Boot Camp

A friend of mine recently said that having a newborn baby is like being in boot camp and the baby is the commanding officer. Ain't that the truth.

I was talking to another friend and told her that I don't know where the day goes, but I don't get anything done, other than tending to Peyton. She asked me what I did all day and I told her I had no idea. So I decided to keep track of what I did in a day. This is by no means a routine. Everyday is different with new and unexpected twists and turns. But I do spend a good part of my day feeding Peyton. That may explain why he know weighs 11lbs and 11oz, hitting the 90th percentile in the weight charts -meaning that he weighs more than 90% of other one month olds. Yep, he's a big boy, alright.

So here it is. A day in the life of Peyton Christopher Harrell:

10:30-12:30pm Sleep swaddled in car seat on the floor while dad sleeps on the sofa next to him. Up until this particular night, Peyton will only sleep while being held. Worried that this is leading to some bad habits, mom and dad decide to try swaddling him tight and putting him in his car seat where he seems to sleep quite peacefully during car rides.

12:30 – 1am Bottle Fed by dad – 5oz. Quite impressive!

1:45am-4:15am – The previous sleep cycle went well, so mom keeps Peyton swaddled in car seat on the floor while she sleeps on the sofa next to him

4:15-5am – Peyton wakes mom up to let her know that he's hungry. He gets breast-fed.

5am-7:45am – Dad's turn. Grunting/sleeping while dad is on duty.

7:45am-9am – Dad's got to go to work, so its mom's turn. Peyton decides he's hungry again. He gets breast fed

9-9:15am – Swing time while mom shovels down her breakfast

9:15 – Starts crying. He’s done with the swing.

9:30 – because mom is holding him, he falls asleep. Mom puts him in car seat because he slept really well there last night.

9:40 – mom brings the car seat upstairs and puts it in the bathroom with her while she takes a bath

9:50am – Unfortunately, the car seat is not close enough to the bathtub to rock it when Peyton has a juicy burb, wakes himself up, and starts screaming.
Mom has to hurry up and finish getting the shampoo out of her hair so that she can comfort Peyton. She’ll have to wait until tomorrow to shave her legs

10:05am – Peyton falls back asleep and mom puts him in his cradle.

10:15am – Peyton is no fool. He knows no one is holding him and he wakes up. But he seems to be in a good mood so mom puts him in his crib with his mobile and animals and he watches the action for a few minutes while mom gets dressed and gets a load of laundry started.

10:40am – Ok, Peyton has been patient enough and has had enough of his mobile. He lets mom know that he’s done. Mom feeds him.

11:00am – after feeding only on one side and changing a poopy diaper, Peyton decides he’s done eating and falls asleep. Mom swaddles him and puts him in his pack ‘n play with a bear that makes womb noises. Will he stay asleep???

12noon – The bear stops making womb noises and Peyton has to poop, so he wakes up very unhappy.

12:30pm – after a series of crying, settling, sleeping, crying settling, sleeping, mom decides he must be hungry. Again.

1:15pm – Peyton is done eating. Mom is hungry, so he goes in his swing for a few minutes while she makes lunch.

2pm – After swing time, car seat time, and tummy time, Peyton is getting quite fussy. Mom bounces him to sleep and the two take a nap on the couch together.

3:30pm – Time to eat again!

4:15pm - Now that he’s done eating, Peyton decides its time for some more Z’s.

5:00pm – 5:30pm – But he can only sleep so long in his pack n’ play without being held, so he wakes up mad that no one is holding him. Again, we do some crying, settling, crying, settling, etc until mom decides he must be hungry. Again.

5:30pm – Eating Once again. Dad comes home. Finds mom sitting in her usual chair feeding Peyton again.. Mom is now referred to as “the cow”

6:15pm – Go for a walk in the neighborhood. Peyton looks all around and is fascinated by the green grass, pretty flowers, and blue sky, but eventually falls asleep.

7:00pm – After the walk, Peyton gets put down while he is sleeping, but again it is short-lived. As mom tries to finish her dinner, dad dances Peyton around the living room. It does seem to settle him down a little bit. Can we squeeze in a bath before the next feeding?

7:30pm – Nope. Need to eat before bath.

8:15pm – Bath time! Peyton loves taking a bath. He’s so calm. And, he’s got to get that fountain of pee going in the water every time!

9:30pm – Yep, he’s hungry again. Mom feeds him, then heads off to bed. Dad’s in charge now. Bottle’s in the fridge.

And the cycle continues….