Hello friends! If you have been reading my blogs for a little while now, you know that we are a routine family. Joe and I have a pretty hectic schedule so a routine with Joey helps us stay on track and be able to get everything we need to, done. Not every day is exactly the same, since Joey wakes up/naps at slightly different times everyday but for the most part, this is what his current routine looks like and he really thrives. Joey is a lot more predictable and we can schedule activities if we want around his nap (he only takes one a day now and has been since about 13ish months).
Something that people wonder, is if a strict routine makes it difficult to go out on holidays/weekends and my answer is yes, and no haha. I would not say our routine is strict because this is just what our day to day looks like. It makes it so that our day flows and we aren’t always stressed out about when he’s going to go to sleep, etc… We don’t follow it with a clock in our hand (if that makes sense) we still follow tired, hungry, wanting to play cues but it’s just easier to structure our day. When it comes to going out, I would say Joey having a routine makes him more adaptable. If we stay out longer, he might fall asleep in the car but right when we get home we start his bedtime routine (typically skip bath) and he goes right to sleep. We do typically try not to skip nap time (so if we go out, it is after he wakes up) we do this for two reasons – 1: he takes a nap everyday so he needs it, 2: a tired baby is a cranky baby and he does a lot better when he’s rested. He will play and is typically on his best behavior, even in an unknown environment. I do believe that when you have a baby your life doesn’t stop, it doesn’t mean you can’t go out and continue to do fun things but for us we aren’t always going with the flow because Joey’s little, he needs sleep and structure. We look at it, this is the phase of life we’re in and we have to be able to do what’s best for our baby right now. Mamas know best and you always do what is best for your baby! Here is what our days look like 8/10 times.
- 6-6:30 wake up & bottle
- Every morning we bring Joey into our bed to drink his milk and then we all let up and ready for the day
- 8:30 breakfast
- Some of his favorites are: blueberries, bananas, yogurt w/honey, eggs w/chorizo, peanut butter toast and cereal
- Play time
- This is typically when we would go for a walk if its nice out/maybe do a really quick grocery pickup
- He usually always has a snack sometime during this period before his nap
- He likes the kids rx bar, pretzels, larabars and fruit
- On days that we have school/work to do, we bring Joey over to my moms house after breakfast but, she still follows this same routine with him
- 11-12 nap
- Nap time routine is: close blinds, sound machine, change diaper, sleep sack, book in rocking chair, bed
- 1-2 wake up
- Typically I put him down around 11:30 and he will sleep 2-3 hours, very rarely does he wake up past 2:30 but if he does, his bedtime would be a little past 7
- 2-2:30 lunch
- Lunch is a little hard for us, but he likes: cheese sticks, cheese toast, veggie soups, and pasta
- Play time
- This is usually the time we use if we want to go do some shopping, run errands, go out and do something fun
- He usually always has a snack sometime during this period before dinner
- Same as above, but we do like to keep this snack light so he eats dinner
- If he was over at my moms house, this is the time when we would go pick him up
- 5-5:30 dinner
- Depending on what we’re eating, he will have some, but he likes: littlespoon meals, pasta, mashed potatoes, tater tots, carrots, asparagus and peas
- 6:30 bathtime
- 7 bedtime & bottle
- We let him play in the bath for about 20ish minutes every night
- Then bring him into his room, close blinds, sound machine, get dressed, close the door, sleep sack, milk in rocking chair, bed
That is it! I hope you enjoyed reading and that this was helpful to you in some way. Not every day is perfect and some days are harder then others but we’re all just trying our best.
-With love, Kasia
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