When I had my first baby, it was hard for me to figure out what her daily schedule was supposed to look like. I decided to write up the schedule that we are currently following with N so other moms can get an idea of what timing we use for things. Keep in mind that every baby is different and has different needs. This schedule works for us — especially because it meshes well with L’s schedule.
6:30am Wake up — N usually wakes up for the day between 6:30 and 7:15am. If she is still sleeping at 7:30am, I wake her up. I know, I know, never wake a sleeping baby. I don’t like that advice. I wake her up so she’ll be ready for her morning nap at the right time. I need to know what to expect from her the whole day, especially since I also have a toddler at home.
7:00am Breakfast — This is when we serve solid foods to N. She is just 6 months old, so she isn’t eating finger foods yet. I give her purees and some water for breakfast.
7:30-9:30am Playtime — This is usually when I’m getting ready in the morning, so I have a little space set up in my bedroom for N to play while I’m getting ready. It doesn’t take two hours, so we also play downstairs when I’m done. N usually plays independently at this time or with L.
9:30-10:30am Bottle (or Nurse) & Nap — I cannot WAIT for N to be done with taking a morning nap. L stopped taking a morning nap around 8 months old, so I’m hoping it’s soon. We will be able to get so much more done in the morning when she doesn’t have to nap! I wake N up right at 10:30 if she’s still sleeping, because I need the afternoon nap to be on schedule.
10:30-11:30am Playtime — I usually play with N during this time, or we use it as the one hour we have during the day to run errands!
11:30am Lunch — Solid foods and water. Sometimes we have this meal outside if L wants to play in the backyard.
12:00-12:30pm Playtime — N plays in the dining room while L and I have lunch.
12:30pm Bottle (or Nurse) & Nap — N usually naps until at least 2:45, sometimes all the way until 3:30! This is when I work on my blog or clean. Haha. But really, I hardly ever clean.
2:30pm Playtime — If N wakes up early from nap, she plays in the office while I continue to work on the computer.
3:30pm Bottle (or Nurse)
4:00-5:30pm Playtime — This is when we usually go outside to play. I spread out a blanket for N to sit on and bring out a basket of toys.
5:30pm Dinner — Solid foods and water.
6:00pm Bath & Playtime — We don’t give N a bath everyday unless she’s REALLY dirty.
7:00pm Bottle (or Nurse) & Bedtime — N usually falls asleep while eating, but if she doesn’t, we put her down while she’s still awake with her lovey. We turn on her sound machine and leave the room, and she puts herself to sleep. Right now, we still “dream feed” at 10:00pm, and we’ll slowly start to phase that out as she eats more during the day.
For more sample schedules, click on these links for 9 to 12 Months, 12 to 18 Months, 18 Months to 3 Years, or To Know You’re Not Alone.
This is very close to the schedule I had my little one on at this age. Life was so much better for both of us when he was in a good rhythm.
This is just wonderful….BUT….I can’t figure it out! My almost 6month old son still doesn’t sleep through the night, so our wake up is different each day which makes the whole “schedule thing” feel impossible. Any tips?
I understand — my littlest didn’t really sleep through the night until she was almost 9 months old, while my oldest started at 4 months. That’s why I didn’t write any schedules until 6 to 9 months — it’s really difficult to get your child on a schedule before then! One thing we did with N was “dream feed” — we fed her in her sleep around 10pm, and then she would usually sleep the rest of the night. You could try that or maybe even a bit later if he is waking more than once a night. For N, if she did wake up too early for our schedule, we would just play for a bit until it was time to feed, and she would usually be distracted enough to wait.
I will have to try Dream feeding. So I just take him out of the crib while he’s sleeping and nurse him? I’ve heard the term but I’m not familiar with it.
Yes! He should stay mostly asleep. Don’t talk or play with him.