I have two weeks left until I will be returning to work so I am VERY thankful that things seem to be going pretty smoothly these days. I am finally feeling like we've established a pretty good and somewhat predictable routine. It seems like we've been doing our routine for a long time, but really just a couple of weeks. Hey, it's like a third of Nora's life so it's a big deal!
Basically, I've been using an "EASY" schedule (Eat, Activity, Sleep, Your Time) though I am going to choose to call the "your time" modified since I still don't feel like I get much of it being that I am entertaining Nora or rocking Nora or cleaning up after Nora in that block of time... A schedule has made it a lot easier to predict her needs and also to anticipate the things that may make her upset though. I learn a lot about her by following this routine!
Nora wakes up sometime around six (usually) and we go straight to a feeding which come every three hours after that throughout the day. After eating, Nora is the most playful! She has been smiling at us and sometimes "talking" which is SO rewarding and FUN!! We've been doing tummy time, talking, playing, walking around and of course photo sessions during our "activity" time.
Every time she's "smiley" I try to get it on camera,
but I am usually unsuccessful. Here's a pretty good one, though!
Nora after tummy time
Playing with daddy
Usually an hour to an hour and a half after starting to eat she gets sleepy/cranky/upset and it is time to try to nap. Lately, I've realized I can sometimes catch her before she gets too upset and just get her to fall asleep without a fight. When that happens, it is A.MA.ZING. I hope that continues to happen and happen more often! The most difficult part of my day is getting her to sleep and stay asleep. Sometimes she wakes up after 10 minutes and sometimes she sleeps for two straight hours. That's when the "your time" becomes a little less predictable and practically disappears.
We usually see Auntie K once a week-ish.
Nora loves snuggling with Krista at nap time!
The half hour to hour before her next feeding is also difficult, if she is awake. Sometimes she is content and playful and other times she is downright angry, maybe because she's still tired or maybe because she realizes she is hungry, but either way it takes a little work to calm her down.
After her 6:00-ish feeding we put on pajamas and snuggle, with bedtime between 7:30 and 8:00. She usually sleeps until her dream feed between 10:00 and 11:00, then goes back down for the night! She hasn't been waking up for a night time feeding since she was about a month old. We are SUPER thankful for that (especially me)!
It took Nora a little while to enjoy her bath time.
It also took mommy a little while to figure out what she was doing!
We have bath time before bed three times a week!
Just hanging out in the tub!
Thinking about it...
Well, she still gets mad when her hair gets wet.
We've learned some tricks to help with this,
but it's hard to keep her warm before getting those pajamas on!
This past week, we have been trying to transition Nora from sleeping in her swinging Mamaroo to her stationary crib. So far, it has worked well! We slowed it down, one notch at a time. There was no change in her sleeping schedule even after stopping the Mamaroo from swinging completely so we are attempting the crib for the first time TONIGHT. I am nervous and anxious and excited and happy all at the same time. If it works, it will be HUGE for us. She is in the crib now, waking up every now and then, making a noise or two, then falling back asleep. I'm not convinced yet that she will make it through the whole night, but I'll let you know!
Nora Lane, seven weeks old
It really is amazing how much she changes day to day and week to week. It's been a lot of fun the last week or two and we are looking forward to what the next few weeks will bring as she approaches her two month birthday!
