I'm a stay at home mom to a beautiful and courageous 1 year old son, Sammy. If you'd asked me a year ago if I thought I'd be a SAHM, the thought would have been foreign to me. Somehow the second I laid eyes on my son, years of thinking I'd be a working mom vanished from me.
Today is Saturday October 7, 2012 and my baby Sammy is about to turn 1 in 4 days!!! I can't believe it. Time has flown by too fast and I've fortunately spent the last year trying to relish each and every day I've been Sammy's Mom.
I would have chosen a weekday, but I kept forgetting to take pictures throughout the day, so I had to choose today as I was running out of time to get this post over to Ashley! Se la vie!
Sammy slept really well last night, only waking once almost 10 hours after he went to bed. It was 4:52 am and I took my tatas over to see Mr. Sammy who nursed for a bit and went right back to sleep. I was back in bed by 5:15. After getting my husband to stop snoring in my ear, I finally was back in lala land.
7:00 am on the dot and Sammy is up! Why is it that baby's don't need alarm clocks? This kid has a wicked circadian rhythm. I force Paul out of bed to get in the shower while I nurse him and change him into a fresh diaper.
7:20: Sammy is ready to play! Fortunately, Daddy is just stepping out of the shower and I hand him over and hop back into bed for a few minutes! Paul has to work today, but I can normally squeeze in at least 20 minutes to myself in the mornings while he gets ready and spends some Daddy Sammy time together downstairs.
8:00 I'm being summoned as Paul has to leave, so I drag myself downstairs and give Sammy some breakfast. I give him some cheerios, fresh peach, a little piece of a banana and some of my cinnamon raison toast with cream cheese and fresh pumpkin butter from our visit to the pumpkin patch.
8:30, We are done with breakfast and I straighten up and we head downstairs for some play time. Sammy helps me fold up some laundry and I start chasing him around and making sure he doesn't kill himself. This child is into EVERYTHING. My husband was putting the suitcases away on vacation and Sammy crawled right in. Then he stayed there for 45 minutes! It was a miracle. So now, we have a suitcase in our family room. It's a non torture containment device. Seriously, it's screaming 1 way to entertain your infant with a household item pin on pinterest.
10:25: He FINALLY goes to sleep and I relax with my google reader, facebook, texting some friends back all in the cozy of my bed. I've gotten into the habit of making sure I take time for myself during his first nap. Sometimes I even take a quick nap. I call it putting oxygen on myself first. Sammy spent many, many months not napping or sleeping well at night, the exhaustion I felt was so overwhelming I really needed to rest myself in order to ensure I was going to be capable of being a good Mom for the rest of the day.
11:15: I hop in the shower, video monitor close by. I want to get myself ready for the day since we have plans to go to a fun ocktoberfest. I love Fall in the dc area. Not only is the weather perfect, the leaves are gorgeous and there is always something fun to do on the weekends.
11:50: Sammy is up and ready for me to come get him. He isn't one to wait patiently in his crib so I try to get him before he goes nuts. I nurse him for a few minutes and then go to change him. I don't get a new diaper on in time and while I am holding him, he decides to pee more than he ever has on me. Seriously, I felt like I was the one who peed myself. Fortunately, I absorb all the pee and none of it gets on the bed. Unfortunately, this means me being ready to go when he woke up, was a complete waste of time as now I have to find a new outfit to wear. At least Sammy looks cute!
12:20 pm: We head downstairs and I get lunch ready. We are having left over turkey meatballs with broccoli and cheese and spaghetti squash cooked in EVO, garlic, basil and lemon juice. It is gorgeous out and I decide since the days of warm weather are fleeting, we are going to eat al fresco out on the deck.
1:20: He is still busy in his busy box and the kitchen is nice and clean. I mentally took a picture for you guys but unfortunately forgot to actually do it!
1:30: Daddy is home! Paul works as a branch manager for a bank and sometimes works on Saturdays. He gets a day off during the week if he does, which is also nice. Last week he took of Wednesday and we had a totally fun day as a family. Paul also surprised me by taking the reins and painting our kitchen! I've got a great hubby! Paul takes Sammy and goes to change with him and play. Sammy loves when Daddy comes home. It's so cute. He and Bailey race to the door when they hear the garage door. Bailey was exceptionally excited today and race up and down the hallway with his bone. Sammy was looking at him like he had gone mad.
2:00: I go upstairs to see what's going on since we were supposed to leave right when Paul got home. Instead I see Sammy sitting on the couch watching football while Paul sits at the kitchen island eating! I cease to be amazed by what Paul comes up with during Sammy and Daddy time. If I didn't relish my breaks, I would probably have more to say about it. Trust me, if I had the intuition to bring my phone with me I would have had a picture to show you all. It was a pretty classic are you kidding me right now scenario.
2:15: It's gotten too late to go all the way to the Octoberfest, so we decide to go for a walk up to an awesome shopping center near our house called Fairfax Corner. They are having an art festival today so it will be another fun free fall day with the fam. Paul decided it was a good time to pump the tires on the stroller and so it was also a good time to snap some photos. The leaves are just starting to turn now and the weather is beautiful. We run into some friends and chat for a minute as we go looking through all the local artists.
3:20: We are back home and we let Sammy play for a little bit. He hates being strapped in the stroller now and if I don't give him some time to burn off energy after it's built up during a walk I'll never get him down for a nap. I have no clue if this is just a boy toddler, or if he has ADD, but seriously he has SO much energy!
3:45: Paul takes him upstairs for his naptime routine and I head up in a few minutes to nurse him and put him down.
4:10: Sammy is sleeping!! No fuss, just a bunch of babbling for 10 minutes until he is finally out. Paul is working on Sammy's first year photo book for his birthday party next weekend. Sweet Home Alabama is on so we watch that together and then I steal the computer so I can type up our day so far!
I open the mail and I see that Sammy's birthday shirt came in from etsy. So excited!!
5:25: Sammy's up! I go to get him, nurse him for a few minutes and then bring him downstairs for dinner time! We are trying something new from Trader Joes: Butternut Squash Risotto. It was really easy to make and also really good!
7:00 Bath Time!
7:15: Daddy hands me a sleepy, squeky clean baby. I soak up his freshly bathed smell and nurse him.
7:30: Sammy is in Bed!! Sleeping babies are the best, seriously.
7:45: Grandma just came over so we can go on a date!! We are buying a new dishwasher and going out for dinner. Yay!!
8:15: We head out for Lowes and a good spanish restaurant called Alto Plaza. It has great food, always has coupons and has the most wonderful atmosphere. Also very important, they always have $5 margaritas!
11:00 We get home and are so thankful for my mom having given us some time to ourselves as a couple. What a special treat!
11:30 Bedtime for mommy and Daddy!
I love this section of Ashley's post. I found them really helpful when I was pregnant.
-What is the most surprising thing to you about being a mom?
How naturally mothering came to me. I am the youngest of six, so I have never been around babies. Sammy's diaper was the first I ever changed. I had no idea how much I would love my baby and how easy that makes it to mother, even when it is one of those days that become so long.
-What advice would you give to new or soon-to-be mamas?
Relax and don't sweat the small stuff. All that matters is that you have your arms and your heart open wide for your baby.
- What are your top three baby products?
Halo Sleep Sacks: I love these for the peace of mind that they provide. I know Sammy is nice and warm and isn't tangled in a blanket. I was terribly paranoid about SIDS and these provided me decent peace of mind.
Boppy Pillow: I've used this every single day since Sammy was born. If you are planning on nursing, this gives baby a nice place to side lay and gives your arms a break. Now that Sammy is older it is easier to nurse him without the pillow, but before he could sit up, it just really killed my back without it.
Motorola video monitor: This has also given me great peace of mind. It is great to see if I need to go in there, or if he is just crying to readjust himself. The screen is big, it has a great talk back feature if you ever need to wake up your baby, plays lullabies and has a thermometer.
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