I loved all of the baby books that I read when Stella was in the oven. They enlightened me! I highly recommend The Happiest Baby on the Block. It was one of my favorites. I think it's a great one to read before your little one arrives. Right now I'm reading weekly updates on Stella's growth and development from Your Baby's First Year, Week by Week. I've really enjoyed this book.
Okay, so here's what I've learned from Stella about schedules...
When Stella was very young I thought she needed to be on a strict schedule. I used to stress myself out about her little schedule. I quickly realized that it was okay if she didn't stick to an exact schedule. Instead we just follow the eat, play, sleep routine throughout the day. It works very well for our family. We let Stella call the shots on long she wants to eat, play and sleep. It works out perfectly! So here's Stella's flexible schedule at six months. By the way, Stella's playmates seem to follow the same schedule as well. It's interesting that all of the babies are on the same schedule even though I didn't try to put them on a schedule.
7:00 - 7:30
Good Morning -- Stella wakes up talking in her crib!
First Bottle (6 ounces)
7:30 - 8:00
Playmates Arrive
8:00 - 9:00
Play Time
9:00 - 10:30
Nap Time
10:30 - 11:00
Brunch (1 or 2 jars of fruit and 1 or 2 tablespoons of oatmeal)
11:00 - 12:30
Play Time
12:30 - 2:00
Nap
2:00 - 2:30
Second Bottle (6 ounces)
2:30 - 4:00
Play Time
4:00 - 5:30
Nap Time
5:30 - 6:00
Dinner (1 or 2 jars of veggies and 1 or 2 jars of rice cereal)
6:00 - 7:30
Play Time
7:30 - 8:00
Bath Time -- Stella's favorite time of the day!
8:00 - 8:30
Bed Time Routine (massage, lullabies, book)
Last Bottle of Day (6 ounces)
8:30 - 9:00
Good Night -- Stella falls asleep talking in her crib.
Sometimes Stella will go to sleep earlier or later. It just depends on her day. We have never let Stella cry it out. We do not believe in that method. But if you do, that's great! It just doesn't work for our family. I am happy to say that Stella goes to sleep on her own and sleeps through the night without crying. Stella loves being in her crib. I think she feels safe and secure in it. We started putting her in it to nap when she was just a few weeks old. She also spent a lot of time playing it (well actually looking at her mobile) when she was tiny. I think her bed time routine helps. She gets really relaxed and ready for sleeping.
You do not have to let your baby cry it out. Okay, maybe I'm wrong about that one. Maybe you do with some babies? I'll admit. I'm not an expert. But anyway, Stella is proof that babies can learn to self soothe and go to sleep on their own without crying it out. I'm not exactly sure what we did to teach her to self soothe -- other than always being there for her. I guess she trusts us and knows she is safe. We want her to feel that way. We don't want her to be unhappy, scared or worried before she takes a nap or goes to sleep at night.
*For updates, check out my comments -- not every day is exactly like the schedule above. Sometimes her play times and naps are shorter or longer. Like I said, it's flexible. Her bottles and meals are flexible too. We're just a flexible family. We just do whatever works best for Stella.
Hello world!
2 years ago
8 comments:
Interesting post. We have a similar sort of routine here, just shorter naps and a longer night sleep. And now I feel like I should be giving more solids.
What's it like looking after 4 babies?
Sounds like a perfect routine to me! Funny how babies are just wired to fall into that schedule. And be so thankful you have such a wonderful sleeper. Addie's been a handful when it comes to sleep, and I know most of it stems from her Dairy allergy. But we've had to resort to the CIO method. So hard, but you have to do what keeps you (and the rest of the family) sane. I'm just glad she doesn't cry for long before going to sleep. I'm thankful she was easy to train!
So glad you're following God's will for your life. I'm sure you're heart is full taking care of your baby girl and the other 3 as well!
I was adament about a stict schedule with my twins. Then when I had my third the schedule wasn't important...he made his own. I have recently read Happiest Toddler on the Block and really loved some of the ideas.
Am I reading this right that Stella only gets 3 6 oz bottles= 18 total daily oz? And she goes 6 hours between her second and third bottles? I'm sorry if I'm being opinionated or this annoys you, but does your pedi know that she gets that little? Sam and Anna drink 3 8 oz bottles a day + a 9 oz bedtime bottle and Sam gets a middle of the night bottle between 4-6 1/2 oz on top of that- For a total of around 32 oz a day + solids. They are also smaller than Stella, I think. Everything I've read says they shouldn't get less than 24 oz (to 40 oz) at this age, that formula should remain their main source of nutrition and solids should not replace bottle feedings. Our pedi has also told us that our babies need 24 oz at least a day to maintain their weight (she calculated their caloric intake based off of their weight). We also do 2 meals of solids a day. We recently switched from 5 6 oz bottles a day to 4 8 oz bottles- so maybe you might want to offer Stella 8 oz at a time and see how she does? (Just my assvice.) :)
Wow! That is awesome that you have her on such a schedule! Wish my little man would do that. Luke has never slept well. We have done everyting - being there for him, crying it out, EVERYTHING. I have bought every sleep book out there and all it does it make me feel like a failure :( Ughh! He still won't sleep through the night or go to sleep on his own. I have cried, prayed, worked at it everyday for the past 7 months.
We never let Cassie cry it out either. Actually...we never needed to. She self soothed as well. However..when they get to be toddlers its a little different. They learn how to play you Ha!! Then if you keep going in there when they cry they start figuring it out. Tricky little things :o)
I was concerned that Stella wasn't getting enough formula as well but when we shared her exact formula intake and exact solid intake at her six month appointment last week. Her ped said it was a perfect intake for her. I specifically asked if she needed more formula (I was worried she wasn't getting enough either!) but he reminded us that what we are doing is working perfectly and she is growing well and at a healthy weight, etc. He said we could work towards three solid meals a day, and one bottle at night. The solid meals would include formula. So back to the 6 ounces bottles... Stella has acid reflux and spits up like crazy. We have tried to move her bottle to 7 ounces and even 8 ounces. But it never fails, she spits it back up. Her tummy can only hold 6 ounces. As far as her solid meals go, she will not take a bottle too. She's gets full from the solid foods. So I was worried, like you, but not any more. :)
The three solid meals a day would be at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Like I said, they would include formula (but not sure how this will work since she doesn't seem to have room for a bottle and solid food). And then he said she would have a bottle at night before bed.
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