A Day In The Life With A Newborn
My days with a newborn are vastly different than they were B.C. (before Cameron), but they’re also rewarding and fun. There’s no routine but here’s what my typical day on maternity leave looks like.
3am
Cameron is hungry. Ben has been on the “night shift” and is finishing his second bottle feed and putting Cameron back to bed. Then we’ll switch and Ben will get some uninterrupted snoozing hours while I’ll pump for a half hour then fall back asleep myself.
6:30am
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him then he chills with Ben for an hour. I shower taking stock of my new stretch marks, unexplainable left eye rash, new oily skin and other labor related wounds. I make myself breakfast and lunch, the latter goes in the fridge so I can grab it fast later.
8am
Ben gets ready for work. Cameron and I watch Good Morning America, and by “watch” I mean I entertain him with one hand while feeding myself breakfast with the other.
9am
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him then repeat that a few times. I almost always use both my hands to feed him but sometimes I can get situated in a way where I can text with one hand. Live With Kelly & Ryan is on. Kelly is always on vacation. It’s so nice to hear adult voices even if I’m not focused on the show.
10pm
I try to align the stars of clean diaper, recently fed and content baby. When I do, I take Cameron out for a walk, car ride to a nearby coffee shop and one to visit Ben at work! I like to get out of the house and Cameron needs more practice behaving in his car seat.
12pm
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him. Ideally I’ve made it back home by now, if I haven’t he’s let me know. Soothing him takes two hands plus sometimes walking around the house or bouncing on an exercise ball with him.
1-4pm
At some point during these hours Cameron will nap. Often it’s for 3-4 hours, but sometimes it’s for 20 minutes. I eat grab my lunch from the fridge and eat fast so I can get back to soothing him or can nap/wash dishes/write thank you notes myself.
5pm
Cameron is hungry. I feed him. We’re in the home stretch of time before dad gets home. The Rachel Ray Show, Doctor Oz or Ellen are all on. I don’t particularly care for any of them but it’s nice background noise. Also the remote is almost always out of reach which means I’m out of luck. On some days we’ll get a visitor around this time—coworkers or friends of mine—which is fun to look forward to.
6-8pm
Ben is home and we take turns watching Cameron and eating dinner. We’ve gotten lots of meals delivered from friends/family and also have my freezer meals left, so it’s rare I have to cook. Recently we’ve gotten Cameron care down enough that I’ve been able to jump back into cooking which feels so great.
9pm
Cameron is hungry. Ben sneaks away for 30 minutes to workout while I feed Cameron. When he returns I pass him off and am officially “off duty”. We’ll watch TV together—America’s Got Talent or Impractical Jokers. I’ll pump one last time while eating ice cream with the other hand.
10pm
If I’m not already in bed, Ben is telling me to go. I kiss my boys goodnight then crawl in to bed and scroll through photos of Cameron. I can’t help it, I love him and look forward to what our next day together will bring.
3am
Cameron is hungry. Ben has been on the “night shift” and is finishing his second bottle feed and putting Cameron back to bed. Then we’ll switch and Ben will get some uninterrupted snoozing hours while I’ll pump for a half hour then fall back asleep myself.
6:30am
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him then he chills with Ben for an hour. I shower taking stock of my new stretch marks, unexplainable left eye rash, new oily skin and other labor related wounds. I make myself breakfast and lunch, the latter goes in the fridge so I can grab it fast later.
8am
Ben gets ready for work. Cameron and I watch Good Morning America, and by “watch” I mean I entertain him with one hand while feeding myself breakfast with the other.
9am
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him then repeat that a few times. I almost always use both my hands to feed him but sometimes I can get situated in a way where I can text with one hand. Live With Kelly & Ryan is on. Kelly is always on vacation. It’s so nice to hear adult voices even if I’m not focused on the show.
10pm
I try to align the stars of clean diaper, recently fed and content baby. When I do, I take Cameron out for a walk, car ride to a nearby coffee shop and one to visit Ben at work! I like to get out of the house and Cameron needs more practice behaving in his car seat.
12pm
Cameron is hungry. I feed him then change him. Ideally I’ve made it back home by now, if I haven’t he’s let me know. Soothing him takes two hands plus sometimes walking around the house or bouncing on an exercise ball with him.
At some point during these hours Cameron will nap. Often it’s for 3-4 hours, but sometimes it’s for 20 minutes. I eat grab my lunch from the fridge and eat fast so I can get back to soothing him or can nap/wash dishes/write thank you notes myself.
5pm
Cameron is hungry. I feed him. We’re in the home stretch of time before dad gets home. The Rachel Ray Show, Doctor Oz or Ellen are all on. I don’t particularly care for any of them but it’s nice background noise. Also the remote is almost always out of reach which means I’m out of luck. On some days we’ll get a visitor around this time—coworkers or friends of mine—which is fun to look forward to.
6-8pm
Ben is home and we take turns watching Cameron and eating dinner. We’ve gotten lots of meals delivered from friends/family and also have my freezer meals left, so it’s rare I have to cook. Recently we’ve gotten Cameron care down enough that I’ve been able to jump back into cooking which feels so great.
9pm
Cameron is hungry. Ben sneaks away for 30 minutes to workout while I feed Cameron. When he returns I pass him off and am officially “off duty”. We’ll watch TV together—America’s Got Talent or Impractical Jokers. I’ll pump one last time while eating ice cream with the other hand.
10pm
If I’m not already in bed, Ben is telling me to go. I kiss my boys goodnight then crawl in to bed and scroll through photos of Cameron. I can’t help it, I love him and look forward to what our next day together will bring.