SARA’S EVERYDAY ROUTINE

SARA’S EVERYDAY ROUTINE

Sara is now eleven months old! It’s kind of crazy saying that — time was going by so slow for the first six months then all of a sudden picked up major speed! I think because they get more fun around that age. But anyway — I’m going to share my everyday routine with baby girl! I feel like we both thrive on this schedule, alhamdulillah. Of course, there are days that are off and not exactly like this, but majority of days are! This routine has been the same since she was about 8 months I’d say.

QUICK RUNDOWN

Here’s a quick rundown of our daily routine and schedule! Give or take 30 minutes for everything.

8:30: Wake up time
8:50: 6 oz bottle
10:00: Breakfast time
11:00: First nap
12-1: Wake up time
1:00: 6 oz bottle
2:00: Lunch time
3:30: Second nap
4:30-5:30: Wake up time
5:30: 6 oz bottle
6:30: Dinner time
7:30: Bath time (on bath days)
8:00: 4/5 oz bottle
8:15: Get ready for bed
8:30: Bed time

RISE & SHINE

Sara’s natural wake up time has been between 8 and 8:45 the last month, which is what I’ve been waiting for all eleven months! 😅 Alhamdillah, it seems like we finally made it, lol! (Until some other reason wakes her up earlier 🙄). Before this, she used to wake up 7-7:30 and it was very challenging for me. So, hopefully this wake up time lasts a while!

FIRST WAKE WINDOW

Once Sara wakes up, I give her morning hugs! Then, I take her down to get her bottle ready along with my coffee, of course. 😅 I give her a few organic yogurt melts while she patiently waits for her milk. Then, she enjoys her milk in her playpen while I enjoy my coffee. I let her play independently in the playpen after her milk until she wants out. Usually about 15 minutes — enough time for me to set my mind for the day with coffee! So it works out great. Then, I let her crawl around the family room, play with her toys freely, and practice walking with her. Sometimes (like as I’m writing this 😂), I’ll let her chill and watch Cocomelon while I do some things!


​BREAKFAST
I usually make Sara’s breakfast an hour after her bottle. Lately, she’s been really enjoying her baby French toast (recipe is in my IG highlight “Baby Food” - @sincerelysabreen). I’ll also make her baby pancakes, eggs and toast with fruit, or oatmeal. This is the only meal I do baby led weaning with! I give her her breakfast and she enjoys it all on her own at her own pace — usually about 30 minutes.

AFTER BREAKFAST
Afterwards, if it’s not 11 am yet, I’ll let her use the rest of her energy by playing and crawling around until it’s nap time. Then, I put her in her sleep sack in the crib, turn the sound machine on, give her her pacifier, and give her a few back rubs. She’s usually easily able to fall asleep once I walk out the room. Other times, she’ll roll around for 10 minutes and then fall asleep on her own.

SECOND WAKE WINDOW

Depending on when Sara takes her first nap, she usually wakes up between 12 and 1! Once she wakes up, I always give her a bottle to start. Then, everything is basically the same! I let her play independently after she finishes her bottle in the playpen and we will play with her. We talk to her a lot, try and teach her new things, help her practice standing and walking, etc! Then, always about an hour after her bottle, I like to give her a meal. This would be lunch time! I’m usually at work 1:30-3:30 M-F, so my mom takes care of her during this time. For lunch, she usually eats leftovers from dinner the night before or fresh veggies with rice. I blend her foods most of the time and spoon feed her, but just recently I’m starting to blend less. Soon, I’ll start teaching her how to spoon feed herself!

​AFTER LUNCH
After she’s eaten, she’ll basically just play some more. We try to fit in learning activities as much as possible. There are also lots of times where she watches some TV for a bit. We’re always giving her snacks throughout the day! She loves organic flavored puffs and the teething crackers. She enjoys some snacks and uses up all her energy before her next nap which is usually between 3 and 4.

THIRD WAKE WINDOW

Her second nap is usually the longest (about 2ish hours), so she wakes up anywhere between 5 and 6. Of course, she gets her bottle, then does basically the same thing all over again! If we go out to family’s houses or just out as a family, it’s usually during this wake window after her bottle. She’ll usually eat dinner around 6:30, give or take. Then, if it’s bath night (usually after couple days), my husband and I will take turns giving her a bath around 7:30. Otherwise, we’d just spend quality time with her and letting her play.

BEDTIME ROUTINE

We don’t have any crazy bedtime routines — it’s really just getting her in a clean, new pajama after a bath (if it’s bath night). Giving her a small bottle and spending some quality time with her before we put her to sleep. We should probably add reading to her before bed more now that she’s a little older, but we don’t always have time or remember, lol! But that’s going to be a priority soon.

Once she finishes her bottle and we’ve spent some time with her and make sure she has a clean diaper, we set her up for bed. Sleep sack on, sound machine on, and pacifier in. We give her a few back rubs and let her fall asleep on her own. Sometimes she will whine when we start leaving the room, so we will always respond to that and calm her down so she can fall asleep peacefully and not scared or wanting mom or dad. We will stay in the room rubbing her back or simply just sit in the room with her until she falls asleep on nights she’s having trouble. Other nights, she will just let us walk out and she’ll toss and turn for maybe 10 minutes before sleeping. We usually have her asleep by 8:30 (that’s always the goal). Sometimes, if she wakes up from her last nap really late, it’ll be 9 the latest. I don’t like to wake her up from her naps anymore (I stopped a long time ago). I let her get all the sleep that she needs during her naps, regardless if it’ll affect bedtime. And alhamdulillah I feel it’s been working. Sleep experts say the better and more they sleep throughout the day, the better they sleep at night. And usually, she sleeps 8:30pm - 8/8:45am everyday. I’m very thankful for that! Mashallah.

AND THAT’S A WRAP

That’s how my day looks like everyday! A couple days a week, my husband will wake up with her in the morning and relieve me of that responsibility to let me sleep in a bit. But other than that, that’s basically how my day to day looks. Each day is different, even though it all seems the same. I love to watch her grow, learn, and be more of a character each day. There are challenging days and there are easy days! Some days are days she whines all the time and sleeps horribly, takes short naps, etc. and I want to pull my hair out! Other days, she blesses me with a smooth time. But that’s motherhood! Alhamdillah for everything, always. 💖