a day in the life - jenn

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'd like you to meet Jenn from Bridgetown Baby Momma. Enjoy a day in her life, and getting a peek at the adorable Oskar. I officially need to squish his thighs.

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Hello I am Jenn! Wife to Chris and momma to Oskar (Ozzie, Oz,Chubber, etc) and our fur baby Oden. I am 30, got married in October in Hawaii and had my beautiful boy in February. I work full time in Human Resources and have a side business doing family and baby photography. I am a very busy momma!

I am typically woken up at about 5:00 - 5:15am to the sounds of Oz and his happy screams/growls. Depending on how awake I am I sometimes stay in bed and listen... laughing with Chris (and Oden snuggled with us). Eventually I peek in on him and am greeted with a big smile and lots of legs kicking and arms flailing! After getting his bottle ready and his diaper changed I get settled into the glider to get him fed. On a rare occasion he heads back to sleep, but those days are getting fewer and fewer recently! At this point I usually hand him off to Hubs and get ready for either a run (I am training for a 10k) or hit the gym... either no later than 5:30.

After getting myself ready I try and spend a little time with the little man before Haley (our fabulous nanny) shows up and I scoot off to work, usually about 7:30am. (Haley interned in Ghana for her BS is Public Health. where she learned to wrap babies the "African Way")

If I have time and (only) if I have run or worked out I swing into Starbucks for an iced coffee. Mmmmmm.

8:00am I start work. I always eat breakfast at work and start my day of "tracking". I am currently doing Weight Watchers and have been having great success! I am currently 20lbs below the weight I was the day I got pregnant!

I usually check in on the babe mid afternoon if I haven't gotten a text or MMS pic by then. It so makes my day to see his smiling face come through on my phone during a long day! This was my pic today! He recently discovered his toes and can only reach them while in the Bumbo. His chubby tummy gets in the way if he's on his back.

5:00pm I race out of work!

5:30pm I get home and am usually greeted by either Haley and Oz on the floor hanging out or Hubs and Oz hanging on the couch. He usually gets a bottle about 5:30 or so as well. I hang out with him for a half hour or so. He gets smothered in kisses, some airplane baby, and a little tummy time with momma. Tonight he got a package from his grandparents in St Louis and played with his new rings.

6:00pm I start dinner and we eat by about 7 or so depending on Oskar's feeding schedule. Some days we take a walk down to the dogpark.

6:30pm is solids time! We pick a veggie or 2 and have that with some oats. After a messy meal it's straight to the bath! He likes to "feed himself" so it can get ugly quick.

7:00pm we run his bath. Chris and I take turns each night bathing him. It's such a treat so it's an easy thing to want to do! He's quite the kicker, we recently decided that baths in the sink (in his baby tub) are NO LONGER AN OPTION. He creates a flood in the kitchen!! With his newly learned ability to sit on his own he now chills in the "deep end" of his whale tub and splashed, tips over into the water, and basically just has a great time. He doesn't mind falling into the water!

7:15pm by this time he's usually freshly lotioned and the battle to get him changed into a sleeper has been fought. He spends the entire time screaming (happy growls really), twisting to grab whatever is within reach, and kicking his arms and legs out of the sleeper. His yelling has gives us a good chance to see his 2 brand new teeth though!

Somewhere in there he starts the eye rubbing. Whoever gave him his bath gives the final bottle and puts him in his crib. We are very lucky that he basically puts himself to sleep. Although no matter how sleepy he is while eating/rocking... he always springs into kicky giggly action the second you put him on his back in the crib. It doesn't last long though. Once he finds his wubb, we put on his white noise projector, he rolls onto his side, and it's lights out for him no later than 8pm. No matter the temperature he has to have a blankie (just like his momma) so we still use his muslin swaddle blankets to drape over just his midsection. As long as he can get a hand on it he's fine. These blankets are the best for nursing covers, security blankets, and of course swaddling!

Chris sometimes goes for his run and I try and pick up the house. Neither of these things happens every night!

9:00pm I usually spend an hour or so editing pics and/or watching some DVR before we make our way to bed. I check on Oskar one last time and make sure his door is open. We do not have a monitor because his room is literally 5 feet from ours.

I spend a few minutes reading in bed.

After some reading and/or playing Words with Friends I konk out for the night!

Ozzie generally sleeps all night. Although lately he wakes up at about 3 or 4am to have his wubb put back in... and on a rare occasion he is actually hungry and we'll give him 4 ounces or so.

That's my day!

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

I would say that it's been easier than I imagined. I am not sure if I expected the worst or I have an "easy" baby... but I have really enjoyed everyday of the last 5+ months. Having said that I never thought I would get PPD. Mine is so different than anyone else I have hear of that it took me almost 6 months to seek help.

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

Listen to your friends with kids, but remember that everything they say is not testament. Babies and mommas are all different. Just because something worked for your friend/sister/co-worker doesn't mean it will for you or your baby.

3. What are your top three baby products?

1. Wubanub Pacifier
2. Fisher Price Little Lamb Swing
3. Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets (buy them at Target... so much cheaper and you get 4 for the price of 1 at their site!)

Thanks to Ashley for letting me contribute!

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Thank you Jenn!

Didn't get your fill of 'a day in the life' today? Two readers posted about their days on their own blogs. You can read Erin's post here and Amber's post here. It is great to see that other moms are capturing a day in their life, and even more fun that they are sharing it with others!