We get told a lot that Caroline is a very happy baby. Its true that she rarely cries and she smiles and laughs a lot. She is very "go with the flow" and is a great sleeper and eater. I think that there is truth to some babies being more mild tempered than others, but I know for us, Caroline is much easier to care for and more fun to be around when she is on a schedule.
Since we got home from the hospital, we really tried to go 3 hours in between feedings and 4 hours at night. We would try everything to calm her down if she was upset before feeding her if it wasn't time for her to eat. We didn't always go three hours, but we only fed her when we had tried everything else (swaddling, bouncing, swinging, paci etc.) At about 4 weeks, she was on a pretty consistent schedule. I started waking her up at the same time every day (6 am) and feeding her, no matter what time she had eaten last. For example.... even if she had woken up at 4 am and nursed, I woke her up again at 6 to eat again. Waking her up at the same day helped her (and me) to transition into more of a set schedule. Eventually, when she woke up in the middle of the night, I would try just giving her the paci or rocking her for a bit. Of course I fed her if I thought she was hungry, but eventually she started sleeping through the night.
Now that she is 10 months old, we are a little more lax on the schedule, yet stick to it pretty closely for the most part. It has changed within the last month and I wanted to document it here for future reference.
7:30- 8:00 am- wake up and eat (7.5 ounces and breakfast... usually smooshed (that's a real word ya know) or sliced banana
9:00 am- nap
11:00 am bottle (7.5 ounces) and lunch- (usually cut up fruit or veggie and puffs)
1:30- bottle (7.5 oz)
2:00- afternoon nap (usually until 4)
4:00-4:30- bottle (whenever she wakes up)
7:00- dinner (usually cut up veggie, fruit, or tidbits of what we are eating)
7:30- bath, read, get ready for bed
8:00- bottle (7.5 oz)
*she eats almost no pureed food anymore and is doing really well with picking up cut up fruits and veggies. I will not make any more pureed food except for a few things to use for travel.
*she doesn't sleep past 8. Trust me, there have been LOTS of times that I have wanted to let her sleep, but I know that it will mess up our whole day. I did let her sleep until 9 last Thursday, and she was fussy until nap time, and then didn't take a great afternoon nap! I have learned that sleep induces sleep (for my child) and lack thereof means for a no- good napper. Most of the time she wakes up on her own around 7:00. She plays in her crib for a while, then we go get her about 7:30.
*It is true that C is at home most of the time for her naps in her crib. I think that helps. She has a sound machine and her room is dark. She does nap at a friend's house in the afternoon 2 days a week, and she did not nap well at first. Once the room was darkened and a sleep machine was used, she's back to a 2 hour+ afternoon nap.
*She takes a paci and has a bunny lovie that she sleeps with. We don't leave home without them. :)
*Sundays are a rough day for us. She has to wake up for her morning nap early to make it to church on time. She's in the nursery for 2 hours and is exhausted by the time we leave. She goes down for her afternoon nap earlier (about noon or 12:30) and sleeps until 3 or so.
The schedule may not be for everyone, but its been a lifesaver for us. I also realize that if there is a "next" child, it may not work for them. But, I definitely want to have a record of what we were up to schedule- wise at 10 months. Ill also probably love to think back on this post next month when she'll decide to stop being cute and sweet and not sleep. :)
