Everyday Life of Six-Month-Old Terran Tai-An Chen

This week Terran's nai nai (paternal grandmother) is on vacation, so he will have different caregiver this week. His nai nai wrote down a rough daily schedule that she keeps with him, and I started reflecting more on Terran's every day routines. Since we have been doing on-cue breastfeeding and a lot of baby wearing, he hasn't really had much of a regular schedule. However, now that he is eating some solid foods and playing more independently, some routines are developing.

Waking Up
On weekdays around 7:00am, baba (Andy) carries Terran over to nai nai's condo while he is still asleep, and he sleeps to around 9am . On weekends, Terran wakes up between 8:30 and 10am next to his mama and baba.

Morning Activities
He first sits on his little potty for his morning poop. He reads a book, looks at flashcards, and eats cereal or fruit on the pot followed by a small bottle of milk (on weekends he sometimes nurses in bed before getting up, so food is postponed).

Next he puts on his cloth diaper and gets dressed. Then plays with toys on the floor followed by some tummy time exercise (on Mondays and Thursdays he has a bath before getting dressed).


Or he may stay in his pajamas and play in bed while Mama and Baba read or work.

One hour to 1 1/2 hours after waking, he is ready for his morning nap. Nai nai can usually rock him to sleep and lay him down, but he seems to prefer to sleep in a carrier when he is with mama or baba.
He will sleep for one to two hours. When he wakes up, he sits on his little potty again to pee. Then nurses or goes to his highchair to have a bottle and some fruit or veggies.

Afternoon Activities
His afternoon varies greatly. On weekdays he may play with toys or in his exercise saucer at nai nai's, or they may go to a neighbor's house where he gets to play with other kids. She puts him on his potty about once an hour to pee. He will take a two hour afternoon nap around 2 or 3pm with nai nai on her couch. When he wakes up he has another bottle and plays with toys until mama picks him up. When he is with nai nai, she speaks to him in Chinese.

On weekends if we are at home in the afternoon, he often is in one of our carriers (Bjorn or Ergo) while mama or baba is doing chores around the house. He also likes to spend some time in a walker or jumper roo. He will take his afternoon nap in a carrier or sleep on baba's chest as baba is watching sports or a movie. Terran also enjoys leaving the house to run errands, visit people, go on walks, etc.. When we are out he usually fits in short naps throughout the afternoon or takes a longer nap in the evening.


Evening Activities
On weekdays, I pick Terran up between 5:30 and 6pm. If we are staying at home for the evening we typically follow this routine: we spend time playing and telling each other about our day then he nurses. After eating Terran usually goes in a carrier on my back while I cook dinner. Baba comes home around 7:30 and we eat dinner together. Terran usually plays in his highchair and eats a little fruit or some veggies. After dinner Terran plays with Baba. Around 9:30 or 10pm we start getting ready for bed. Terran is changed into pjs and a disposable diaper. Baba and he read books together in bed while I get ready for bed. Then Terran nurses in bed while both of us fall asleep.


These are the daily routines we have discovered together. Terran's days do not always look like this, but he is typically easy-going and has little problems with changes in his daily schedule. We are excited about what new wrinkles we will develop as we grow together as a family.