Routines

Some may call it anal but I like to think of myself as structured. So, being the way I am, I am trying to get Preston on a routine. I've gotten to know him well enough now to know when we can do things and I'm starting to understand his cries as well. Our daily routine consists of waking up at 6am for an IV treatment. Since he is usually still sleeping this is when I eat breakfast, let the dogs out, check email, etc. After his treatment he and I both lay down until 8:30 or 9am. At this point he usually wakes me up because he's hungry. After feeding him and changing his diaper, I can usually put him back in our bed (surrounded by pillows of course) and get household chores done- laundry, cleaning, vaccuuming, washing bottles.... After his next feeding he likes to be held for awhile so this is usually my time to talk to him, read to him, sing to him (he's already learned how to cover his ears!) or pray with him. When he goes down for his afternoon nap, around noon, I get time to myself so that's usually when I take a shower and eat lunch. He dozes off and on throughout the afternoon and evening, but when he's not sleeping he likes to be cuddled. His treatment at 10pm tops off the day for us. Once that's over at 11 I put him in his cradle and drop into bed myself. Unfortuantely, I've gotten into the bad habit of putting him in bed with us at some point during the night. It's usually when I bring him to bed to feed or rock him, at which point I usually fall asleep. I awake a few hours later to find a bundle of joy still in my arms. I need to break that habit. Maybe next week when the IV is out and we have to create a whole new routine!