A Typical Day with a 21 month old

Posted by  | Monday, May 19, 2008  at 3:03 AM  
Well, maybe the title is elusive since we also live in a culture that doesn't really care about time, schedules, or planning (I mean scheduling a wedding 3 weeks in advance is huge) so our "typical" day is anything but typical. That said, "typically" I get up and run, shower, and have my quiet time before Lydia gets up between 8:30-9:00. She's so cute, right now she's into straightening her baby dolls and stuffed animals in her crib so I'll talk to her for a few minutes (and get together her clothes to wear) while she's "making her bed." Then we head to the kitchen for breakfast. Lydia sits up on the counter and helps me make juice while I'm also warming up our food (tyically toast, oatmeal, or eggs) so I don't have to put much effort into breakfast. We eat together and then she plays in her kitchen while I do the dishes.



Next we brush teeth, she helps me put on makeup, and then we get her dressed and ready for her babysitter (aka "teacher") so I can have a language lesson. If her our teachers haven't arrived yet, she'll help me hang out clothes on the line and we'll play or read books until they get there.

Usually Lydia will have a snack before going down for a nap and, many days, her babysitter will put her down while I'm finishing up my lesson. I'm so thankful that I can have my lessons at home where I can still be there with Lydia. Sometimes I'll have to take a break and steal a kiss or two while she's playing :). It works out great for us this way as Lydia also is learning the language and able to play at the same time.


After her nap we'll eat lunch, usually our biggest meal of the day. (I use her nap time to cook and many times Lydia's sitter will stay and help me so I can also practice the langauge.) Many days we'll then go outside and play - on the Sea, to a park, or a playground. This really takes effort here because we can't just go out in the yard to play. We live in apartment buildings that exit onto the street (filled with pot holes and broken side walks) so it always means intentionally going somewhere in order to find a place for Lydia to play outside even for a few minutes. She loves animals too, and many times we can find some when we go out to play :).




We'll return and make a simple supper or snack and maybe visit our neighbors, play together as a family, run errands, visit with other nationals, etc. I try to give her a bath each night (she's usually pretty dirty by the end of the day!) but I usually only wash hair every other day. We read books and pray together as a family before going to bed usually between 8:00-9:30 (I know this is a huge time spread but that's the best we can do where we live - it's such a night-oriented culture!). Sometimes she'll have a snack right before bed, depending on what time we ate supper. She also still drinks a cup of milk before going to bed. I've been thinking more about this and wondering how to limit this so she won't have such a full bladder before going to bed. . . as I begin to think about potty-training.

What does your typical day look like? This week we look forward to hearing how everyone organizes their days!

4 comments:

Curt, Mariah, & Carli Badura said...

Thank you for the info! I picked up some ideas! What country are you in?

Mariah

Leah F said...

Just curious, Krista, but does Lydia take just one nap a day? How long is it? Georgia does not consistently take 2 naps, but many days she is practically falling asleep on her feet by 11am-12, right around the time her daddy is home to see her. I DON'T want to put her down then, because she would miss that time with him! I was just wondering what you did, since Lydia is just a little older than G.

Kama said...

My friend told me about your blog. Really cool! I look forward to your review of cloth diapers next week. I have looked into using these with my future children--I will have a baby in September. I'm looking for any advice!!

Krista said...

Leah,
Yes, Lydia just takes one nap a day (and has done this for at least the last 6 months). Since she doesn't get up until 8:30-9:00 I usually put her down about 1 (again, we're really flexible - she may go down at 12:30 or 2:30 too). If she doesn't go down until later I usually swap up lunch and give her lunch before her nap and snack afterwards, but really, it's more like she's eating 4 lighter meals a day rather than 3 and a snack. She sleeps 2-3 hours (usually closer to 3). Typically, the better she sleeps at night the better she sleeps for her nap too. Hard to understand but sleep truly does beget sleep!

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