I’m Jana, a stay-at-home mom to my one-year-old daughter.
L was born in December 2012, and everything changed just as we expected, but different than we ever could have imagined. Our first year as a family of three has been filled with the regular ups and downs of parenthood, baby’s firsts, and milestones, and wondering how L is growing up so quickly. Like most moms, I’ve clocked countless hours trying to figure out what works best for our baby girl, me as a mom, and the three of us as a family. As L grows older, so does my desire for her and me to connect with other moms and babies.
I want to introduce myself by giving you a glimpse into a day in my life. When I first saw “12 on the 12th”, I knew I wanted to try it. On the 12th of each month, you take 12 photos of your day. Or, in my case, you take 12 photos of L throughout the day.
Here she is this past Sunday.
And here’s what most of our days look like.
7:00 a.m. – L wakes us up, and lucky for me, my husband usually gets her and gives her a bottle while I enjoy some time to myself. By the time I come downstairs, L is ready to play. I make my coffee and join her. These days, some of her favorites are her Little People Farm, reading books, and puzzles.
8:30 a.m. – L eats her breakfast, then takes her morning nap. While she naps, I clean up our morning mess, catch up on chores, and prepare myself for the day.
11:00 a.m. – I prepare her for the day whenever L wakes up. On weekdays, we usually go out for errands. On weekends, we spend time as a family. This past Sunday, we spent the afternoon at the Maritime Aquarium.
12:30 p.m. – L eats her lunch.
1:00 p.m. – Some days, we spend our afternoons out, some days we stay home and play, and most days we do both.
3:00 p.m. – L takes her afternoon nap. While she naps, I clean up our afternoon mess, take some personal time, prep our dinners, and fill our fridge and freezer with homemade baby foods.
5:00 p.m. – I wake L up, and she eats her dinner. After dinner, L plays, I cook, and we wait for my husband to come home. When he gets home, he and I eat our dinner, and L gets to watch a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
7:00 p.m. – L has her bottle, and then we all play or read together.
8:00 p.m. – L’s bedtime… she’s exhausted, and so am I!
I spend the rest of my night unwinding. You can usually find me on my computer, watching TV and hanging out with my husband. I go to bed later than I should, wake up at 7:00 AM the next morning, and gladly do it all over again!