of sweet tea. Sweet tea is my coffee!!! I check the monitor and Noah is still asleep so I eat and watch some things on the dvr. Maggie goes to the door again so I take her out to potty and think we really need to get a fence because this going out all of the time is very time consuming. I grab the computer and start this post. After starting the post it is 10:18 and I know that Noah will be up soon because he never takes long naps so I decide to take the time to relax and get some energy for the day ahead. I debate washing bottles but the exhaustion from yesterday and last night wins and I end up reading blogs and checking facebook.

10:59 Noah is stirring but not fussing so I let him play a little in his crib and then go and get him. Time for a the dreaded diaper change. He doesn't fuss too much so maybe it is getting better, thank God.

11:20 Bottle time!!! I turn the tv on the mickey mouse club and Noah is in awe as he has lunch and a show :D He ate 4 1/2 ounces so his appetite is coming back too!!! YAY!!!

11:56 I put Noah on the floor on a mat and give him his teether from the fridge! Handy Manny comes on and Noah is in awe again! He has never seen these shows before so I made sure to set the dvr to record them so I can play them for him again. Uh oh, I hear someone making something in his diaper, time for another diaper change!

12:35 I give Noah some tylenol for his teething. I decide to get out of the house because I am getting stir crazy and the weather is very nice out. I call the hubs and ask him if he wants me to bring him and his co-workers some DQ. They all really wanted a treat, so I loaded Noah up and off we went!!! He slept the entire time in the car and after I delivered the cool treats I took my time riding around and enjoyed a nice Sunday drive. Here he is before we left in the carseat! I love his outfit and trumpette socks.

We got home around 2 and I got Noah's sleep sack in the mail!

Yay I am so excited to get to finally use this and I hope Noah likes it too. We get inside and I changed Noah's diaper and get his bottle ready. He did good he drank 4 ounces and I am glad b/c I don't want him to get dehydrated from all of the poopy diapers. I run upstairs and let Maggie out and then feed her. I remember the sleep sack so I throw it into the wash to get it ready for tonight. I put Noah on his mat on the floor and he starts kicking up a storm. It is hilarious and cute so I grab the video camera and tape away. My sister calls and we get to chat about plans for tomorrow and Noah is just enjoying playing in the floor and it looks like he is running in place, toooo cute!!

2: 50 Noah is rather chipper so I figure why not take the time for a little photo shoot!

4:23 Noah starts to show signs that he is sleepy so I grab the now washed sleep sack and a bottle of Pedialyte and head upstairs. He only takes 1 1/2 ounces and then is off to dreamland. As soon as I put him in his crib he wakes up and decides he is not napping. I was so hoping to catch some z'ss myself because I am very very tired!!!

5 pm I decide to take the time to clean out some of Noah's clothes. He has outgrown alot of clothes and so I need to get them all packed up and out of his room. While I am going through some onesies Noah is practicing rolling over. Well, he is working on it. He gets on his side and is starting to use his leg to kick but hasn't rolled over just yet. I have a feeling he will soon. After a few times rolling on his side and looking at his toy he gets hungry. We go downstairs and I get another bottle ready for my sweet boy. I swear as much as I go up and down those stinkin stairs I should be super thin by now. He drinks 5 ounces and we are both very happy about that!!! I hear him making another poopy (poor baby) so I change his diaper right away so it doesn't irritate his bottom more. I find that it has gone all up his back so we decide he needs an outfit change too.

6 pm Todd is getting off of work and I can't wait for him to get home because I am really exhausted. Having a sick child is tough. So until daddy gets home I give Noah lots and lots of neck kisses and we read a few books. He loves the book that is noisy the best so we read it several times. Yeah I forget to eat supper, I guess that is what lack of sleep does to you.

7 pm Daddy is home, YAY!!! We chat about our day and Todd loves on Noah and Maggie. Then it is bath time because we have a very sleepy boy on our hands b/c someone didn't want to take an evening nap. Todd takes Noah upstairs and bathes him while I get his bottle and medicine ready. Noah LOVES the bath so we let him play a while in the water.

7:30 medicine time for Noah! At first he wasn't great at taking his meds, but now he takes them like a pro. Todd offers to put Noah down to sleep and I gladly let him takeover, but Noah decides he wants his mommy. Which secretly makes my heart sing with joy!!! I feed him and he falls asleep after only 2 ounces! I try to wake him and get him to eat more, but no luck. I put him in his crib and he is out!!! I have a feeling he is going to get up several times tonight so I go downstairs and get the bottles and diapers ready for the night ahead!!!! Then I remember to eat supper so I just grab a cereal bar ( I know super healthy, HA) and the hubs and I watch some Holmes on Homes before we hit the sack ourselves. There you have it a day in my life :D Hope you enjoyed the journey with me!!!

Question Time!!!!!
1. What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mother?
Honestly it is the lack of sleep. I know everyone kept telling me about it, but I really thought I would have a child that slept so much that I would have to wake him up to eat! That was sooo not the case!!!

2. What are some tips you would give to new moms, or soon to be mommas?
Remember that every child and every momma is different! So just because your friend's baby slept through the night at 2 weeks old does not mean yours will too!! Learn to trust your instincts because they will be right!!!

3. What are your top three baby products?

1. Breathable Bumpers : they give me peace of mind and help me to sleep better knowing Noah is safe.
2. Bouncy seat : for the first few months this was a lifesaver because he slept in it and was amazed at the kissing fish and starfish. And now he loves to sit in it and watch tv and kick his feet alot.
3. Video baby monitor : again this gives me peace of mind and helps me sleep or do chores during the day because I can check on him anytime and I always check to see if he is breathing...still!!! HA!!

***

Thank you Dana for sharing your day!