Search Results for: babywise

Wow we have made it to four months! When I think about the first year timeline, I had been tuning out anything beyond three months, because that was the stage we were in, and things are pretty similar up to three months. But at four months, we are out of our newborn phase and a real baby.

Like a walking, talking baby. Well close.

I did a similar post at 6 weeks. Neat to see how things change.

In some ways, our daily schedule is very similar, but other things have changed. His feedings are surprisingly at the same time now as they were when he was three weeks old. Three cheers for Babywise! The eat-wake-sleep pattern really does work for us. He eats within about 30 minutes of each feeding every day.

His naps are a big change. Right at three months, we tried really hard to get him to nap for a long stretch in the morning and afternoon. We did the whole sleep routine–swaddle, shhh, paci, rock, etc. It sometimes takes longer to get him to sleep than the actual nap, but we are getting better. We also moved all naps to the crib around the same time.

Here is what our day looks like:

6-7 a.m.: wake up, talk in crib, finally cry for some food. We try to make it closer to 7.

7-730: Feedings are much shorter with a bottle. More time for activities!

730-8: Logan plays on the floor, he rolls over now and enjoys doing that with a toy in his hand.

8-9 am: This is a big change from before. Logan gets cranky much sooner and I go put him down for a nap before he gets cranky. For some reason, this nap used to be 9-11 a.m. and is now 8-9/930 a.m. Luckily, he wakes up happy and not hungry yet, so we play some more, walk Lily, get dressed, then eat.

10 a.m.: Bottle time.

10:30-1 p.m.: Sometimes we run errands, we play more, etc. He used to take a short cat nap in his car seat or stroller, but we are trying to do a real nap in the crib in this window. I probably should have been doing this nap all along. This nap is around 11/11:30 a.m. for about 30 minutes.

1 p.m. Bottle.

1:30 p.m.-2 p.m.: Similar to mornings, we play, walk Lily, talk.

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: This is also a change from before. It used to be I would get a great morning nap and nothing great in the afternoon. He gets cranky around 2 and I go put him down for a nap. Sometimes it’s not long enough (or absent), but 90 minutes to 2 hours is ideal. He is still swaddled for this nap too.

4 p.m.: Bottle.

4:30-7 p.m.: Also known as “what else can we play with to waste time til bed?” We sometimes have a playdate around now, play on the floor with toys, etc. Playdates make the time pass nicely! Sometimes we get an extra nap here too.

6:45ish: If I can make it until 6:45, we do a bath.

7 p.m.: Bedtime routine is still the same. We do bath, quiet lullabye music, bottle, swaddle, rock, down for bed by 7:30. Difference from before is this is earlier because bottles are quicker for us.

Sometime between 2-5 a.m.: He wakes for a bottle. We are cutting the ounces in this feeding because it’s more out of habit than hunger. Then sleeps until 6-7 a.m. and it starts over!

We have plenty of days where this is not the norm, but on average, our days look like this. For a predictable person like me, it works well!

A few things we are working on are getting better daytime naps, putting him down awake (not working well), working toward breaking the swaddle, and eliminating the middle of the night feeding. No big deal, right?

Now at 6 weeks old, Logan and I sort of have a little routine. As much routine as you can teach a newborn. I would say we are pretty scheduled in our eating and sleeping. I am on a 24 hour cycle of three hour increments with longer stretches at night.

While pregnant, I read On Becoming Babywise, which I’ve written about before. It is about setting your baby into an “eat, wake, sleep” pattern and feeding by “parent directed feeding” rather than “on demand” or strictly by the clock. It’s sort of a combo of both. While some people are very opposed to Babywise, I really like the scheduled way of life. We roughly started the philosophy right away with trying to stick to a 2.5-3 hour cycle and also following the eat-wake-sleep pattern.

Here’s a look into a typical day…again as “typical” as you get at 6 weeks old.

Let’s start at 7 a.m.: This is our first feeding of the day, it’s usually between 6 a.m.-7 a.m. Logan wakes up hungry, we change a diaper. It takes us about 45 minutes to eat. I watch the Today Show and play on my phone.

By 8 a.m. (or about an hour after whatever time we started): We re-swaddle Logan and he usually sleeps in the swing. I sometimes try to get him back in the crib, but have realized the swing will yield a longer nap, and there’s less up and down the stairs to get him settled and re-insert the pacifier.

This is now my time of the day to get things done, like eat breakfast, clean pump parts, get bottle ready for fridge, put real clothes on, check emails, take a walk by myself if our housekeeper is there for Logan, clean, etc.

Between 10-10:30: Nap ends. 10 a.m. is our normal feeding time, but I’ll let him go a little longer if he’s still sleeping. Don’t wake a sleeping baby! We feed again, starting with unswaddle, diaper change.

11ish-1 p.m.: Logan gets dressed for the day. We wash his face, brush his hair and put on a fresh outfit. We play on the play mat, put him in the stroller and walk with Lily, talk. I hopefully get lunch before we feed again. He used to take an hour or so nap, but sometimes there’s no nap and he is fussy.

1 p.m.: Feed again! Sometimes this one is 12:45 if there was no nap or he looks hungry. Diaper change, feed.

2 p.m.-4 p.m.: We sometimes have an errand, we may walk outside again, hopefully we get a nap in the swing, bouncer, or car seat. Sometimes it’s a good and long nap if he didn’t sleep earlier. Sometimes he gets fussy around 3:30 and we feed early, sometimes he sleeps until close to 4.

4 p.m.: Feed again! Diaper, feed.

4:45 p.m.-6:45 p.m.: This is our fussiest time of the day, although it has gotten better. Right after I feed him, he is content and I can put him in the bouncer to look around. This will hopefully be the time I can start prepping dinner. Then when he gets fussy, we walk Lily in the Baby Bjorn to calm him outside. We stand outside, he likes the sights and sounds. We also call Jeffrey and see when he’s leaving work.

6 p.m.: Jeffrey comes home, and I get 45 minutes to shower and eat dinner while he entertains him. It’s a little rushed!

6:45 p.m.: Bath time!

7 p.m.: Last feeding of the day. Our bedtime routine is bath, lotion, diaper, pajamas, brush hair, play music, eat. Then burp, swaddle, burp, rock, shhh, sway, crib.

8 p.m.: Logan goes to bed and is on his way to sleep. Quiet time in the house!

3 a.m.: (or sometime between 1 a.m.-3:30 a.m.) Logan wakes for some more milk! We do a bottle and I pump. It’s a little of a time saver since it takes us about an hour for me to feed him, but only 15 minutes for a bottle (plus time to go back to bed). Then he goes back to sleep until 7 and we start again!

Logan is four weeks old this week, and one month on Friday! Yay for Logan! Yay for his parents! Not only is every week different, every day is something different too. Sometimes we get a lot of naps, sometimes not.

Sometimes he screams his head off when I put him on the playmat (below), and finally this week, he actually enjoyed it.  His shirt says “I love mommy.” I bought it for him.

One of the books I have, I think Baby 411, says that if baby doesn’t like something or something isn’t working for us, wait a week and try again. One week older is one week smarter. That’s what happened with the play mat.

Below is a self-taken iPhone pic. It’s what I look like most days, and where I spend most of my days. Hair in a messy ponytail, baby in lap, and on this day, doggy in lap too. Sitting in the glider in Logan’s room. It’s a crowded chair.

Lily will write a post soon, but here are some pictures of her so she isn’t left out. She sits on the ottoman of the glider while I feed Logan every time. I think she thinks it’s quiet time. She doesn’t get as many naps as she used to! And she thinks the Boppy is just another pillow she can lay on. It also takes almost an hour, so she gets a good rest every three hours!

As you can see below, we try tummy time. This particular time he liked it a little.

Maybe one day I’ll write a little more about our whole days, but they change often, and I’m no expert on how to do it. I am trying to stick to a Babywise pattern of “eat, wake, sleep.” While there isn’t a lot to “wake” right now, I do like the pattern and try to stick to a three hour cycle. I know many disagree with On Becoming Babywise, and feed their babies “on demand,” but this is working for us. I’m a routine person and like to be on a schedule, so naturally, I try to make it work for baby too.

I am also not ready to write about his sleeping patterns at night, because 1–I am not an expert on what works, and 2–I don’t want to jinx anything.

We’ve learned everything must be clarified with “for now” at the end of a sentence. Like “he’s a great eater for now,” “he has a morning nap I can always count on for now,” “he loves falling asleep in his swing for now.” I could go on and on!

With that, I am off to get something else accomplished during a quiet time.

Posts coming soon:

• Lily’s take on this new person
• A body after baby post
• A peek into Logan’s nursery