Day in the life with a 13 month old toddler

So, you wanna know what it's like with a little munchkin running around all day?  Absolutely CRAZY!  But, it's wonderful and fun at the same time.  Well, most of the time ;)

I wanted to do another "day in the life" post so I could see what has changed since the seven month post, which is ALOT.  I'm going describe a work day, even though I'm only working a few days this summer.  And we shall say it is also a day that my husband goes to work.  Let's make this realll complicated for me.  Ha!  These are my least favorite days of the week- working all day and then coming home to cook, bathe, and care for Liam myself is difficult.  I really don't know how single moms do it all the time.  You moms are truly amazing!

Anyway, here's our day, step by step- of course without every single diaper change and drink of water that Liam gets...

6:45am- Wake up time for me.  Normally, I get a good nights sleep with Liam waking almost never except for the occasional groan as he flips himself from side to side.   He is most likely still asleep at this point.  Sometimes he may wake up around 6:00am, but we bring him into bed with us and he sleeps for another hour to hour and a half.  Since I shower in the evenings after working out, first thing I do is to "put on my face".  I'm a makeup first kind of gal since it is the task that consumes the most time in the morning.  As I prepare for the work day, my two men are still snoring away...

7:30am-  Liam is up and ready to go!  Rarely does he sleep past 7:30, but it's nice to get the occasional 8:00 am wake up every now and then, especially on weekends!  Diaper duty commences and a hefty pee dipe is changed.  I may still need to finish getting ready (sometimes my outfit I picked out the night before just isn't quite working for me), so I let Liam play around in our bedroom for a few more minutes.  Since Brandon has most likely been working the night before, I let him sleep.

7:45am-  Time to wake the sleeping father.  Hubby takes baby duty as I go downstairs and prep my breakfast to go, which is usually a weight watchers breakfast quesadilla or smoothie.  At the same time I'm grabbing a sippy cup for Liam and filling it with whole milk while popping his waffle in the toaster (or some other kind of breakfast prep).  As Daddy and baby head downstairs I usually have Liam's breakfast ready to go, give them both kisses, and then head out the door.

8:00am-  Time for breakfast, munchkin meals style.  Liam's breakfasts vary from day to day so that he's not always eating the same thing.  He will usually drink anywhere from 3-5 ounces of whole milk as well.  

8:30am-  After breakfast Liam makes sure to touch every single toy in the downstairs of the house.  If something is in a toybox or bin he will surely throw it out so that our home becomes a disaster zone.  This is "free play" time.  An outfit change happens somewhere in the mix, as Liam has probably been wearing his pajamas since he woke up (unless they were soaked to the bone).  

Destroyer Alert!!!

9:30am-  Brandon gets a treadmill run in, while Liam watches and keeps himself occupied in his pack-n-play.  Of course, afterwards Brandon needs to get cleaned up.

*One thing I always wondered about with a baby/child was, "How do you take a shower and still keep an eye on them?".  When Liam was an infant, it was easy to stick him in his rocker and bring him right into the bathroom.  Now that he won't stay confined to one area, it's much more difficult.  Our master bedroom has a bathroom that is separated by toilet/shower area and sink/closet area.  The sink area is big enough and perfect to slide in the pack-n-play, while the door is cracked for the person to do their business.  But, what happens when he starts to climb out of the thing?!

10:15am-  Daddy and Liam play around.  Liam loves to throw things, especially balls big or small.  Some time may be spent playing "catch" or throwing a ball up the stairs and watching it bounce back down.  Liam may play around on the iPad with one of his apps (Fisher Price Giggle Gang, Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Animals, PBS Kids, Meritum Paint, etc).

I would like for Brandon and I to each do some kind of creative activity with him during the day and in the evening.  I feel like we are horrible parents for not coming up with some fun activities for him before this, but at his age I feel like it's difficult to do so.  He tries to eat everything (like crayons, we've tried this!) and he definitely does not like to sit still.  He has fun running around and playing with his toys and we join him, but I feel like we should be doing more.  Does anyone have any suggestions for learning activities with a one year old??? 


11:00am-  Lunch is served with about four ounces of whole milk to wash it down.  Check out the munchkin meals, lunch edition for a better idea of what this kid eats for lunch.  (These munchkin meals post sure do make this post a heck of alot easier!)  Liam is definitely starting to get cranky-sleepy at this point.

11:30am-  Oh, glorious nap time how we have longed for you!  Time for about seven ounces of toddler formula in the Nuk cup and Liam goes down in his crib alongside his monkey and a pac (we call a pacifier a "pack", derived from the word pack-a-fryer).  Liam usually sleeps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Lately it's been around an hour and forty-fiive minutes.  This is usually his only nap for the day and he doesn't seem tired enough for another one later.  Is that ok?  His bed time is early and he usually sleeps for 11-12 hours overnight.  I feel like he definitely gets enough sleep.

1:15pm-  The boy with the crazy hair now rises!  Diaper is changed (usually a very messy one) and we have a clean baby on our hands.  Liam and Daddy tackle each other, finish up chores, and be manly men.

2:15pm-  Someone's got the munchies!  Time for a snack and about three to four ounces of juice.  We've been buying 100% natural juice Capri Suns at Sam's Club for a great price.  They work out well and Liam loves them!  Snack usually consists of a toddler cereal bar, graham crackers, or veggie puffs.  Liam may not drink all of his juice during snack, but he will carry it around with him and drink it as he feels thirsty.

2:30pm-  During this time Brandon starts to get ready for work and Liam has some free play time.  It's kind of like- whatever.  

3:45pm-  My work day has come to an end.  I am now home and settled in, while Daddy has left us to start his shift.  If we are lucky, we may have a visitor over or a shopping trip planned.  If not, then it's time to get into the evening routine...

4:00pm-  I try to get in a quick half hour workout.  If its nice out, Liam and I may go for a walk. If not, I will either jump on the treadmill or do a Zumba workout.  One reason why I love the Zumba workouts is because they have a few specifically designed workouts for people who are short on time!  It sucks that Liam has to be "pack-n-played" again, but he's too all over the place to let him run around while we are exercising.  Usually, I will save my workout days for weekends and days when Brandon is off work so that he can keep an eye on Liam instead.  Once I start back to work in August, I figure my workouts will probably switch to the late evenings after Liam has already gone to sleep.  

4:45pm-  After a shower and cleaning myself up, I prep dinner, though hopefully I've done some the night before.  We eat anywhere from 5-6pm every night depending on when I get home from work, if I get in some exercise, and whether or not my husband is off work that night.

Somtimes, Liam helps make dinner.

5:30pm-  Dinner!  I wasn't able to participate in the dinner edition of munchkin meals, but here's the link for my first ever munchkin meals post!  Liam eats whatever we're eating with the exception of any nuts or shelfish.  Dinner is the messiest meal of them all and normally requires a thorough bath afterwards!

6:15pm-  Tubby time!  Liam splashes around in the bath for a bit.  He is now bathing in the bathtub itself and not an infant to toddler tub.  After the plastic "whale" infant to toddler tub, we purchased a blow up tub to set inside the bathtub.  This helped when Liam started to get too big for his whale tub but we didn't want him to slip around in the actual bath.

 
6:45pm-  Nakey time!  Liam wanders around in his birthday suit, which quite a few times has led to multiple wet spots on the floor, not to mention a couple times where I've had to scoop up some poop.  But, Liam loves running around naked so I deal with it.

7:15pm-  As I get myself ready for bed, I talk to Liam and we carry on our own type of conversation about what's what and what it does.  We count blocks and build things, play hide and seek, and giggle endlessly.  Liam brushes his hair (he knows what to do when I ask him to "brush your hair").  We also brush our teeth.  Once I lotion the boy down, slather on the Desitin, clean out his nostrils, dress him, and clean up his room it's story time.

7:30pm:  Liam knows exactly what book he wants to read and he brings it to me when I ask "Do you want to read a book?".  It's usually a choice between "Ten in the Bed" by Jane Cabrera or "Itsy Bitsy Spider" by Kate Toms.  I go all out- voices and movements and ALL.

7:45pm:  I make Liam an eight ounce bottle of toddler formula in his Nuk cup.  We call it a "baba" and he calls it a "dada" just like almost everything else (but, not really anymore- he's added many new words to his vocabulary).  He drinks his formula in his crib, but not when he's asleep (I make sure of that because of "bottle rot" to the teeth).  I think soon we will instead give him the drink about a half hour before bed (and not in bed) and brush his teeth after.  We've just gotten into this habit and I'm kindof worried it's going to throw him off.  He definitely doesn't need the bottle to go to sleep, though sometimes he does need his "pac".   After Liam turned a year old, we added a light receiving blanket and his lovey monkey to his crib at night.  We did not do this before due to the high risk of SIDS for babies under one year (especially with anything else in the crib while baby sleeps).  Liam sleeps in a long sleeve sleeper or long sleeve pjs, so he doesn't need much else for warmth in the crib.  Sometimes, Liam may fuss a little before falling asleep, but usually he is out cold in fifteen minutes or less.      

8:00pm:  If I have everything ready for my day tomorrow and my lunch is packed, I settle myself down to relax.  Really, this is the first time I've had a chance to sit, relax, and be by myself all day.  I read blogs or blog, play words with friends, catch up on tv shows, tweet, etc.  Sometimes I will do a few quick chores (luckily my husband does laundry and dishes :) ).

10:30pm:  My "me time" has come to an end and after what will hopefully be a long and luxurious night's sleep I will be ready to start this all over again!


Please take a minute and vote for us!  We have almost made it to the top 100.  This is the highest we've ever been rated and we would appreciate you taking the time to show your support.  It only takes 2 clicks!  No signing up, nothing!