I wrote this review/blog post while participating in the Kids II blogger Campaign and received monetary compensation and/or free products to facilitate my review.
As I’ve mentioned before… multiple times… I tend to be a fairly routine individual (ok… “tend” + “fairly” are probably putting it lightly….). So, when I became a mom, I knew that having some sort of schedule and structure would make the transition a little easier. It’s something that, over the past 9 months, has worked so well for our little family. One of my favorite parts of our daily routine includes the morning hours…. right after Harper awakens from a long night of sleep (I thank God for this everyday!!). I am frequently asked what our schedule looks like, so I thought I would share it with you today.
5:30am: I wake up. I usually wish I could hit the snooze button a few times (or just throw my alarm across the room), but instead I hop out of bed, toss on my workout clothes, and get to the gym.
5:45-6:30am: Work-out
6:30am-7:30am: This is where I make myself breakfast, check my e-mails, and then get in a very quick shower… since Harper tends to wake up anywhere between 7-7:30am… and little miss wakes up haaaangry.
7:30am-8am: Mealtime. I give Harper her bottle and then she eats solid foods. Depending on TJ’s work schedule he can sometimes help out here… which allows me a little extra time to get myself ready for the day.
8:00-9:30am: This is playtime… and while 1.5 hours doesn’t look like much… I’m pretty much ready for a nap by the end of it. This is the time when I read and sing with Harper, and she has free playtime. The time where I am able to direct reading and singing has drastically decreased since she has become mobile, but I have enjoyed watching her explore her surroundings. That being said, she frequently moves throughout her room playing with various toys for different amounts of time. Over the past month, she has become particularly fond of this activity gym. There are so many different components to the activity center that it is able to keep her attention for a while. She loves playing inside the “ball pit,” and when she tires of that, I can let down the sides and we often reciprocally play with one another… taking turns rolling the ball in and out of the ball pit. This is one of her favorites parts, and she just giggles and giggles. She’s become quite fond of looking at her reflection in the mirror that hangs on the toy (it’s baby safe!) and she loves playing with the toucan. She’s recently become quite fond of realizing her effect on items…. pushing the toucan results in cute little medleys. She has her favorite stuffed animals and books that she frequently takes inside the gym as well. When she is ready to move on, we often crawl and cruise around the room for a little while…. and it’s around that time when she starts to rub her eyes and becomes a little fussy….
9:30am-10:30am: Down for a nap…. I usually take this time to finish getting ready, work on a blog post, return some e-mails, or catch up with a friend.
10:30am: Harper wakes up and I give her a little bit of milk. Then we head out for the day.
With Harper developing and growing so rapidly, I know that this schedule will change over time… and that her interest in toys will shift as well…. yet, I love that she has been able to grow with the activity gym over the past month and that it adapts to her changing developmental needs. Today I teamed up with Bright Starts to offer one reader an activity gym! See the end of this post for entry details!
**You can find the Bright Starts 5-in-1 You Way Ball Play Pink Activity Gym at Babies R Us. If you are looking for one for your little man, there is a neutral version as well. You can find additional images here.
Giveaway Details: To enter, simply follow @brightstarts + @itsybitsyindulgences on instagram, and enter your instagram handle in the comments below. Winner will be chosen, at random, on 10/18/17 at 12 midnight. Good luck!
