A busy day in the life of a 4-month baby

The newest  addition, an awesome combination of toys that helps the baby to grow

Being a mom is a very demanding task, but as a baby, there are so many things to do every day that you can hardly have a free time on your own. Somehow, being a baby and being a mom means for both a lot of chores and a very strict program to follow every day. There is almost the same program, a routine that does good to the baby and almost brings the mom to the edges of desperation. But given the exciting times ahead and the permanent development of the baby, we better enjoy the situation as it is and we cut short the complaining part.

As for now, let me introduce you to the daily schedule of my cute baby boy, 4 months and 2 weeks old:

- The day starts around 6.30, 7.00 the latest - without waking up in the night -, with a milky breakfast, followed by some small gymnastic, and the administration of a drop of Vitamin D on the pacifier. Usually we also change him to different clothes than the ones used for the night.

- For one hour, he usually plays with the toys hanging on the mobile playground, the latest add to the baby collection of toys.

- He sleeps in the middle of the playing for around 1 hour when he wakes up for the second meal of the day.

- As we started to diversify the food, he eats besides the milk 2-3 full spoons of carrots or parnsip puree. We give it to him in between milk shots and he likes it. 

- Until the next meal, we usually split the time between our working room, where I try to have some work done, and his mobile playground. If he is quiet, I am trying to put him on the belly or on other sides but the back.

- The next meal - we keep a strict schedule of the meals, with a list of the eating hours - is again a combination between milk and bottle food.

- Around 13 o'clock it is about time to go out - when the strange German weather allows it, of course. I usually do not change new clothes, just add new layers adapted to the outside temperature. We go to do shopping, or to visit and meet friends, or to have coffee and cake. He likes being outside and very often the crispy weather makes him sleep. As I go out, I always carry with me a big bag with: powder milk, thermos with hot water, bottle with cold water, milk bottle, 2-3 diapers and wet napkins. Even we only plan to be out for an hour, it is good to be ready, just in case our plans are changing. Thus, you can keep a certain level of independence.

- After the afternoon meal is finished - if we are at home we have the same menu of milk and solids - it start the most difficult part of the day, when he is relatively tired, regardless how much he slept outside, and needs more attention than during the rest of the day. Usually, I take him in the hands, we talk and play and laugh together, listen to some children music. If he is calm enough, I am trying to put him on the belly again for a couple of minutes. 

- Bath time is the busiest time of the day. There are so many things to arrange and set up in a relatively short amount of time: preparing the night clothes, the towel, the bath tube with the sponge and shower gel, the bottle of milk, the bed with the sleeping bag. The bath takes around 10 minutes, followed by drying up, some oil massage and kissing time. In the last weeks he is falling asleep very easy so I have to be fast with getting the mobile playground out and arranging the room for the next day. The baby days ends around 20.00 the latest.

From now on, I can continue doing some work or just relaxing. Tomorrow is a new day, for me ad y sweet baby.

Sweet dreams!

Book review: Die Mama trickliste für Babyzeit

As during pregancy I did not read too many books about babies and other related information, the first days after giving birth we started to update at the speed of light with various data and answers for basic questions about the baby life. The advantage of speaking many languages is that you can find various resources, but of course, the school of thought when it comes to children may be very different. 

However, I am open to integrate various ideas and tips and I do not mind to take the best from all. As we have the luck of a very good children doctor we are half-way through happiness, but I still feel that I need to improve my knowledge about babies. 

This book by Ute Glaser has the advantage of offering a lot of simple information both for parents - at least about the beginning of the book - and for children. I was happy to realize that some of the tips I was already using, such as to have a thermos for keeping warm the water for the milk. 

For me, the most important part was about what you have to do after giving birth, and especially how wise it is not to try to be the best and keep inviting people. This is exactly what we did and my burnout shortly after made a lot of sense. Wish I was more convinced that 'Relax, tomorrow is another day' should be my motto. It is also says that it is quite normal to feel at the end of a very exhausting day as you have not done nothing and before starting to write intensively every day, this is how I felt in the first weeks after coming back from the hospital.

As for baby-related information, I discover some good ideas: for instance, that second hand baby clothes are better because many of the chemical substances are already out of the materials following repeated washing; or that you have to keep the baby in the arms in the part close to the heart that he is used to hear from the time in the womb; or that the afternoon sleep in the open air is very healthy;

My disappointment regarding this book is the lack of a more structured information about the various stages of life. In the first year, planning every step every month is very important and I am very interested to know how I can deal correctly with various changes - right now, diversifying the food. Overall, a book recommended to GErman speakers parents, but still not that book I am looking for. Search in process...

5 Things I enjoyed during pregnancy

My pregnancy went unexpectedly well, although I am no more in my early 20s. Except some swollen feet, things were smoothly and I was able to work and create till a couple of hours before giving birth. Out of many things I enjoyed during pregnancy, here are the most important five that made my life of mommy-in-the-making very beautiful. 

1. No more headaches! I was fighting with chronic headaches for almost two years. Sometimes, the pains were so serious that I was hardly able to get out of the bad for one full day. After every such painful experience I was feeling as a new born and at least once I felt like it will no be tomorrow. My pregnancy got it out of my life, probably due to the hormonal balance created during those months. Fortunatelly, the ugly pains did not come back into my life and I wish they will never return.

2. Sleep, a lot of sleep! I know that many women are complaining that they sleep way too much during pregnancy,  but someone like me who hardly sleeps more than 4-5 hours the night, a normal 8 hours sleep was a secret pleasure that I did not enjoy for a long time. Given that after the baby is born there is hardly time for serios sleep, this is something to really appreciate, even you are not fighting with the same sleep disorder as me.

3.Slow down! For someone like me, always very active and busy and set to achieve too many things during the days, my pregnancy was a time of reflection and summing up my priorities. Exactly what you need before te big change brought up into your life by the baby.

4. Glowing face and hair! I am regularly using various beauty products for hair and face, but during the pregnancy just did not need to do too much. My hair was glowing, my face was always looking fresh without too many masks and make up. Call it hormonal blessing!

5. Healthy eating! I know that many women are complaining about eating too much or very unhealthy, with a lot of oil and heavy fats, but things operated differently in my case. Besides keeping strictly kosher for the entire period, withthout dreams about forbidden foods, I added into my daily menu many fruits and vegetables and milk. Products that apparently are again out of my table. l

Any of my readers went through the same experience? Anything interesting about pregancy to share?