A Day in My Life With a 1 Year Old

If you are a parent and are reading this, then you already know that getting anything done with a toddler is nearly impossible. I wanted to share with you a day in my life with my 17 month old daughter Isabella. I take care of her all day and I'm so thankful I have that opportunity to stay home with her.
So here’s the breakdown of how my days typically go and how I manage to workout, cook, clean, take care of Isabella and the list goes on. At the end I also list 3 ways to help you accomplish things better and more efficiently. 

Let’s start with the morning …

I have this beautiful alarm clock by the name of Isabella, who wakes me up at 5:30 in the morning, give or take 30 minutes or so.  Yup, my little early riser! I’m still breastfeeding so I nurse her as soon as she wakes up. Then we hang out in her nursery for a bit usually playing, looking at/reading her books. We then go to the kitchen and unload the dishwasher together, which she loves doing.

I like to include her in as many house chores and tasks as possible. Based on the Montessori approach, this is called Practical Life activity. It helps to develop coordination and motor control, concentration, independence and a sense of responsibility. I hate doing house chores when she’s awake, in which she can’t really help me, because I feel guilty that I’m not giving HER that time and attention. For instance if I’m vacuuming, and she’s just following me around. However, if she’s doing it with me (i.e. folding laundry, cleaning windows) then I know she’s at least learning MORE than the task itself.

BREAKFAST
Somewhere around 7am, I start to prepare our breakfast. Breakfast is something that I ALWAYS meal prep, which is oatmeal. We both love it and its easy to prep for 3 days ahead. While I warm it up and mix in all the extras into the oatmeal, Isabella stands on her kitchen tower and watches me. She of course tries to help out and at the same time snacks on blueberries until we sit down to eat.

After we finish breakfast I place the kitchen tower next to the sink and have her play with water and different kinds of cups, spoons, sponges, etc. While she plays or aka “washes the dishes”, I clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher. Then we play in her playroom, maybe go on a walk or play in the backyard until 9 am when she takes her 1st nap.

DOWN FOR 1ST NAP
Her 1st nap can be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. At this time I get my workout in for the day as well as film it for my instagram. Then I shower, get dressed and fix my hair and makeup really quick. With whatever time I have left, I’ll clean up the house, mostly vacuum and do laundry. I do have housekeepers come once every two weeks, so that helps out tremendously.  

SMOOTHIE TIME THEN LUNCH
When she wakes up, she nurses then we go and make a smoothie. She sips on it while we play. Outside of quarantine, this is usually when we go to a class, go to a park, run and errand or meet a friend for lunch. Her lunch is around noon. I try to eat most meals with her together. Once I’m finished eating and she’s still focused on her meal (because she’s a very slow eater) I will make a post to IG.

DOWN FOR 2ND NAP
Somewhere around 2pm is time for nap #2. Isabella gets a bottle of breastmilk, which I’m still working through my freezer stash. I then change her diaper, put on the sound machine, place her in her sleeping suit in the crib and leave the room. She’s pretty good at falling asleep on her own thankfully. This nap can be anywhere from 40 min to 1hr. During this time is when I make dinner. I don’t like to cook much while she is awake because 1). It’s really hard to cook with a toddler hanging on your leg and 2). I’d like to spend the time she is awake playing with her and giving HER the attention.

When she wakes up, and it’s always usually in a grumpy state for some reason, we go in the kitchen and make a snack. Sometimes I’ll have a snack too but I usually try to wait for dinner to eat again. I like to have longer periods of time in between meals so my food can digest properly from the previous meal. And by the way, I feel like she’s just eating all day long. I guess that’s the life of a kid.

POOL THEN DINNER
Now that the weather is hot and the pool is heated, we usually go for a swim in the pool. This entails her playing in the Baja shelf area of the pool with all her sand/water toys. Eventually she will end up at the cumquat tree asking to eat the cumquats. Then we have dinner together and some more play time before and/or after dinner. I quickly clean up the sink and kitchen area while she entertains herself with her toys. I also make sure to go in the playroom with her and clean up her toys together. Well, mostly it’s me cleaning up but it’s the repetition of cleaning that she eventually will understand and hopefully do herself.

BED TIME ROUTINE
When 6:30pm comes around, it’s bath time! I still bath her in our kitchen sink in the same bathtub since she was an infant. We haven’t moved to her bath tub that’s in her room partially because the hot water doesn’t work there and our plumber has been lagging on fixing it. After her bath we go to her room where she nurses. I limit her to 3 books before bedtime, or else we’ll be looking at ALL the books. Then it’s a little oil massage time, pajamas and lights out. Usually by 7:30pm she’s out for the night.

ME TIME
After Isabella goes down for the night I usually will do a little more clean up throughout the house and tidy up whatever has been misplaced during the day. I’ll take a shower if I haven’t earlier and wash my hair or put a self tanner on which I sleep in overnight. This is also the time that I work on writing my blog posts, edit my instagram workout posts so they are done and ready, and sometimes my husband and I will watch a show. I try my best to be in bed by 10pm (realistically it’s usually 10:30, thanks Amazon) and most nights I fall asleep immediately because I’m so exhausted. I also dedicate 15 minutes to read a book before I go to bed. I miss reading books and these days I don’t have much time for that. At lease those 15 minutes give me some satisfaction of reading, learning something new (i usually read non fiction books) and stimulating my brain. I also love Audible. I’m always listening to books when I’m getting ready for the day, taking a stroller walk or cleaning the house when Isabella naps.

3 MORE HELPFUL TIPS FOR GETTING IT DONE

1. On Sunday, plan your week ahead on a calendar and write out all your appointments and tasks you want to accomplish the upcoming week. It really helps to lay it all out on paper by helping to clear up your mind and better prioritize tasks that need to be done. Don’t forget to also write down the days you will work out. Then, check off your list as you go, it’s so satisfying I promise.

2. Meal prep for the week ahead, or even for half of the week. It doesn’t have to be a Sunday, just pick a day that works for you. But be prepared for meal prep day. Have your groceries done and write out simple recipes you’ll be doing. Make it simple so you don’t spend all day in the kitchen. I promise, this is such a time savior! Eating home cooked meals is also so much better for your health and keep you on track for healthy weight.

3. Thank goodness my mom lives close by. She comes by everyday for at least an hour to visit and play with Isabella. When she’s here I can get some things done around the house. This is so helpful and I’m so thankful for her. So if you can get some help from family or friends, ask for it! It takes a village to raise a child (as that Raffi song goes).