I apparently amaze my husband!

Normally my husband doesn't see the whole behind the scenes on setting Jayden's Menu up, and preparing it for the next week, or how I get things organized and easy to go for everyone.

I have a black freezable/refrigerated bag that I put 4 breast pumped bottles in. I have them labeled as use first, use second, use third, and use fourth on the caps. I rotate them around and keep them full at all times. IF they are full, and Jayden has a full bottle, and his breakfast is made, then I put what I pump into a breast storage bag that can be frozen. I do this to keep a back log JUST in case he eats more milk that day, or has a growth spurt, or whatever happens, we have a storage of milk supply.

I pump every two hours during the day, which coincides with when Jayden eats. Jayden gets a bottle between the hours of 8am-8pm. from 8:01pm-7:59am he gets to nurse. It has helped him know that nursing means sleep time, and bottle means day time. It has worked like a CHARM! Since I pump every two hours my supply has not gone down at all, in fact I am still obviously making more than he eats in a day. Don't worry he is getting more than the recommended amount of 24 ounces of breast milk a day. Even with all the food he eats, he still gets on average about 25-30 ounces a day, and some days more.

Anyways, back to the main topic, my husband being amazed at all I do. It actually made me feel good today! He validated that I'm a good mama!

I buy a weeks work of baby food items. I do ONLY a weeks worth at a time, because it makes storing it nicely easier. I buy enough stage two yogurt for the week, enough stage 1 meats, enough stage two fruits and veggies, I buy the rice and oatmeal in bulk, and I buy enough of the snack packs for a week. I then label them, Monday's Morning Fruit, Monday's Morning Snack, Monday's Lunch, Monday's Afternoon snack, Monday's dinner, Monday's evening snack, etc for all the days of the week. I stack them all Mondays with Monday's, and so forth. I make Monday's up front and Sunday's in the back. This is so everyone knows his menu nice and easily. If for whatever reason he doesn't finish something we place it in his special spot in the refrigerator, and save it for the next day, since once opened it's only good for a max of three days. I simply just place the next days item on the "extra" shelf in case theres a day he's more hungry than normal. Works out pretty nice actually. I have Jayden's Rice Cereal and Oatmeal's all measured out in a simple little container. Rice is with dinner and oatmeal is with breakfast. I have some barely and wheat and what not also, so I typically randomly give him those. I try to stick with the Oats and rice as much as possible.

Anyways, Hubby watched me for the first time the entire morning routine with Jayden and his food from start to finish today.

He was amazed at how efficient, I am, how I can multi task, how I get things ready and set up for the entire day, including making his 1 ounce of juice bottle for lunch. It's easier just to do it then, and grab it out of the fridge when it's time, or if we take off somewhere. I keep his food pack full unless it's an open item that is being refrigerated, in that case I keep it easily accesiable with the bottles in the fridge.

It seems like I'm doing a lot of work in the mornings while feeding him, I'm really not. I'm finished pumping my milk, eating my breakfast, filling his food containers, setting up his bag, and rotating his milk, and setting up his food for the day, by the time I am done feeding him. I then clean up while he plays with a toy in his high chair.

What goes in must come out, and since he is on the same feeding schedule every day, his poops have become very predictable. It's a waste of diaper, just for a little bit of pee, to change him before breakfast. I wait to change his diaper until after breakfast, because at some point during breakfast he poops. He's typically done pooping once I have cleaned everything up, gotten everything settle where it needs to go.

So i pick him up, take him to change him into his clothing for the day (Yeah we feed him in his pjs. Better to have food on clothing going into the wash than on clothing he's wearing all day. Sometimes if I needed to change his diaper before breakfast because he had already pooped I will feed him naked. Just depends).

As I'm changing his clothing, I am playing with him, singing with him, talking to him, just really interacting with him, to help him grow. I also change his diaper, whether he has pooped or not. Typically it's filled with pee by that time anyways, even if on the off chance he hasn't pooped or pooped earlier. I then dress him for the day. Lay him down on the ground with his toys, and change and ready myself for the day.

We spend the next hour -2 hours playing. He then will eat a small snack, and it's nap time for him! This is the longest period he will take a nap during the day. It's about 45mins-1 hour.

I get the dishes done and tea made during this time. I also plan my day if I need to go anywhere do anything see anyone, I plan it out now.

If Jayden is still asleep when I'm done, I will do some light dusting, and run the vacuum.

That's pretty much our day. It's non stop eat, change diaper, play, nap. Until dinner time routine.

I like to change up the playing methods to keep it interesting. Since he is working on coordinating himself for crawling, he almost has it, I try and keep him on tummy time activities, so he can master it. He's such a cutie. He would play all day if we let him.

Lately he has been getting tired earlier in the evening, but we want to stick with the bed time routine and in his crib from 8pm-8am, so we try to feed him some snack one last time, with some milk, or play with him, before his bath and bed time story. We then do that and stick him in bed at or around 8pm. He typically makes no fuss and goes right to sleep now.

That leaves me plenty of time to catch up or watch a few shows, work on homework, work on my business, catch up on some things, or simply snuggle and hang out with my hubby.

My husband is VERY amazed at how efficient I have become in all my duties! =) YAY! I figured it out!

In any case, that's about it for tonight. TTYL have a good night.