Our "Schedule" at 3 Months

[I thought I would record our day to day life so I can remember. But read with caution, our days are pretty exciting and might tempt some to jump on the having children band wagon.]

5:45 to 7 am: Madison wakes up. Obviously, one time is a bit more ideal than the other. Madison does not seem to grasp this. We are still trying to figure out what makes her wake up 5:30ish some days and 7 on others. Until we figure it out, it is just a really fun guessing game.

7 am to 8:30 am: Feed her a little bit. We make silly faces in bed. Talk in really intelligent sentences, ones that mostly consist of goos and gaaas. Say good bye to Will. Madison starts to really fuss and I try to eat breakfast with one hand. I attempt to get dressed, make the bed, etc, try to really put off feeding her again until 9.

9 am: First official feeding of the day. Followed by some burps and if I am really lucky spit up all the way down my chest.

9:15-9:30am: We "play." Sometimes we walk Aspen and she falls asleep in the carseat. Other days we just make more funny sounds at each other, until she doesn't smile anymore, then I rock her to sleep.

9:30 am: First nap of the day. Typically the only real nap of the day. She usually is down for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I know this probably goes against all sleep books, but she never sleeps in her crib for the naps. She just will not stay asleep. So if she is out in the living room in her rocking bassinet I can easily soothe her back to sleep.

During this nap is my most productive hours. I spend some time reading the bible. Praying for the self-control not to cuss at Aspen when she wraps the leash seven times around the stroller wheels, I really do not want our daughter's first words to be "damn dog." I clean up the house. Finish laundry. Blog. Do work out videos. Relax.

11:30 to 12 pm: Baby girl is up and ready to eat again.

12:15 to 1:30ish: Spend more time "playing." In the future all these playing times will hopefully be replaced with actual play. Book reading. coloring, you know kid stuff that comes when she has actual coordination. I also run some errands. Walk Aspen again.

1:30 pm: Attempt to get Madison back to sleep. This nap is at most an hourish. She does not ever seem as rested after these naps as she does in the morning. Hopefully at some point she will sleep longer in the afternoons.

3 pm: Time to eat again.

3 - 5:15 pm: Repeat from above. I have been running with her from 3:30 to as close to 5 as possible. This allows her to get some extra sleep and I kill time so I am not just staring out the window waiting for Will to come home.

5:15pm: Will is home!! He is greeted by a jumping dog, a tired mom, and a sometimes smiley baby (depending on her naps).

5:30- 7pm: The evening shuffle. We try to eat. Usually we have to hold Madison and try not to spill the meal on her. Will is on baby holding duty now and tries to prevent any breakdowns until bed time. She also gets fed again at 6.

7:15 pm: She is really starting to fall apart and we start the bedtime routine. Turn off lights. Turn on sound machine. Change diaper. Swaddle. Feed. Lay baby in crib.

7:30 pm to 9 pm: We try to connect. We sometimes watch TV, but try to at least talk for a bit and have some time just to ourselves. It is hard because I am usually so tired, that is why bedtime is around 9 pm, if we are feeling really crazy its 10 pm.

1:30 am: Baby wakes starving. I really wish she would put this off until 3:30 am, but right now she is pretty consistent with 1:30 am.

4:30 am: Yikes, she is up again. This is what really bothers me. I wish she would just stay asleep until 7. Then it would be two six hour stretches. Oh well, she will be sleeping through the night at some point. Until then we just get extra hang out times.

5:45 to 7 am: The day starts all over again.


Exciting stuff, huh? I am thankful there is some consistency that has formed. At first, I was just feeding her whenever she somewhat fussed. I had a huge fear she would starve to death. It helps to know when she should eat again, so I know if she is really hungry or just tired. We are both gradually getting the hang of having a kid of our own. It just has taken a little bit to get to know her and her different cries. I am feeling much more confident in what she needs and it makes my days much more manageable.