New Schedule for the Big Girl

Daniela Elizabeth - 6 Weeks

When Daniela first came home, she slept in a bassinet in our room. Being first time parents it was as much for our comfort as for hers. We let her sleep and eat on demand. The first few weeks she only woke up twice in the middle of the night to eat, but she didn't usually go back to sleep for an hour or two. Eventually she mastered that and went back to sleep right away, but then I think she went through a growth spurt because she wanted to eat more often. She started waking up 3-4 times a night, which was rough. I read that at 6-8 weeks babies are capable of sleeping for shorter periods during the day and longer periods at night, and Daniela turned 6 weeks on Tuesday. So on Tuesday we moved her bassinet into her own room and started her on her new schedule and bedtime routine. She's done GREAT! Now I keep her awake after 6pm, which can be difficult at times but I manage to do it. I get things ready for her bath at 9pm, and by 9:30 I've finished with her bath, cleaned up, and gotten her dressed. At 9:30 she eats, and at ten she goes to bed and I turn on a CD of Baby Einstein lullabies. She's cried the past two nights for a bit, she has a hard time putting herself to sleep, but I'm sure it will get better. Then she sleeps until about 3am, eats and goes right back to sleep, and wakes up around 6 or 6:30am. She only gets up once during the night now! A major improvement. The rest of the day she eats and sleeps as she wants, but from 6pm to 6am that's her routine. I feel like she's grown up so much already...