A typical day at home with Julia

I thought it would be fun to create a blog that shows what a "typical" day is like at home with Julia.  Here are some pictures and videos I have been taking over the past couple days to capture what life is like with my 12 week old Julia.

I feed her on a roughly 3 hour schedule (7:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., then bedtime around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.).  I am flexible with the times if she shows hunger cues early or if we are out and about and she doesn't seem hungry at her regular feeding time.  But, overall she usually gets hungry every 3 hours.  After feeding her, I try to keep her awake for awhile, then put her down for a nap when she shows signs of being tired.  When she wakes up from her nap it's usually feeding time again and the cycle starts all over...

She is sleeping about 5-6 hours each night. (She did a few 7 hour stretches but isn't doing it consistently yet.) She usually wakes me up around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. for her "middle of the night" feeding. She usually wakes up again around 7:00 a.m.


So, after the 7:00 a.m. feeding, sometimes she'll sleep just a tad longer which mommy is grateful for when she does.  I usually get up around 8:00 a.m. and make breakfast.  While making breakfast, I sit Julia up in a "Boppy" pillow.  She watches me while I make breakfast.

While I'm eating breakfast, she usually gets tired of sitting in her boppy pillow, so I'll transfer her to her swing which she enjoys.  You'll notice in the second picture that Julia has discovered her fist.  She loves to suck on it... 

After breakfast, I'll go over to the couch and read my Bible and pray.  By this point, she starts to get grumpy because she's tired, so I'll put her down for a nap.  She has gotten so much better about taking naps.  She used to scream and scream!  She still cries when I start to wrap her up for her nap.  But once I lay her down, she only fusses for about a minute or so.  She usually sleeps between 40 minutes and an hour.

(Here's her typical, "I don't want to take a nap!")

Notice how I lay Julia in the middle of the bed.  She always manages to push herself so that she's laying at an angle.  :)

When Julia wakes up from her nap, usually it's time for her to eat again.  After feeding her, I try to keep her awake.  Some things I do to keep her awake are: reading to her, talking to her, singing to her, putting her in her swing, laying her on a blanket, putting her in her bouncer, laying her under her mobile, going for walks with her, or giving her a bath.

I have learned from my mistake not to give her a bath too many times each week.  She has ecxema so I have some special lotion that has been helping with her dry skin.  When I do give her a bath, sometimes I'll put baby oil on afterward which helps her skin too.

Here's Julia with her baby oil on her skin.  I wanted her to air dry a little and allow the oil to soak it...  She wasn't too crazy about the idea, as you can tell.

Once I put her clothes on, she was much happier!  Well, atleast I have a girl who prefers to be modest.  :)

Daddy gets home around 5:30 each day.  Of course, he enjoys holding her and playing with her.  Julia loves her daddy.  :)

Not only does Julia love to suck on her fists, she also loves blowing bubbles and does it constantly.  :)

So, there you have it.  I am so glad I get to be home with Julia, enjoying these typical days with her.  I am so thankful to my husband, who wants me to be home and provides for us so that I can.  But most of all, I'm thankful to God who has allowed me to stay home and be with my daughter.  I know that is a wonderful privelege and I don't take it for granted.

Let me end this blog with a few videos of Julia at home.

This is Julia in her bouncy seat.  I love it because it plays classical music and lights up with the music.  Also, show loves batting at the hanging toys.

 She likes this mobile.  She smiles at the sun (that's what she's looking at).