A Day In The Life II
I chronicled an average day breakdown for the first month in Day in the Life I; we're almost done with month 2, now, and so I thought I'd do it again, since a lot has changed. Please note that I think most children are probably a little more difficult and have more sleep issues than the Squid has had so far; we've been lucky, and that is reflected in the time breakdown.
24 hours, again.
Again, allot a minimum of 2 hours for basic personal hygiene and meal prep/consumption.
Another 2 hours for chores and cleaning up after self and Squid - laundry, dishes, etc. etc. etc. We have a cleaning service once every 2 weeks, a 1700 square-foot house, two dogs, and only one child. Your mileage may vary significantly.
20 hours left...
Then, feeding and diapering. He's still eating 6-12 times a day. He was down at 6 at 5 weeks and almost sleeping through the night; now he's in a growth spurt, and he nurses sometimes every hour, sometimes for two hours straight, and his sleep patterns are changing so fast I can't keep up. On the other hand, he's a more efficient eater, now, so it takes a bit less time to feed him, and he has fewer dirty diapers (though still as many wet ones). I'd say this has gone down to an average of six and a half hours. This is all guesstimates, of course.
13.5 hours left...
Other baby care is the area that has changed the most. The first month, he mostly slept when he wasn't eating. Not so, now! He still sleeps a good 18 hours a day, but much more of his "day sleep" is light snoozing, which he won't do on his own. He'll snooze in the carseat on car rides, in the frontpack or sling if I carry him, on my chest if I hold him, or in the bouncy chair if I actively bounce him the whole time. But most of that time, the instant he is put in his nest, his crib, or his swing to sleep on his own, he'll wake up and howl the house down.
Actual independent deep sleep is down to a few hours during the day, making it much harder to get things done, though babywearing helps immensely - I'm typing this as he snoozes in the front pack. I'd say this has doubled; six hours a day of walks, soothing, bouncing, singing, reading, bathing, or other baby care/interaction. A lot of this can be multitasked with the cleaning and chores, thank God, as well as exercise and a social life. Now that he's more alert, he likes to go out more, and I'm trying to take him out a few times a day for errands and hikes and whatever else I can come up with; we're going to Himself's office tomorrow to meet the team, and having lunch with a favorite professor from grad school on Friday.
This all leaves 7.5 hours for sleep, etc. I'm getting about that on average, which makes me think my estimates must be off somewhere, as his daddy takes him for four hours every night, so I'm only responsible for 20 hours in an average day, not 24. Last night I got almost eight, but for several nights before it was more five or sixish, because he was gassy and wakeful - growth spurts are hard on everyone.
I'm not writing this up to make it sound like my life is hard - some days are, some days aren't. Today was fine. The day before, not so much. I'm writing it up because my friends who haven't had kids are curious - and because I'm sure I'll forget, and it's nice to have a record of what it is I'm spending my day doing.
And just to make this blog truly multimedia, here's a .wav file of the sound of the Squid latching on and grunting, gasping, and swallowing his way through the first 30 seconds or so of a snack. He'll be a messy eater later - now he's just a noisy one.
24 hours, again.
Again, allot a minimum of 2 hours for basic personal hygiene and meal prep/consumption.
Another 2 hours for chores and cleaning up after self and Squid - laundry, dishes, etc. etc. etc. We have a cleaning service once every 2 weeks, a 1700 square-foot house, two dogs, and only one child. Your mileage may vary significantly.
20 hours left...
Then, feeding and diapering. He's still eating 6-12 times a day. He was down at 6 at 5 weeks and almost sleeping through the night; now he's in a growth spurt, and he nurses sometimes every hour, sometimes for two hours straight, and his sleep patterns are changing so fast I can't keep up. On the other hand, he's a more efficient eater, now, so it takes a bit less time to feed him, and he has fewer dirty diapers (though still as many wet ones). I'd say this has gone down to an average of six and a half hours. This is all guesstimates, of course.
13.5 hours left...
Other baby care is the area that has changed the most. The first month, he mostly slept when he wasn't eating. Not so, now! He still sleeps a good 18 hours a day, but much more of his "day sleep" is light snoozing, which he won't do on his own. He'll snooze in the carseat on car rides, in the frontpack or sling if I carry him, on my chest if I hold him, or in the bouncy chair if I actively bounce him the whole time. But most of that time, the instant he is put in his nest, his crib, or his swing to sleep on his own, he'll wake up and howl the house down.
Actual independent deep sleep is down to a few hours during the day, making it much harder to get things done, though babywearing helps immensely - I'm typing this as he snoozes in the front pack. I'd say this has doubled; six hours a day of walks, soothing, bouncing, singing, reading, bathing, or other baby care/interaction. A lot of this can be multitasked with the cleaning and chores, thank God, as well as exercise and a social life. Now that he's more alert, he likes to go out more, and I'm trying to take him out a few times a day for errands and hikes and whatever else I can come up with; we're going to Himself's office tomorrow to meet the team, and having lunch with a favorite professor from grad school on Friday.
This all leaves 7.5 hours for sleep, etc. I'm getting about that on average, which makes me think my estimates must be off somewhere, as his daddy takes him for four hours every night, so I'm only responsible for 20 hours in an average day, not 24. Last night I got almost eight, but for several nights before it was more five or sixish, because he was gassy and wakeful - growth spurts are hard on everyone.
I'm not writing this up to make it sound like my life is hard - some days are, some days aren't. Today was fine. The day before, not so much. I'm writing it up because my friends who haven't had kids are curious - and because I'm sure I'll forget, and it's nice to have a record of what it is I'm spending my day doing.
And just to make this blog truly multimedia, here's a .wav file of the sound of the Squid latching on and grunting, gasping, and swallowing his way through the first 30 seconds or so of a snack. He'll be a messy eater later - now he's just a noisy one.
posted by The Stute Fish at 20:45
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