I can't believe this girl of ours is almost the big ONE. Even with so much of our day feeling routine, I thought it would be nice to document what a day in the life with an 11-month old is like (at least ours!). I'm sure one day I'll come back to this post and cry at how simple life was...until then, here's a front-row seat to our life!
Morning
Around 6:30 a.m. we'll usually start hearing some humming and gibberish coming from the baby monitor. This is when our daughter is ready to start her day. She's usually jumping with excitement once she's brought out to the living room, and we would be too if we slept 11 hours! ;)
Mornings are a little slow but very consistent. We like to play worship music in the morning and just hang out until saying bye to dad. Even with nowhere to go (thank you corona), we still get her dressed for the day every morning.
Whatever mom has for breakfast is usually accompanied with a baby spoon because baby girl must have whatever mom is eating at all times nowadays. During the morning I try to do some sort of learning activity with her since, honestly, she is my only child and she has a very good attention span in the mornings. She is like a little sponge these last few weeks!
Random list of activities we do with our 11-month old:
Learn a new word / work on a word she already knows (ball, duck, bye bye, etc)
Speaking activities from Speech Sisters! Follow them on instagram
Work on actions (in/out, up/down)
Yoga! She loves when I do yoga and thinks it's hilarious to try and weave in and around my poses
Sing along songs (youtube usually)
Follow mom around the house while she cleans (I'm sure every mom can relate!)
Put the laundry in and out of the laundry basket
Practice walking
Peek-a-boo!
Reading books
Pass the ball
Practice standing while dropping every object mom hands to you (literally what it sounds like)
Go out for walks
About 3 1/2 hours after she wakes up it's time for nap #1. As her parent, this is the easiest nap of the day. She's been sleeping longer through her naps now so I typically have to wake her up from this one so she doesn't sleep too long. This nap is just enough time for me to tidy up and do something of my own.
Late morning/Early afternoon
Just like that, almost half the day is done! At some point we eat lunch and usually I try to have my daughter eat whatever I'm eating but in baby form so I don't have to make extra food. She's pretty good at feeding herself these days but I'm noticing lately she is having more fun playing with her food than actually eating it.
As a parent, this actually feels like the longest part of the day because it's when my energy is starting to dip and hers seems to be through the roof.
There have been some days where I want to just chill, but this is the time I normally try to keep my daughter physically active or very entertained as her mood gets a little wild if not. Her moods and reactions to things these days are very telling of all the emotions she's feeling. She started throwing mini tantrums and even though they are somewhat inevitable, I'm trying to find ways to communicate with her using words and tones that she seems to be picking up.
Since our community is still under the stay home protocol, life is looking a lot different than we imagined, but we are making the best of it. During this time of the day I would normally run errands with my daughter, take her to stores, take her to a library book reading for babies, visit dad at work, visit friends, or go to the beach with her, but we are finding goodness in all that we can do in and around our home. Lately we've been making use of our backyard and walks around the neighborhood.
Late afternoon
After another 3 1/2-4 hours being up, my daughter takes her second nap. If you are wondering if we follow a schedule/routine, the answer is a big fat YES. I understand schedules and routines are not for everyone, but with her being my first and me being a stay-at-home mom, having a flexible routine makes our lives SO simple (notice I didn't say easy :P). This nap usually has to be cut short so I leave enough time for her to have a full 'wake-window' before bedtime.
I remember when she was a few months old, the evening was her 'witching hour(s)' and she was so hard to please. Nowadays, the evening is when she is the easiest to handle. She plays very independently, laughs a ton, hardly whines, and is super goofy. It does make those last few hours before the day ends very enjoyable and we are loving it.
Bedtime
We have a simple bedtime routine that sets the mood that sleep is near. We have done it every single night (even when traveling we try to be consistent), since she was a baby with a few modifications. About 30-40 minutes before she goes to sleep she takes a bath, gets her jammies on, gets a bottle and plays in her room with the lights low and her sound machine on. Both my husband and I hang out with her there and our daughter usually enjoys pulling all the books off her shelf more than she does reading them. Almost four hours after she woke up from her last nap, she goes to sleep. Her day usually ends around 7 PM or 7:30 depending on her naps she took.
Day-to-Day
Everything I wrote is basically on repeat, day after day. After writing all that, there's parts of me that think my life is so static, then there's other parts that wonder how this is our new normal because just a few months ago things looked so different. Being at home all day with my daughter is truly a gift since I'll never get this time back with her. It's not all roses and rainbows, I have moments I wish I could be doing so much more with her or for myself, but we are making the most with all we've been given.
For more frequent updates, find me on instagram @chelseamonsevais