Friday, August 12, 2011

A week in the life of the Papps...

Now that Ethan is 11 weeks we have settled into some good routines I thought it would be useful to outline our week so you all have an idea of how things are for us.

Usually we wake up anywhere between 5.30am and 7.30am. This is the beautiful sight that awaits me:
Ethan sleeps in a "wrap me up" suit. Which we call the little baby straightjacket. Essentially it acts like a swaddle but allows their arms to be up by the side of their faces, which is a natural position for babies. He sleeps really well in it as well. Not sure what we will do when he hits 11kg (the largest size for the suit).

Depending on how hungry Ethan is we either feed first then he and Jason cuddle in bed, or Ethan comes straight into our bed for a cuddle with Jason and then feeds later. Three to four times a week I head out for a jog while Ethan and Jason have cuddles, talk to each other and laugh in bed.

Jason then has a shower and Ethan and I make Jason's breakfast and lunch. While doing this, Ethan sits on the bench in his bouncer.
Once Jason has left for work for the day Ethan and I choose his clothes for the day, and have a little play. Then its time for his first sleep of the day. This sleep is only ever 30 minutes, if I have run that morning, I use the time for a shower, if I haven't run then I jump on my wind trainer for a quick spin.

Once Ethan wakes up, its play mat time. We do tummy time, baby aerobics, sing songs, and dance together. Ethan is now getting very strong during tummy time:
After play mat time I try to catch up on a few emails, photos and blogs with Ethan in the bouncer. I also try to send Jason a POTD (photo of the day) so that he doesn't miss Ethan too much. Here is a recent example:

Ethan then has another feed and then its back down for another nap. During this nap I try to get dinner ready, do some washing or housework.

When Ethan wakes the cycle of play/feed/play starts over again. Its usually around this time of day that I take Ethan for a walk. This will also send him off for his third sleep of the day.

At this stage we have 4 * thirty minute sleeps during the day. I would love more, but that's what Ethan does! Its hard fitting all my jobs into those 30 minutes at times!

Jason gets home around 5pm and he has a chance to play with Ethan for 30 minutes or so. Its usually straight into the jolly jumper.

"What's these things on my feet mum?"
Here are a couple of short videos of Ethan in the Jolly Jumper:





After playtime with Dad, Ethan is back in his bouncer while Jason and I eat dinner. After dinner, Ethan has a bath or shower with Jason. Then I give Ethan one last feed before bedtime and anytime between 6 - 7pm Ethan is down for the night. Sometimes we get one wake up about 40 min after we put him down, but it is quick and he is back to sleep in no time.

Ethan then has two nighttime sleep patterns:
  1. The first is my preferred, its a 3 or 3.30am wakeup for a quick feed (20 minutes to change, feed, burp and settle) then back to sleep until anytime between 5.30-7.30am.
  2. The second sleep pattern (probably 1-2 times a week) is not as "friendly". Ethan wakes anytime from midnight to 1.30am, and then again at 5am.
So that is a "normal" day for us. There are of course variations to this, on Monday's Ethan and I go supermarket shopping. Here he is in the trolley:
Some Tuesdays Ethan and I walk to the local community health centre and get him weighed and measured.

Thursday is our busy day of the week, in the morning we head off to Mothers Group. Ethan's friends (with their mothers names in brackets) are Zoe (Chelsea), Jacob (Natalee), Jake (Lisa), Amelie (Alyssa), Emily (Karen), Matheus (Lindsay) and Stella (Sarah). We usually sit and chat for a couple of hours, with each of us taking turns bringing snacks and treats. In the afternoon Ethan and I; and Zoe and Chelsea head off the Gymbaroo. Gymbaroo is all about early childhood development.

On Friday mornings Ethan and I head off to post natal/mums and bubs yoga for 75 minutes with a number of our mother's group friends. After yoga we all have a coffee or tea and chat about our babies.

On Saturdays and Sundays Jason, Ethan and I tend to take long walks, whether its at the beach, at Trigg bushland reserve, around the local streets or at the Mall (if it is raining haha).

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