The biggest thing I heard from all my mom friends while I was pregnant was to get the baby on a schedule. Some swore by the schedule, down to the minute, while others encouraged a little leniency (give or take 30 minutes). But the common theme was having a schedule will make life easier for the baby and for you.
I definitely subscribe to this - it's just my nature. After working full-time for almost ten years, living and dying by my day planner, then Palm Pilot and finally Blackberry, schedules and lists made my world go round.
It was interesting during the first few months - we didn't have a schedule per se, but rather a general flow to the day. But we both knew what was going to happen - nap and/or eat every two hours (don't you wish as an adult someone told you to eat and sleep every two hours!!)
Now, at 7 months, we really seem to have developed a pattern that I think is a good fit. So here it goes:
5:30-6:30am - At some point during this hour, Sophia wakes up. She generally plays in her crib quietly, having a lovely conversation with her giraffes. When the conversation starts getting overly animated, or I her squeaking, it means it's time to get out of bed. (The squeaking means that Sophia is chewing on the leg of her Raffi doll - a sure sign of her carnivorous habits!)
6:30-7:00am - I nurse Sophia in the glider in her room. It's quite a soothing way for both of us to wake up in the morning. When she's done, I change her diaper and we head out to the living room. By this point, Dave is usually awake now too, so he gets a little snuggle time in.
7:00-8:15am - Play time! First stop - the jumperoo so mommy can get some laundry done and everything Sophia just ate stays in her tummy while she's upright!
When that's done, we head out to the playmat
Then, we do our tummy time:
Finally, a little sit up time (our newest skill):
8:15-9:30 - Nap time! Sleep lasts about an hour, but we have a nice little routine to settle down for the nap and sometimes (if I'm lucky) Sophia will play a little after she wakes up.
9:30-12:00 - Food time, errands and playtime
We do a nursing session on one side and then to the high chair for food. She always has a little toy entertainment while I get her food ready. In honor of the World Cup this week:
This week we introduced yogurt (Pear flavored Yo-Baby - yum!). It's kind of a mess - which is really a theme of our solid eating experience - but she really likes it. If she's still hungry, I give her a little applesauce with some cereal, either rice or oatmeal, mixed in. Trying to make sure she gets all her iron needs met! A quick clean up/mop up and then it's back for a top-off of nursing.
After an outfit change, it's out the door - to the park for the swings or out to the grocery store or Target to run our errands. The grocery store has become one of our favorite places, just because there is so much visual stimulation.
12:00-2:00pm - Naptime for Sophia and lunch for mom. In general, Sophia's naps last for 45 minutes (the morning one can last a bit closer to an hour). We're trying to stretch out the 2nd nap to start later and last longer so we can drop the 3rd nap. We'll see how that works.
2:00-6:30pm - Nursing, playtime and outside time. This is when we really get outside - to the park, long walks in the stroller, trips to the Children's Museum and mommy stroller runs. A lot of times, Sophia's 3rd nap will happen in the stroller while we walk on the river. It's kind of a win - win. I get adult interaction, we both get fresh air, and she gets a nap. I figure if two of three naps are in the crib each day and the other is a "fresh air" nap, then we're good.
6:30-7:30pm - Bath, bottle and bed
The quiet down time of the evening. She gets a bath every other day, though I have to say that she looks so darn cute I could see it every night!
After the bath is her 7oz bottle with either mom or dad, then a few books, lullaby and bed.
And then we start it all again the next morning. :)
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Nice to see that there can be a schedule in my future... Right now Josh does whatever he wants! Sophia is such a cutie pie!
ReplyDeleteShe's such a cutie! I definitely agree that schedules rock! We still pretty much have a schedule and they are 1,3,5 years!
ReplyDeleteAbbie - there are definitely schedules in your future - it sounds like you're already on your way. The biggest thing I've learned is to not get too frustrated when they throw you a curve ball. There is generally a good reason for it (teething, growing, etc.)
ReplyDeleteLisa - I can only imagine you guys having a very fine tuned schedule to keep your house running with out pure chaos taking over!!