At the end of October I posted Baby Ralph’s schedule that we had been using since day 1 (you can read it here). While this schedule was literally INCREDIBLE when we hit mid December (a little over 5 months), Ralph was just not having ‘bed time’ anymore. He would still keep to his schedule during the day but once that clock struck 7 pm and it was time for his last bottle he was not interested in eating but all of the sudden became quite the social butterfly. At first I thought it could be just a phase but the more I thought about it, I realized that baby Ralph really just did fine staying up a little later.
Wade and I have always stayed up later (Wade stays up REALLY late) and we ‘rise’ later. Selfishly, I thought that if my baby went to bed later, he would be able to ‘sleep in’ a little later, thus allowing me to get a little extra shut eye. We kept to the schedule we had been using from the beginning but I gave myself a ‘cut off’ time of January 1st (I hate change), to bite the bullet and make some adjustments (Ralph was almost 6 months old). If I have learned anything it is be flexible to a certain extent but also you have to do what is best for your baby. Our baby is able to stay up a little later without having a meltdown from being over tired, so we decided to adjust accordingly. This may sound funny but Ralph started HATING going to bed by 8pm. Like full on fit because he just was not tired.
Honestly, I was not sure how he would adapt as dropping nap and a bottle would be a big change for him but he was not even phased. I’ve said this from the beginning but this kid is so breezy (I know it will change but for now we are enjoying it). We are now a few weeks into his new schedule and it has proven to really work not only for baby Ralph (the most important) but also for us. See below for us updated schedule!
Baby Ralph’s NEW Schedule
- 7:55 am: Wake up baby Ralph
- 8:00 – 8:40 am: Feed (he is offered 8 ounces and usually takes between 6-8)
- 8:40 – 9:30 am: play time!
- 9:30 – 11:30 am: nap
- 11:30 – 12:00 pm: play time!!
- 12:00 – 12:20: Feed (he is offered 8 ounces and takes it all FAST)
- 12:20 – 12:55 pm: play
- 1:00 – 1:20 pm: practice eating food (currently we do baby food, I will post what we have been using later on)
- 1:30 – 3:30 pm: nap
- 3:30 – 4:00 pm: play
- 4:00 – 4:40 pm: feed (he is offered 8 ounces and drinks this bottle slow)
- 4:40 – 5:30 pm: play
- 5:30 – 6:30 pm: nap (this nap is the MOST important of the day)
- 6:30 – 7:00 pm: play
- 7:00 – 7:20 pm: practice eating food
- 7:30 pm: bath time (not every day but every couple of days)
- 8 (ish) pm: last feed of the day (offered 8 ounces but depending on the day he takes a minimum of 8 but up to 10. a perfect day is him drinking 4 eight ounce bottles).
- 9 (ish) pm: last snuggles of the night and the lights out for baby Ralph
Now, please remember that this is what works for us but I will say it is sooooo nice to make our days so predictable. Plus, I LOVEEEE setting my alarm for 7:45 instead of 6:45,haha.
I have gotten a lot of questions of how we take the baby to dinner, so in short, once he wakes up from his LAST cat nap of the day, we put him in the car seat and usually make a 6:45 reservation. Some nights our dinners last long, so I just give him his 8 pm bottle at the table and when they are short dinners, we are already home by 8 pm to give his last bottle and do bedtime!
Do not hesitate to ask any questions, I am always happy to answer (if I can). Happy scheduling! xx
Click here to read the schedule we used for baby Ralph from 0 – (almost) 6 months
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