November in Review
November 1 was just another day at work. Thankfully Matthew didn’t have security or catering. Baby boy had some ricotta and cantaloupe.
November 2 was my first day dropping down to five pump sessions. I made German chocolate cake, but did not frost them. My mom brought spaghetti and cheese bread for us which was really nice. After putting the baby down I drove to my milk donors house to pick up my pump that she borrowed and a little bit of frozen milk that she gave me.
November 3 I worked a half day and then went to the visitation before my friend’s baby‘s funeral. My mom came over for a little while. I played with the baby. I made him zucchini and yams for dinner. I finished making German chocolate cake from the day before.
November 4 was a quiet day off. I took a nap in the morning. AJ was really fun on this day. He was trying to make a clicking sounds with his tongue. He also had scrambled eggs for the first time. We went on a nearby errand. I looked through old photos and watched manifest. Matthew did the house cleaning.
November 5 I slept until 6:30 and I’m not sure how long AJ had been awake before that. I lifted weights while baby napped. Matthew banished me from the house, so I ran errands and came back home to pump. Then he told me to leave again. So I went and ate and went to Bath and Bodyworks and five below. Matthew had to work that night at the last second. I watched manifest.
November 6 was the anniversary of Rick’s passing. I slept terribly. I got Dutch bros. Matthew went to Storage to get Christmas decorations. We went to Jarrett and Jen's house for dinner with the family. AJ did not love all the noise. I did some meal prep for the week.
November 7 AJ got up really early thanks to the time change. I lifted weights. Work was really busy.
November 8 AJ got up at 5:44. I walked on the treadmill. I ran a few errands during a work break. Matthew made pot roast. All my nights are the same. I put AJ to bed. I get ready for bed. I defrost milk and make bottles. I pump. I wash pump parts.
November 9 we got up at 5:30. I lifted weights again just at home. I worked from home. AJ was really great as always. He went to bed at 7:10 and slept until 6:30 the next morning. Matthew had work so I did the dream feed after my last pump.
November 10 I celebrated AJ sleeping until 6:30. My mom watched him this day. He took really great naps even though he had slept so much already. Work was not too crazy. My evening was unexpectedly busy since Matthew had to stay longer at work than expected. I pumped, fed AJ some broccoli and cantaloupe while I ate. I did dishes. I put him to bed at 7:40 since his last nap was late. I defrosted milk, got ready for bed, made bottles, pumped, and did his dream feed.
November 11 was my day off of work. AJ woke up at 4; I got him back to sleep but couldn’t go to sleep myself. We went on a walk in 30° weather and lost AJ’s mitten. I did much of the weekend cleaning and caught up on my podcast. We tried to go out to dinner, but at 5:00 the wait at Chili’s was already 45 to 60 minutes probably because of their Veterans Day offer. It was disappointing because it was the first time we tried to go out to dinner with the baby. It’s really hard to get it all together and time it all correctly, only to have it not work out.
November 12 I finished cleaning. Did laundry. Lifted weights. I did client check ins. Went grocery shopping with the baby and got Dutch Bros. I picked up some free food from a neighbor. I got myself pizza since Matthew was at work. AJ started reaching his arms up to be picked up.
November 13 was a really hard day for me emotionally. AJ was resisting his naps and has not been sleeping well through the night. I did some meal prep. And I took the baby to Carter’s to find some warm clothes and clothes for family photos on Friday.
November 14 was an OK day after AJ woke up at 1 AM and 4:40 AM. Came home from work and pumped and gave the baby some zucchini and a raw carrot to chew on. Thankfully he went down quickly and easily. I put up some more lights in the house and cleaned up before bed. I cannot really relax when the house is a mess or there are dishes in the sink.
November 15 I worked on our family calendar for 2023. I put lights back up that the baby pulled down, did some laundry, and did my nightly routine of defrosting milk, making bottles, and pumping while watching Yellowstone.
November 16 I worked at home with a very needy baby. AJ pulled the Echo Dot off the counter onto his forehead. It was very sad. He tried butternut squash.
November 17 the baby woke up at 3:30 and then at 6:15. I had book club at work. Matthew and I watched Doctor Who.
November 18 I got a free salad from Crisp and Green for lunch and some crave cookies as well. We got family photos taken at Wheeler Farm and got Wienerschnitzel for dinner.
November 19 was a rough day with naps. I ordered our Christmas cards, cleaned, and lifted weights. Matthew’s mom watched AJ while we went to Mint sushi. We came home for a few minutes to help him get to sleep, and then we went back out bowling. We had never bowled together before. We got Chick-fil-A shakes and came home.
November 20 was a long day because the baby got up at 3:30am. He only took two naps. I did laundry, and did some meal prep for the week. I made French toast for myself and the baby. I watched Jumanji.
November 21 I was up at 5:30. I nursed the baby and lifted weights before work. I gave AJ zucchini, sweet potato, and carrot. It was another rough night of sleep with an overtired baby. Kelsey came over and brought me some frozen breastmilk, which was a really awesome surprise.
November 22 I was up at 5:30 again and did a treadmill walk before work. I bought myself lunch from Cafe Rio. I ran a couple of errands for work after work.
November 23 I wrote our Christmas letter and got it published online so I could stick a QR code in our Christmas cards. I stuffed cards in envelopes. I did leg day. I got Crave cookies and Starbucks. I watched Elf and Rudolph.
November 24 I was up at 2 AM and at 5:50 AM. I tried to sleep during the baby’s morning nap, but I couldn’t. We went to Thanksgiving dinner at Chad and Jordyn's at 3 PM. Initially, AJ was really overstimulated and upset (like the worst I've ever seen him), but the headphones his aunt Whitney got him really helped. He took a short nap in his cousin’s crib, thankfully. We went to my grandma’s house at about 6:15 and did not stay long because he was so tired. I did not get to have any Thanksgiving dessert at either dinner.
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| Ear muff headphones changed the game for this boy |
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| Face Time with cousin Farah |
November 25 I was up at one, but thankfully Matthew took care of the baby’s bottle. I was up at 6:30 and nursed the baby. I went to Starbucks and started a new book. I pumped and watched Christmas episodes of the office and Ted Lasso. I went to Trader Joe’s, and Louks. I have been wanting those since AJ was born, so I finally satisfied my craving. I made cauliflower for AJ. Matthew met up with his family for pizza. I did the usual nighttime routine.
November 26 was a good and pretty low-key day. We cleaned, and I did a load of laundry. The baby took four naps, three of them were short, one of them because of the noisy upstairs kids. I went to Starbucks and came home. I struggled today because I did not feel well. I took a shower, did client check ins, and set up the new Wi-Fi. That also meant having to reconnect all the devices--doorbell camera, two indoor cameras, Echo Dots, etc. Matthew went to his cousin’s birthday dinner downtown.
November 27 I did a treadmill walk. I did some laundry. I felt pretty crappy this day. I got Dutch Bros for me and Matthew. I wrapped a few gifts and organized my gift bags. My mom came over to bring us pie. Matthew got groceries and gas in my car. I also tried to make Boba tea unsuccessfully.
November 28 was a hard day. Physically I felt a little better. I stayed home from work on PTO, but the baby was challenging. He was a champ when I took him to the post office, sprouts, and Starbucks. But he refused his second nap and did a lot of screaming. After he went to bed, Matthew and I watched Yellowstone.
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| Checking out the snowfall |
November 29 the baby was up at 4 AM, but I got him back to sleep until I woke him up at seven. I stopped at the Cookie Co. after work to get the brittle butter cookie by Matthew’s cousin's husband. It was a pretty standard night with pumping and bedtime and bottles.
November 30 the baby was up at five, but I let him hang out until 5:45. I nursed him, then took a walk on the treadmill. It was a work from home day. I worked on labeling Christmas cards, and got QR codes, cut out and stuffed in envelopes. I made AJ some zucchini and carrots, and made myself some kielbasa and rice. I also gave AJ some applesauce. He enjoyed that. It was our first day of intentionally doing two naps with longer wake windows; with a tiny cat nap on the boob until 5:00, he did really great. The evening was standard: dishes, bottles, pumping, clean up.
Books I read in November:
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audiobook)
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