Over a month ago, I posted what our day looked like when I was staying home with G. Now that we have settled into a routine as a working family, I wanted to post how things have changed.

For the past month, we have been living with my in-laws while we wait for Tom to return and for us to find a decent home. We figured there was no reason to rush since Tom was still in KY for awhile. But now that time is ending so this is a recap of how George fared without him.

Here is our day now:

At 5am, the alarm clock goes off, and we wake up. I am pretty proud of myself that I rarely hit the snooze button on weekdays. Progress people.

Between 5 and 5:30am:  I nurse George and change his diaper and switch out his pjs for his day clothes.

For the first few weeks the dogs were not with us, but this last week we added their madness to the mix.

Around 5:30, I hand off George to my mother-in-law, and I take the dogs out for their potty time.

Then I hop in the shower.

Around 6, I grab some breakfast and coffee.

At 6:15, I take George back from Grandma so she can get ready. George, then watches me finish getting ready from his little bouncy chair. Sometimes he is awake, and we talk about the day ahead. And other times this is his reaction to morning time. Mornings are hard people.

At 6:45, I gather up any last minute things I need to pack like pumping equipment and George’s things. Then I load it and George into the car. I feel like a bag lady (diaper bag, pump bag, work bag, lunch bag).

By 7am, we are on the road.

It is a 30 minute drive to the baby sitter. George usually sleeps as I listen to the Kidd Kraddick show. If he is awake, I talk about what we drive by like the Capital building and the airport or the cars that we pass. Or I add my own commentary in response to the radio show. Y’all should be listening to this show. It is delightful.

Between 7:30 and 7:45, I drop off George at the babysitter’s. I usually stick around for 5 minutes to talk to her and one of the little girls that beats us there. “Baby George is here!” She (the three year old, not the babysitter) says every morning as we come in. Then sometimes we talk about princesses because that’s definitely 7:30am conversation. So cute.

By 7:55am, I am pulling into the parking lot at my job.

From 8-5, I am working. Doing really important things and changing people’s lives you know.

Around 5:20, I have worked my way through the traffic lights and the abundance of cars back to the babysitter’s.

We usually make it back to my in-laws around 6:15pm. I use this commute back to talk with Tom or I call other people to check in.

Once we get to the house, I snuggle with George for a few minutes than hand him off to either Grandma or Papa so I can eat. (Can I just say my in-laws are awesome for cooking me food every night!)

At 7, I nurse George. Then we play in our room until about 8ish. We get some tummy time in and leg exercises. Every day is leg day to George. This is my favorite part of the day because it is real quality time where I don’t feel like I have to rush our time together. We can just be.

Around 8, I let Grandma and Papa love on him. I use this time to take the dogs out, wash pump parts and bottles, and to get my lunch ready for the next day. Maybe I will go to the bathroom without a dog or a baby watching me, you know grown up things. This is such a blessing to have them to help. Plus I know that they are loving the quality time they are getting with little man.

This video was from a couple weeks ago when he first started babbling. He is pretty camera shy because he talks a whole lot more when I am not trying to record it.

If it is bath night, at 8:30 I go and get bath stuff ready for George while Papa chats with him (or some nights they fall asleep in the chair together). I will also wash my own face, brush my teeth, and get my clothes ready for the morning. If it is not bath night, I will start my nightly routine at 9pm.

Once I am through with my night stuff, George and I either head for a bath or I take him to nurse.

Around 9:30, we are usually wrapping up his last nursing session of the day. I will read him a story, and then put him in his Pack and Play for the night.

We are almost always done by 10pm.

I then take the dogs out again if they haven’t begged for it already from Grandma and Papa.

I call Tom once I have crawled in bed, and I am usually asleep before 10:30. Sometimes, I am still on the phone with Tom when I fall asleep….

Lately, George has been stirring between 3-5am. But most nights he will fall back asleep once I find the pacy and talk to him a little. Very rarely do I have to actually get up to nurse him before 5am.

On the weekends, it’s like George knows that we don’t have to wake up early. He will usually sleep until 6 and sometimes even 7. Bless this child.

One thing that has really helped keep me organized and not feel so rushed during the week is that I lay out clothes for the week for both myself and George on Sunday. It may sound crazy to plan for the week, but it is the best thing I have done to not feel like I am wasting time during the week stressing about what each of us is wearing. Then the only thing I do at night is grab undergarments and shoes to set out for the next day. So instead of wasting a half hour each night wondering how to style myself, (because let’s be real I will sometimes look at the mounds of clothes and think I have nothing to wear) I can take a half hour maybe 45 minutes one time on Sunday to get both of our things together.

I also write blog posts on the weekends and then edit throughout the week. Any spare time I have at night is usually spent playing with George and watching TV instead of playing on the computer. I wouldn’t have it any other way. So writing on the weekend has helped keep me from staying up late during the week because I still WANT to blog.

There are days that I am really exhausted, but for the most part this routine has worked for us. I will be glad to knock some time off that commute though once we move into our own place. But for now, I will cherish the time that George gets with his grandparents while we stay with them. Plus he usually gets to see his cousin Ava a little more often this way too. Being close to family for the first time since undergrad has been really truly wonderful. I am so glad that George will be able to grow up close to both of our families and be surrounded by that family atmosphere.

So that’s what life has looked like for the past few weeks. It is all about to change though with Tom coming home TODAY! And hopefully we will be moving within the next week.

What are your routine tricks to save you time?