Finn is 4 weeks old today! Since the newborn days are flying by in a blur of feedings, snuggling, broken sleep and finding my way as a new mother, I thought it would be a good time to document a day in the life. Plus, as I mentioned last week…you guys seem to love these posts and request them often!
I made sure to snap some extra photos yesterday (let’s be honest though…I take SO many of Finn every day!) so that I could remember in the future when this all seems like a distant memory what 4 weeks was like with my little man.
DAY IN THE LIFE AT 4 WEEKS
Before I even get started on this day…let me say that it’s been our busiest day yet being out of the house and that most of it wouldn’t have been possible had my mom not been here to help. So YAY for family when you have a baby. It’s an incredible support when it comes to both the emotional side of things and the tactical/logistical details.
2 a.m. – Finn wakes up to eat. I get him back down around 2:45. He goes right back to sleep.
5 a.m. – Finn is up to eat again and I get him back down around 5:30. He goes back to sleep again.
7:30 a.m. – I am up for the day and get up to make coffee and start on breakfast before Finn wakes up. My mom grabs him when he starts to stir and helps me get him out of his sleepsack and his diaper changed. I feed him on one side and then give him a break to hang out while I eat my breakfast. Sometimes it helps him digest better and not spit up when we take a short break between sides.
8:15 a.m. – I eat half of a sweet roll that my mom brought from a bakery she stopped at in Georgia (they are stupid delicious) along with two scrambled eggs and a peach. I also drink a cup of coffee.
8:30 a.m. – feed Finn on the other side.
9 a.m. – I get Finn dressed for the day and die a little over his cuteness.
9:15 a.m. – I quickly jump in the shower and get dressed for the day. My mom helps keep an eye on Finn while I do so but he’s pretty happy hanging out in his seat.
10 a.m. – arrive at Greenapple Sports for an appointment with Dr. Bradberry.
My upper back is still a mess from breast feeding and sitting so much and Dr. Bradberry helps SO much. I felt like a new mama walking out of there. He encouraged me to start doing more stretching of my chest and shoulders and then to start including some prone back extension exercises. In the next few days I’m going to start some gentle stretching-focused yoga every day and some PT-type bodyweight exercises for my chest, shoulders and upper back.
10:45 a.m. – we leave Greenapple and have our first experience changing Finn in a public bathroom and we go through two diapers in one diaper change. 🙂
11 a.m. – we swing by Metro since we’re on that side of town to introduce Finn to the gym’s manager (who graciously offered to watch Finn in her office once I’m cleared to workout…amazing!). We walk over to Woo! cosmetics to grab some BB cream with SPF for a lighter summer option for my face.
11:45 a.m. – we arrive back home. Finn slept through our whole outing but he’s ready to eat!!!
noon – I feed him and then pass him off to my mom so that I can make a smoothie before our next appointment.
12:45 p.m. – I drink this smoothie while I get everything ready to leave again. My appetite is still all over the place at times and I just didn’t want to “chew food” at lunch so I made sure to put plenty of peanut butter and full-fat yogurt in this smoothie.
1 p.m. – we leave for a follow-up appointment for Finn.
1:15-2 p.m. – we’re at the doctor’s office. We have to wait a while and our actual appointment only lasts about 2 minutes! We are cleared and good to go.
2 p.m. – I run into Walmart to grab a few things. My mom stays in the car with Finn.
2:15 p.m. – back at home and time to feed Finn again! While I’m feeding him I order a stroller fan and the Ergo infant insert from Amazon. We’ll need both while we’re in Florida!
3:15 p.m. – I’m done feeding Finn and it’s time to get the dogs ready for their vet appointment. I install the second car seat base in my mom’s car. She has a 4Runner so much easier for transporting dogs. I’m proud of my car seat installation skills after visiting a car seat check at the police station earlier this week.
3:45 p.m. – both dogs and baby are loaded up and we are on the way to the vet.
4 p.m. – we are at the vet and THANK GOD I have my mom’s helping hands. There is absolutely no way I could have made this happen without her.
Both girls have their annual check-ups and get great reports from the vet. Sullie will be 12 next month and our doctor says she doesn’t feel any new lumps or bumps on her (she’s had mast cell tumors removed in the past) and that her range of motion in her joints is excellent for her age. She encourages me to keep her moving and walking daily. Chowhound Zoey is told she could stand to drop a few lbs. If only she would stop counter surfing…I fear the day she can eat all the discarded highchair food. Ahh!
6 p.m. – home from the vet. I snack on hummus and pita chips and then feed Finn. We are so proud of Finn for how great he did being out all day. Mommy is tired and it’s clear Finn is too!
7 p.m. – after feeding I take a shower (I’m covered in dog and sweat from the vet experience), give Finn a bath and get him in his PJs. PJ time is my favorite time of the day. I could just eat him up he’s so cute in them!
7:30 p.m. – my mom makes dinner while I’m doing bath duty. We have mushroom ravioli and a side salad.
8 p.m. – Tanner’s brother, sister-in-law and their daughter come by to see Finn and bring me a sweet birthday present.
More on all of this later…I need y’all to give me some time. 🙁
8:30 p.m. – visitors are gone and my mom and I watch an episode of Call the Midwife while I feed Finn again. My mom introduced me to this show and I love it! I make a cup of chamomile tea and eat a dark chocolate peanut butter cup while I watch it.
9:45 p.m. – Finn and I head up to bed. I feed him again and he passes out. I talk to Dorie on the phone for a while and then chat with my mom in her room for a while.
10:45 p.m. – back in my room…Finn is restless and wants to eat again. Not unusual for him to cluster feed right before bed but I do it because he will sleep so much better if I do. I read a book while I nurse and then turn the light out at 11:15 p.m. and get some rest until he’s up at 1:30 a.m. to eat again…
And that starts another day! 😉
What was your favorite part about days with newborns?
What was your most challenging thing about days with newborns?
That Drake onesie is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Take all the time you need. So glad you have your Mama to help. I had a new appreciation for mine after my boys were born.
Thanks! It is cute! 🙂
And I completely agree on the appreciation for your mom post-baby. It has changed our relationship dynamic for sure.
It’s great to have your mom there. Having an extra set of hands is so helpful at this stage. I have a 3.5 month old and we are at my parents for a couple of days. I’m still home on mat leave so it’s very nice to have help during the day as the days can get long. Especially now as our son is going through a sleep regression and takes really short naps!
I miss the stage you are in sometimes because they are more portable at that stage since they can sleep anywhere! That is no longer the case so I feel like I am sort of trapped in our house for most of the day due to his need to nap every 1.5-2 hours! My fave part about newborns was how snuggly they are and how easy it was to calm them as our son was happy as long as someone was holding him and he was fed. My least fave part about the stage you are in was how worried I was about our son’s weight. It took him 3 weeks to get back to his birth weight as he was a slow eater and had a weak suck. We had so many doctor appointments as we had weight checks and got referred to so many specialists like speech pathologists, ENT, and OT. It was stressful! He’s eating much better now and I’ve come to terms with the fact that BF’ing didn’t work for us. I’m pumping instead (which I hate!) and he eats bottles.
Yes, her help has been invaluable. And the company is wonderful too as the days are long.
I’m sorry about the sleep regression. I know that’s tough!
Yes, I’m definitely trying to soak up how portable he is right now because I know that will change!
I’m sorry to hear about the BF but you are so strong for hanging in there with pumping.
These are such great posts and that sounded like a BUSY day for you!! So glad your Mom is visiting and helping out – that is so special for both of you, and Finn 🙂 He is so dang cute!
Thanks Nicki! And this would have been impossible without my mom!
Thank you for sharing! I have a 2 week old little one and it’s so nice to feel like i can relate. You mentioned in a previous post that you were having a hard time getting Finn back to sleep after the 11pm ish feeding. Do you have any tips for what helped?
You’re doing a great job, mama!
You are so welcome! CONGRATS on your little babe! I honestly usually end up nursing him to sleep and then letting him sleep on my chest until I know he’s really out and then I transfer him. Probably not the best solution long-term but working for us now!
Finn is absolutely adorable!!
My favorite part of newborn life (and what I miss THE MOST now that my guy is 2) was the newborn snuggles. Just laying on the couch watching Netflix with a sleeping baby on your chest is amazing.
Most challenging part? LACK OF SLEEP. Oy.
Yes yes to both of these!
Do they make that Drake shirt/onesie in adult sizes? Asking for a friend… 😉
He is so cute! I don’t have any kids but from being around my nieces/nephews/friends’ kids, I love it when they fall asleep on you!
Haha, it’s pretty cute, right!?
Thank you for the comment and yes it’s so great when they sleep on you!
Finn is so adorable!
I don’t have any kids, but I am really enjoying these updates. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kelly!
I think it’s so great you are getting used to getting out with Finn! It’ll make outings easier in the future and less intimidating. My boys have pretty much always gone everywhere with me and now at 2 and 4 seem to do well in most environments (airports, stores, restaurants, etc)
This is encouraging to hear!
You owe us nothing when it comes to your relationships. They are hard and personal and exhausting sometimes. <3
You're doing great, Mama!
100% agree!
Thank you Jennifer. xx
Ditto on that – in due time, on your terms and only if you want to share.
By the way, Finn is so darn lucky to have you as a mama. I can feel your love in every post.
Thank you Carrie – I really appreciate your kindness.
Thank you thank you thank you Somer. xx
Love these updates! I agree with Somer. You don’t need to share anything in your personal relationships that you’re not comfortable with. The trials of it just drag you down sometimes.
Just when I think there is NO possible way Finn can get more adorable, he does!! ❤️
Hi Michelle, thanks for reading them and thanks for the support around sharing. And yes, he’s a cutie.
Finn is so sweet and cute! Everything gets better around the 9-10 month mark. Hang in there. My little boy did not sleep through the night until ten months and everything just seemed hard. It was a hard time for my husband and me to communicate due to lack of sleep and generally cranky. I will remember my sons first year as one of the most challenging things I’ve ever been through.
Thank you so much for the encouragement Courtney. It’s challenging for sure but he’s worth it. <3
You’re amazing and Finn is SO SO cute!
Thank you Emily.
One day years later, you’re going to read this post and be so impressed by yourself. You are doing a great job! It really does get easier! <3
Thank you so much! I know that I will look back on this and wonder how we made it though these days but we are doing it. xx
Finn is such a cutie! I felt tired just reading this so you are a rockstar ? Also just a friendly reminder, you don’t owe us any explanations for how and what you choose to share on this blog. Please don’t ever feel bad about taking all the time you need, or even for not sharing at all. We’re all rooting for your happiness, whatever that looks like to you 🙂
Jenn articulated everything I was thinking – far more eloquently, too.
So, just re-read her comment again – cause it was perfect 🙂
You are doing brilliantly. We’re rooting for you.
Thank you Jenna. <3
Thank you Jenn – I really, really appreciate your unconditional support.
Right before my baby was born, someone told me that the things I had worried about would turn out to be easy, and the hard things would be things I thought would be easy (it rang true…I hated burping a newborn! Ha!)
I know you posted already about wearable carriers so i’m late to respond…have you looked into the Lalabu soothe shirt? My baby and I loved ours…I think they say it fits to 15 lbs (I used mine until my baby was 12 lbs because she was long)…it’d be a good option for these early days…I never felt too hot using it with my July baby…
Burping is also not my favorite and often leads to me being covered in spit up!
I had no idea about those shirts. Thank you!
I really like your blog, but it makes newborn life seem so easy! (Relatively, that is.) I have a 1-month-old, just a few days older than Finn, and our experiences seem so so different at this point, which is honestly a bit hard for me to read at times. My baby still can’t sleep without being held, which is a constant drain, and because of reflux he needs to be held upright for 30 minutes after eating. Add to that major feeding issues (he often cries for more milk after he’s full and at the same time refuses to eat because of oversupply issues I have that cause foremilk/hindmilk imbalance) and everything seems like a constant struggle. I love the newborn snuggles and watching him grow and start to learn about the world, but the sleeping and eating problems are dominating my life currently. 🙁
Hey Sara – thanks for your comment and for reading. I’m sorry to hear that you are going through challenges with feeding and sleeping. Just know that I am struggling to, in different ways. I was lucky to have my mom with me on this day to help us accomplish all of this. And behind the scenes we have a lot going on that we are trying to figure out. I will be sending you a lot of prayers and strength that you guys are able to work through your sleeping and eating challenges soon. xx
Wow, you accomplished a lot with a newborn. Not easy, for sure. For me, the last hardest part of newborn days was nighttime. The getting up and down all night was difficult for my mental state plus, I just like my sleep. The first time my oldest slept for a long uninterrupted stretch, I felt like a new woman.
Yes, the sleep is definitely an adjustment and it’s crazy to have it so broken throughout the night. Definitely not as restful as those long, uninterrupted stretches.
I don’t know your relationship status and frankly I don’t need to know it in order to tell what an amazing new mom you are. You are doing a terrific job and as a reader I appreciate your honest approach to life with a newborn. Whatever challenges you may be facing on the relationship front, just remember that this new “man” in your life loves you more than you could ever imagine and obviously you feel exactly the same way. Congratulations and keep up the good work! ?
Hi Lilly – wow, thank you so much for these words. They brought me so much comfort.
LOVE the Drake lyric shirt, lol. I am so enjoying following along with your journey.
Ha! It’s cute, right? Thank you for following along with us!