Baby Schedule

People think we're crazy but we have tried to keep BG on a strict schedule. She thrives on a schedule! She knows when it's time to eat or sleep, and is ready for it. And it makes my life so much easier. I know exactly when she's going to nap, so I can schedule work calls or plan to shower, etc.

We didn't start any sort of schedule until after 2 months. Napping and nursing was on-demand until that point. (Side note: have you heard about the Fourth Trimester? It's the first three months of your baby's life. It's such a huge time of transition for them - learning about their senses and reflexes. "Experts" say that during this time, a baby cannot be over-spoiled. You can't snuggle them, hold them, rock them too much. They are too small to be "manipulative" so if they're crying, it's for a real reason. Read about it here and here.)

Unfortunately I don't have her early schedules written down anywhere, but I'll share the ones I do have. These came from reading different baby schedules, trying them, and adjusting to what worked for us.

I try not to be out during her nap times. She does fall asleep in the stroller or car, but it's not GOOD sleep. Yes, that limits what we can do but it's worth it for all of our sanity. We started putting BG in her crib for naps pretty early so she was able to get used to sleeping in there and it made the transition out of the bassinet in our room easier.

Her bedtime routine is the same every. single. night. and I think that's partly why she's a good sleeper. Every night we go into her room and put on jammies, listen to lullabies, turn the lights down low, and read books. This calms her little mind down to get ready to go to sleep.

7 month schedule: (after BG was sleeping through the night - more on sleep training here...) 7:00 wake up 7:30 nurse 8:00 eat ("eat" means actual food, not breast milk) 9:00 nap 10:30 nurse (many of her daytime nursing sessions were from a pumped bottle because she would be with the sitter)

11:30 eat 12:30 nap 1:30 nurse 2:30 eat 3:30 nap 4:30 nurse 5:00 eat oatmeal (2-3 TBS * I think the oatmeal helped fill her up for nighttime) 6:00 wind down in nursery 6:20 pumped bottle (around 2 months we decided that B would give her a pumped bottle every night before bed; it is a great bonding time for them and a great break for me)

9 month schedule: 7:15 wake up 7:30 nurse 8:30 eat 9:45 nap 11:30 nurse 1:00 eat

2:00 nap 3:15 nurse 4:15 eat oatmeal (5 TBS)

5:15 snack (just a smaller amount of food) 6:10 wind down in nursery 6:30 pumped bottle

11 month schedule: 7:15 wake up 7:30 nurse 8:30 eat 10:00 nap 11:45 nurse 1:00 eat 2:00 nap 3:45 nurse 5:00 eat oatmeal (6 TBS mixed with applesauce)

6:15 wind down in nursery 6:35 pumped bottle

Obviously I am not an expert and different things work for different babies, blah blah, this is my disclaimer... But, these schedules could be a good starting point. I'll keep updating as she gets older. Hope it helps!