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The Evening Routine

With the exception of the past few days, as teeth are being cut and all sense of normalcy has been flung to the winds, nights are a lovely and calm time here. We struggled mightily with routine over the course of the first year. We read all about putting babies to sleep, and nothing seemed to work. Sometime around the year mark, we turned a corner. We sleep trained using Ferber's book, and we also developed a great routine. The sleep training took 5 days or so, and the routine fell right in place once Julie had a set bed time.

Bath time is every other night, and we usually start that around 6.30. It's a typical bath time. After bath time, or at 6.45 on the off nights, we start our bedtime routine. First, we get into jammies. She often picks her own jammies out; favorites are soft, warm fleece footie jammies with animals on them. Right now, that would be her santa monkey pajamas. During the dry winter time, there's also a lotion rub down. Julie loves to get some on her hand and rub lotion into her tummy.

After, she gets books. Normally, daddy takes this on. They read anywhere from 3-10 books, depending on how tired she is feeling and how early we got started. At some point, she gets droopy and asks for the "boppy." The boppy is our nursing pillow. At 19 months, we still nurse twice a day (morning and night), at her request. I've thought about weaning, but she gets so darn excited, and it doesn't bother me too much to nurse.

After nursing time is teeth brushing. We have a little song we sing. I brush her teeth, and she will either brush mine or try to help with hers. We do the tongue last. Then, it is time to hug daddy goodnight. Finally, we rock gently while standing and sing a few songs. Finally, I lay her down in her crib, lay a fuzzy blanket on her, and say goodnight. No nightlight, but we do have a fan and a humidifier running.

Recently, it's been rough with teeth cutting. Some kids aren't bothered by their teeth; mine is. She is also a bit on the late side for teething, it seems. She only has 8 teeth, and she is cutting 2 more. No molars yet, and I am not looking forward to those. It takes about two weeks for her to cut a tooth, so I appreciate that we get big breaks between teeth.

I hope the sweetness of our evenings comes through. It is such a calm and lovely time of snuggles, and I really relish the routine. Even on my duty nights, I run over from the dorm for about 20 minutes to do my part. I know that, someday, my little girl will not be so little, and she won't want mama's help. Until then, I soak up every bit I can.

Q& A for MiserMom

Finally, finally following up on being tagged for a Q & A. I always mean to write, and I let time get away with me. So, without further ado, since any delay here will result in not finishing this.

1. Is there something that you accomplished last year that you can now look back at and say, "Phew! I'm glad THAT's done with!" If so, what is it?

The thing that springs to mind is actually something I finished in May 2014, so it's more like the past two years. I finished up my MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching), which was a great relief. I did the majority of the program from 2010-2012, when I got my teaching license. I had two classes left for my MAT, but I didn't want to do them during my first year of teaching. We decided to get pregnant right before my second year of teaching. I figured finishing the MAT would be better without a baby. SO relieved that I got that done, and I continue to be more relieved in hindsight. I completely could not manage that today, and I only had a 5 year window post-graduating to finish, so it's a good thing I wrapped it up.

For my thesis, I wrote about and created a website on multicultural science education. Spoiler alert: the most important thing is to use good teaching skills that allow all students to use their own experiences to relate to science. I defended at 8 months pregnant (and I think I surprised at least one member of my committee!).

2. How do you keep track of your appointments and to-do lists? (I'm really curious about how other people manage time and tasks).

I use a google calendar for appointments. I live by that thing. Still trying to figure out how to sync up with my husband. I think he started using google calendar when he got an Android phone, so now it's a matter of taking the time to put them together.

For my to-do list, I go old school. I have tried to do electronic lists, but it gets really overwhelming for me. Mostly, I keep a list on paper, tho I will jettison the list at times (paradoxically, this usually happens when I get really busy and am in "put out the fires" mode). I've got a little moleskin notebook I'm using right now. I just try to rewrite my list every few days and keep track. Honestly, it's not an optimal system. I routinely struggle with the to-do list, prioritizing tasks, and being as efficient as I'd like to be.

Back when I worked at a nature center and had more of a desk job, I had a really good system going. I just used a normal size cheap notebook. The left side of pages was for running tasks (large things, long-term stuff, etc). The right side was where I wrote down a specific to-do list for each day along with the amount of time I thought each task should take. That worked really well but proved hard to keep up with.

3. What do you normally eat for breakfast?

A cup of strawberry yogurt and sometimes a banana. Recently, I've been eating Stonyfield Farm yogurt, but sometimes I go on a chobani kick. If I really want to mix it up, I'll have peaches and cream oatmeal. And, occasionally, a bowl of cheerios with raisins and banana slices. But mostly just yogurt every day.

4. What is the goofiest little thing, that other people don't necessarily notice, that makes you happy?

I get downright giddy about cute erasers, pens that write really smoothly, and a nice fitting pair of headphones. I love to listen to music when I need some me time, and comfortable headphones are essential.