My little one (and myself for that matter) have been on a schedule/routine since about six weeks after she was born. Before then…well there was chaos. I tried the eat when hungry, sleep when tired, go with the flow and I am not sure if it was a matter of me not yet understanding her cues or what exactly, but I ended up with a very overtired little one that wanted to eat all the time. Then I tried a routine and magically I had a much happier, much more rested and much less hungry all the time baby. I guess what I am trying to say here is for us, having a routine worked and continues to work up until this point.
Before I take you on a little tour of our day, it is worth pointing out that I largely follow the directions of the fantastic pair of nurses from Moms on Call. They have a very, in my opinion, simple, common sense way of raising their little ones (they have plenty between them), and their book has become my absolute favourite over these past months of new Mommyhood.
Here is a typical day for me as a SAHM with my almost 9 month old
7 am ~ Wake up! We get up at 7 am. It doesn’t matter if it’s a weekend, or we were out late the night before; we start our day at the same time each and every day around here. My husband usually heads into Little Tea Cup’s room and wakes her up, changes her and then brings her to me in bed. He then heads down to put a bottle in the heater and let the dog out. Little Tea Cup and I snuggle on the bed and usually look at the birds outside. This is my favourite time of day!
My husband then brings up the bottle and one of us feeds little lady while the other takes a shower, then we switch. After we are both clothed and dressed, we all head down for breakfast.
Little Tea cup ~ Cereal and/or fruit
Us ~ cereal, toast and tea
Shortly after, Mr Tea cup leaves for work and we head back up to play in bed. Usually we read stories and play with a few toys.
9 am ~ Naptime
Little Tea Cup goes down for her nap. I am then on a mission to complete as many things as possible in a short time. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming you name it! I also usually try to blog a little, pay bills if needed and catch up on any family business that needs to be done. If I have not showered yet, I do it during this time. I also get dressed and put makeup on. I do this everyday because I find it makes me productive and just feel generally better. After all this is done, I usually take the dog out to run around in the backyard if it’s a nice day.
11am ~
Little Tea Cup wakes up from her nap and after a quick diaper change, I get her dressed for the day. She then has her second bottle on the couch downstairs with me. After she is done, she usually plays in her bouncer while I heat up her lunch and make a little something for me to eat.
11:45 am ~ Lunch
Little Tea Cup ~ fruit and a veggie
Me ~ crackers, cheese, leftovers etc.
12:00 ish ~ Out and About
We usually head out for a walk or for another activity. On this particular day, we went for a walk to Starbucks for a little daughter and Mommy date.
1:30 ~ Nap time part 2
Arrive home and after a few minutes of alone play time on her play mat, Little Miss heads in to have her second nap of the day. I then finish up any chores that need doing and usually try to take 30 minutes for myself during this time to do reading, crafts, etc.
4:00 ~
Little Tea Cup gets up from her nap and has her third bottle of the day. Around 4:30 Mr Tea cup comes home and plays with her while I start dinner.
5:00 ~Dinner time
Little Tea Cup ~ pureed meal and fruits for dessert or something that she can eat independently.
We sometimes go out for dinner at this time. Little Tea Cup usually eats before and then snacks on puffs during our dinner.
6:30 ~ Family time
We like to do a quiet family activity during this time. We go for a walk outside if it’s nice, go for a short drive or read books together.
7:00 ~ Bed time routine
Bath time, Story time and last bottle of the day.
7:30 ~ Bed time
Little Tea cup is in her crib and it is bedtime.
We then sterilize bottles and get formula ready for the next day. I do a general pick up of the house and make sure the kitchen is tidy and all the dishes are done.
8:00 ~ Mom and Dad time
Time with my husband, blogging and online shopping.
11:00 ~Bed time part 2
Bedtime for us! Good night!
What does your day look like? Do you have a schedule you follow or are you able to go with the flow?
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
This sounds like a great routine!
guest
Very similar to ours with an 8 month old, although I don’t wake her in the mornings and she’s an unpredictable cat napper – I can’t imagine how much you could get done with those nice long daytime sleeps! What about when you’re socialising? My daughter’s second nap is often in the driveway because she falls asleep on the way home from a lunch date
grapefruit / 4085 posts
We follow a schedule too – eating, changing, napping, etc. She’s almost 5 mo. and sometimes if we have to go out around 11-12 when she’s usually down for a nap, we do so and she may or may not sleep while we’re out. I try not to let the nap thing get too crazy b/c we’re only out at that time maybe once a week so I don’t find it to be too disruptive. Plus, she never naps for more than 40 min unless she’s really exhausted.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
What a nice schedule! You guys have an excellent sleeper and napper! My son has never slept that much overnight or napped that much during the day.
nectarine / 2054 posts
Thank you for sharing your schedule! Your days seem lovely. I agree completely, setting up a schedule for my son was the best thing I did – it made our days so much better and more organized, and he really thrived on it too. I also love Moms on Call – our schedule looks very similar to yours.
We’re in a bit of schedule limbo at the moment, as our son is 6 months old and has started incorporating food into his routine. Out of curiosity, what time do you give your daughter milk? Do you mind sharing what your schedule looked like around 6-7 months?
pomegranate / 3314 posts
I’m a SAHM and my schedule with my nearly one year old is almost the same, though we’re in that transition where she’s still taking 2 naps, but only one is usually a “good” and long one. I’m with you on the routine, though. I find it absolutely vital to maintaining my sanity!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
I am obsessed with your Little Tea Cup!!!! She is too cute for words.
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Moms on Call was AMAZING for us. We started their routine at 2 weeks and it was such a game changer. Not like 2 weeks was a long time to not have a routine, but it felt disjointed. I credit their routines with having a baby sleeping long stretches through the night before one month! The only advice of theirs that I didn’t follow is that I let Little M sleep until he wakes up in the morning. Some days that’s 7am and some days (like today) it’s 8:30. I love schedules.
guest
This sounds like a lovely rhythm you and your family has going. Little Miss Tea Cup is adorable!
I am curious, what does Mr. Tea Cup do for a living? His working hours sound really nice, I would love to be able to leave around 8 and be home at 4:30 each day!
cherry / 119 posts
i had a very similar routine when my LO was around that age!
this was a recap of what life as a SAHM has been like for me:
http://vivnmatt.blogspot.com/2013/04/life-as-stay-at-home-mom.html
pomegranate / 3401 posts
What a great routine! I feel like our routine is sort of all over the place now. I’ll have to check out that Moms on Call book.
blogger / apricot / 424 posts
@Mrs. Paintbrush: Thanks
I am loving this period of time with her. I think it is my favourite yet!
@fancyfunction: it is tough when you need to get out of the house and you are short on time. I find that over time I learned how much we could “adjust” when needed to allow for errands etc.
@winniebee: Yes I am so very very lucky!
@Beehive: Little Tea cup has a bottle everytime I get her up from sleeping and then about half an hour later she eats solid. I will work on getting up some earlier schedules soon!
@meredithNYC: Agree 100% I thrive on it just like she does! I love to know when there is an opportunity for a cup of tea coming
@mrs. wagon: ha ha! I will give her a cuddle for you!
@Mrs. Stroller: We are contemplating letting her sleep in but I am not sure how that works with the other naps which are pretty much set in stone around here…maybe soon though!
@mrsvivian: Will come visit! I love seeing how others mommies do things!
@Ginabean3: It was SUCH a life saver for us! Good luck, don’t worry to much things do calm down eventually too!
apple seed / 1 posts
I also have recently gotten into Moms on Call. My little is 6 weeks, and he also is a very over tired little guy. I’ve found that he doesn’t nap for very long. Did you ever encounter this with your little? I’m not sure what to do when he wakes up after only 30-45 minutes into nap time!
guest
Hello!
This schedule has been very helpful for me. I was wondering..did you use this schedule up until 12 months?
Thanks so much for your help in advance!