Weekend Routine with a 9-Month-Old

Well, it’s Sunday evening. If you’re wondering what a realistic weekend routine with a baby looks like for working parents, I missed my window to post this on Friday night because, well, tiredness won. But as I sit here reflecting on how the weekend just vanished, I realised my weekend lie ins are officially gone.

In the old days, Saturday meant a long lie-in, maybe until 9:00 or 10:00 AM. I’d get up, make coffee, feed the dog, and take him for a walk. By the time we got back, it’d be lunchtime. Cue a bacon sandwich with another coffee. Then we might go shopping, head to the cinema, spend the afternoon on the sofa, or go see friends or family. The evening normally involved a nice meal, maybe a takeaway, or a visit a nice restaurant before staying up until midnight to watch a film.

What a life!

Needless to say, this weekend has been nothing like that. While my working dad daily routine keeps us surviving the Monday to Friday grind, if you’re wondering what a realistic weekend routine with a 9-month-old actually looks like in a working household, here it is.

Morning: Starting Our Weekend Routine at 5 AM

These days, we aim to be in bed by 10:00 PM on Friday because we know the wakeup call for us is around 5:00 – 6:00 AM.

My wife usually feeds her and manages to settle her back down until about 6:30 AM, which is the exact moment baby decides that sleep is boring and it’s officially wake up time.

Getting moving takes a bit of work. Baby needs a feed and a full change, and then Mammy and Daddy take turns keeping her entertained while the other gets ready. Then we head downstairs, open the blinds, and prepare for the first dog walk.

Now, for the dog’s sake, we like to get in the car and drive somewhere new. Walking around the same housing estate twice a day drives both us and the dog completely mad. So, we’ll load up our second-hand Mamas & Papas Ocarro pram, drive out to a park or trail, walk him for about 45 minutes, and head back. We’re usually through the front door by 8:30 AM, followed by breakfast for everyone: Baby, Mam, Dad, and dog (never forget the dog).

While Mam starts pumping, I grab a coffee.

Side Note: Thank God my wife is breastfeeding. We’ve saved a fortune not buying formula! Remind me to tell her she’s amazing.

Baby’s current breakfast favourite is porridge and toast. One of us (let’s say Mummy for this example) spoon-feeds the porridge while I quickly shovel down my own breakfast. Once the porridge is gone, we hand over some soldiers of toast to keep her busy. She doesn’t really eat them; it’s more of a chew-and-chuck-em situation. So, while trying to enjoy my coffee, I am on official toast catching and tidy up duty while my Wife eats. I try my best, but a few always slip through the net. Dog is thrilled.

Afternoon: Managing the Midday Weekend Routine With A Baby

After a quick tidy-up, no need to do the floors, the dog’s already hoovered them, we head upstairs for an hour of playtime.

Her current favourite game is throwing things and going to retrieve them. She can’t crawl yet (that would be too easy). No, she wants to walk. She’ll throw a toy, and then her arms shoot up in the air as if to say, “Come on, Dad, give me a hand.”

I take her hands, help her up, and we begin what can only be described as a drunken plod across the room until she reaches her toy. Then I grab her waist so she can bend down, pick it up, and throw it again, followed by a quick look at Mam, a wave, and a selfcongratulatory clap.

I love doing this, I really do. But my poor back.

First nap time hits around 10:30 to 11:30 AM. I put her down and jump straight into the shower to sort myself out. She normally wakes up after half an hour, so I go in for the rescue. If I can’t get her back down in her cot, I’ll just hold her for the rest of the nap, sitting in the dark, scrolling on my phone looking at Reddit’s r/bestofredditorupdates for maybe thirty minutes while my wife gets her turn for a wash.

1:00 PM: The Afternoon Window & The 3 PM Free Hour

Once we’re up again at 11:30 AM, the clock starts ticking until the next nap at 3:00 PM.

This block involves playing, carrying her around so she can admire herself in the mirror, and hitting the shops. We have to be back by 2:30 PM because if she’s in the car too close to nap time, she’ll nod off and ruin the entire evening schedule.

The 3:00 PM nap is my wife’s shift, which means I get one hour of free time (woohoo!). Sometimes I fix things around the house, sweep the floors, sometimes I do admin, and sometimes I am entirely unproductive and just sit on the sofa scrolling on my phone (partly why I started doing this, to give me something more productive to do).

From 4:00 PM onwards, we trigger the exact same evening I wrote about in my last post: dog walk, making tea, the food fight, cleaning up, playtime, and the bedtime routine (Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Incy Wincy, the lot).

By 8:30 PM, we hit the sofa. And look at that, we managed a whole Saturday without a single screen on during the day. Parents of the year right here.

Why 30-Minute TV Shows Save Parents’ Sanity

Which brings us to the evening unwind.

We’ve been watching The Hawk this week. Having studied media back in the day, I’d love to do a proper review of it at some point, but right now? The best thing about it is that the episodes are only 30 minutes long.

If the baby starts crying, we can pause it at the end of an episode, and it’s easy to catch each other up. I can’t get through a two hour film at the mo. If I have to go upstairs for 10-20 minutes in the middle of a movie, even if I pause it, I come back down and my brain just can’t get back into the plot. There is something about a bite-sized 30-minute episode that just helps a fried brain get through it.

So, that was my Saturday. Now you can see why we’re always tired. Sunday has been near enough the exact same… except with a visit from my parents thrown into the mix! (You can read about how we handle grandparents babysitting and keeping to strict schedules here).

In a bit,

Dan

In a bit,

Dan