Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break is upon us!! I'm slowly but surely figuring this whole parenting thing out. Man is it difficult! I've been trying to "wear" Elise around lately so she can see things & be involved while still allowing me to get stuff done!

Obviously with the attention span of an infant that's sometimes short lived, but she enjoys sitting up & checking out all the new things in our house. It always amazes me how exciting she can find a blanket or dishes, etc. 

So the holidays are finally upon us, and I'm finding the balance between giving Elise my constant undivided attention and finding time for myself, David, and thing like chores (yuck!). 

My little one is holding her head up SO well already! We took a trip to BJs, and she loved sitting up in her cart cover with her pillow to play with. I find that the carseat is too restrictive & doesn't allow her to  sit up and look around like she prefers. 

What does my day consist of now?

Here's a brief (and I'm sorry, probably boring) rundown:

5:00am- wake up & get dressed, scarf down banana or toast

5:30am- leave for the gym

6:00am- workout class begins!

6:45am- on my way home to relieve David from baby duty

7:00am- home! If I'm lucky, baby is still asleep so I can shower!

7:30am- Elise is definitely awake by now, and our day together begins! Time to nurse, change the diaper & get out of PJs.

8:30am- Time for our 2nd feeding of the morning after playtime.

9:30am- If naptime hasn't happened already, she's ready to go down for nap #1 by now.

10:30am - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or a Disney movie

11:30am- Nap time #2!*

12:30-2:30pm- Playtime, storytime, lots of dirty diapers, & more nursing!

3:00pm- Nap #3* if I'm lucky. Some days she only takes 2 naps, but when I'm lucky there's a 3rd one.

4:00pm- 6:00pm- It's "witching hour after 4:00pm so I try my best to keep the little one happy. Since it's getting nice & cool out now we go for a walk around the neighborhood with Elise in her stroller & get dinner ready for daddy to get home. 

7:00pm- David is finally home after a long day of work & some gym time, and he is given the task of bath time while I debrief & shower or finish up dinner.

7:30pm- Elise is cozy in her PJs again, and we settle in to nurse (lots) before putting her to bed.

8:00pm- Elise is asleep, and David & I eat and watch our shows while enjoying each other's company. At this point I usually also get things together for the next day: workout clothes out, dinner cleaned up, lunch prepped for tomorrow, and maybe even some laundry or dishes.

9:30pm- I am usually in bed at this point so that I am rested and ready for an early morning workout.

* Nap time for the past two months has been rather trying. I've gotten into the bad habit of letting Elise sleep on me, and she has only wanted to do that pretty much from 10 weeks on. Since I've been home the past couple of days my mom has been coaching me in putting her down (even if she cries), and it is allowing me breaks that I haven't had before.

Anyone else struggle with naptime? I hate to hear her cry which she does immediately after I try to set her down. From what I've experienced these past few days, she stops after a few minutes of whimpering, but it's almost more than I can take to leave her in her bed rather than scooping her back up safe in my arms. *sigh*

However, I really really really need the free time to clean & get stuff done so I HAVE TO set her down & let her whimper for a few minutes so I can actually get things done. So hard but so worth it!

Lastly, this cute little chair is another gift from my ever generous mother who saw that Elise wasn't happy laying down all the time so she bought this little activity center chair so she could hang out & play more on her own.

Hope everyone has a terrific Thanksgiving!!!!