And So It Begins . . .: A Day in the Life of Reed

It's time for another installment of "A Day in the Life of Reed." This time around I kept track of our happenings on a Monday. The power went off in the middle of the night and again at the crack of dawn so Little Guy's schedule was off from the start of the day, but I had already committed mentally to doing this post so we stuck to the plan.

4:15 am Reed is crying. He's already been up once (around 11:00 when the power went off) but I didn't feed him so this is exciting because I can nurse him and he'll probably sleep for another 2 1/2 to 3 hours
4:50 Reed is back asleep I stay up to workout
5:50 The power goes out again, the sound machine resets itself again, Reed awakes again. Normally I don't let him out of his crib until 6:00 but I break my rule, considering the circumstances. I do a diaper change and he tries to see what Dodger is doing in the hallway.

6:05 Since he ate less than 2 hours earlier he's not hungry, so we take Dodger for a walk
6:30 We are back from our walk, we feed Dodger, and then sneak in a quick "hi" to Dad before he leaves for work (can you tell Jon isn't a morning person?)

6:40 I let Reed entertain himself on the play mat in our bedroom while I brush my teeth and make the bed.

6:45 I decide to try to get Reed to nurse so that we aren't too off of our normal routine and also because I want to run an errand before his nap. He's not interested in eating so I change his diaper and we head for the car.

7:15 We get to Walmart and are able to pick up some plants for our backyard pots and some irrigation supplies for my veggie garden. The checkout guy asks me abouts Reed's eczema and reassures me that his son had the same thing and it eventually went away
7:45 We are home and I let Reed stretch out in the living room - he decides doing a Downward Dog on my yoga mat is way more fun than playing with any of his toys

7:55 Reed is hungry and we are approaching nap time so I let him nurse (usually he doesn't nurse to fall asleep, but like I said our schedule was totally wacky for the first part of the day)
8:05 Reed falls asleep nursing and I lay him down. I'm able to finish my workout, fix the irrigation in the garden, pot the plants in the yard, and get a shower taken.
9:45 Reed is awake. He is pretty calm so I take the opportunity to trim his nails. He plays on the floor in his room while I quickly change the laundry around. Then I join in the book reading fun.

10:15 Reed plays on our bed while I fold clothes

10:25 Reed finally gets out of his PJs and I put him in his clothes for the day. We read some more books (can you tell board books are big in our house right now?)

10:45 Reed nurses

11:00 We cuddle with his stuffed cow and have a little bit of a tickle fest

11:15 I let Reed play in the living room while I make our lunches

11:25 We have a major pooptastrophe that necessitates a very drawn out diaper change

11:35 We eat lunch. This is my new favorite time of the day. We usually end up sitting together and eating for about half an hour. I try to avoid checking my cell phone or doing anything else in the kitchen (this is very difficult for a serial multi-tasker like myself). It is so nice just to sit back, relax, and enjoy my Monkey's company.

12:05 I clean Reed up and then put him down for his afternoon nap.
12:25 Reed is asleep. I clean the kitchen, change the laundry around, work on a photo album, make some calls regarding our annual block party, and make a batch of muffins.
2:45 Reed is up. He nurses.
3:00 I put Reed in his jumperoo (he's pretty much outgrown it, but this is the only thing we have that can keep him contained at this point) while I put the laundry away.

3:15 We head out to the living room to play.

4:15 We have our daily dance party, usually this lasts for a good 20-30 minutes but Reed gets fussy and starts acting tired after the first song. It doesn't get any better after song #2.
4:30 I let him have his pacifier and soft sheep and we veg in one of our comfy chairs and listen to some more music
4:35 Dad gets home and we share cuddle duties with our tired Bear.

5:10 I nurse Reed
5:30 Reed hangs out with Dad while I make dinner (I'm not sure who is actually watching who)

6:00 We all eat dinner together. We usually let Reed feed himself, which at 8 months old means he gets quite messy.

6:25 Mom and Dad take turns entertaining Reed and cleaning up the kitchen
6:40 Time to check out the Bumsicle in the mirror and get cleaned up in the bathtub.