The last time I did a “day in the life” post, Sophie was a baby, I had just released another cookbook and was about to start teaching Pure Barre again after a few month break (also the comments got a little wild). Rob was still commuting to an office every day. The pandemic was nowhere on the horizon and we had no clue that in three years we’d actually be back in Charlotte, in a completely new home and waiting out COVID with a second baby on the way.
Anyway, I always love reading these from people and it’s been kind of fun to go back and check out my first two. The pandemic has changed a lot for me, and I wish I had taken note of what life was like before March of 2020, when Sophie was in preschool and I was teaching a lot of Pure Barre, going to CrossFit, and spending at least one morning a week writing. That routine feels like a lifetime ago—we all had social lives! Especially when kids are involved, I am always so intrigued by the way our schedules and daily life change over time.
So without further ado, this is what a “normal” day in my life looks like these days.
5:30 AM My alarm goes off and I try to jump out of bed as quickly as possible, but this pregnancy has really made me a slow mover in the mornings. I used to wake up at 5:30 every morning and be out the door by 5:40, but even at 32 weeks if I get up too fast I feel nauseated all morning. So I do the thing you aren’t supposed to do and check my email on my phone and scroll through Twitter a little bit, and by 5:45 I’m usually on my feet and in the other room.
5:45-7:45 AM I do a Peleton ride and sit down to get some work done. I’ve been working part-time on some copywriting and social media freelance stuff and I find that I get the most done first thing in the morning. It’s only a few hours a week, and very flexible, so if I can get an hour and a half out every morning I feel way less frazzled throughout the day.
8:00 AM I get Ender and we sneak downstairs. He goes out in the yard while I make a coffee and then I feed him and we head back up. I shower and get dressed and chat with Rob, who is usually starting to get up.
8:30-9:30 AM We change the color on Sophie’s “ok-to-wake” clock and get her up and dressed. We all go downstairs and have breakfast which is so nice. Now that Rob works from home we almost always have breakfast and usually lunch together. Since most of his colleagues are in California, he doesn’t often have early morning meetings.
10ish AM - 1:30 PM Sophie and I play in the playroom, go for a walk or a bike ride in the neighborhood, or play in the backyard. Occasionally we’ll run an errand or go grocery shopping but for the most part we stay home. Sometimes she’ll have a half hour of screen time before lunch, which is usually around 12:30 and then we go back to the playroom around 1:00 until her nap.
2:00 PM - 3:30/4 PM Sophie naps or at least has rest time in her room. We just moved her from her crib to a bed and I actually think it’s made this time a little easier, because she can read or stretch out in bed and just enjoy a little quiet time and space to herself. I sit down at my desk again and get a few more things done—either photo editing or post planning and writing or finishing up freelance stuff from the morning. Sometimes I’ll clean up the kitchen or fold laundry and sometimes I feel so tired that I just lie down for a little while so I can make it through the rest of the afternoon.
4:00 PM - 6:30 PM More playtime, maybe another walk or bike ride. At 5:00 or 5:30 I’ll let Sophie watch a show in the living room so I can get dinner ready. We used to eat at 6:30 but we’ve been eating earlier lately because my nighttime heartburn has been so bad. Sometimes I’ll just eat on my own at 5:30 or 6:00 and hang out at the table with Sophie and Rob when they eat later.
7:00-9:30 PM Sophie and Rob play while I clean up the kitchen. They get some time together after being apart all day, and then he does bathtime and most of the bedtime routine. She’s down by 8:00 and we hang out on the couch and watch whatever show we’re into at the moment (Ted Lasso which is really great and Married at First Sight which is not good at all—I can’t explain why we are even watching it but sometimes you just need something mindless and weird, you know?).
10:00 PM I try really hard to be in bed by this time, and lately it hasn’t been too much of a a challenge. Between the pregnancy and getting up at 5:30 AM, I’m usually ready to call it a night at 9:30. Having that time to myself in the morning is so crucial for me though, if I don’t get it I feel really overwhelmed all day and like the day just kind of happened to me instead of the other way around.
It’ll be interesting to see what throwing a newborn into this mix does, especially because I really do enjoy knowing what my mornings are going to look like, and I feel like those first few months really just depend on what baby decides to do. Rob has a nice long paternity leave and we are so much closer to family and friends than we were in California, so I’m looking forward to it. Eventually once COVID dies down and most adults are vaccinated, we are looking forward to getting Sophie back into a preschool/daycare thing a few days a week—she can’t wait to have friends again! It’s definitely been hard at times (I have felt at the end of my rope more often than I would like to admit lately), but I’ll never regret being able to spend so much time with her over these past months.
