Emilia's Routine (at 4 Months Old)

Outfit from Vitamins Baby :)  Picture taken today!

This has been SUCH a requested post, especially from other stay-at-home mommies who wanted to know how we organise our day.  Let me preface this by saying that we DO NOT stick to this every single day...it very much depends on what we're doing, whether we leave the house or not...and so on.  This is more of a general outline of our day because truthfully if we did the same exact thing all the time I would probably go a little bit crazy!  In December I bought the Gina Ford book "The Contented Little Baby" and although I found her routines too restrictive for my lifestyle, I did learn a few tips which I've adapted to fit our own routine.  This isn't something I really created either...Emilia and I pretty much just slipped into this sort schedule on our own.  Over the course of the last week or so, I knew I was going to do a post & video on this so I tracked all of her feeding, sleeping and playtimes using the What To Expect app on my phone.  This is what most of the days looked like!  

5am We wake up (kind of..."half wake up" actually!), she feeds and we fall back asleep.

7am We half wake up, I switch her to the other side and she dreamfeeds again.

9am We wake up (properly this time!), I change her nappy and depending on what we have planned for the day change her into her outfit for the day.  Then I take my shower and get ready (makeup, hair etc.) while she waits either in our bed or in the co-sleeper.  She's usually very good at keeping herself entertained while I do this...I am very lucky :)

10am We go downstairs and she watches a bit of Peppa Pig on the sofa while I prepare breakfast.  Then I play with her while I drink my coffee.

11am Feeding time again.  She nurses on one side, usually has a nappy change and then nurses on the other side.  

12pm After I've fed her I usually pop her in her swing while I clean up the kitchen and vacuum the downstairs.  This is when she normally falls asleep and takes her nap.  She can sleep anywhere from 2-2 and 1/2 hours.  

1pm If Emilia's still asleep, I use this time to film videos, reply to emails/comments/tweets, take pictures for my blog and eat my lunch!  

2pm She wakes up and has another big feed (both sides).  Then she plays on her playmat while I clean.  

3pm This is when I usually walk the dogs if I have time...this takes about an hour so I normally pop her in her swing and bring her into her daddy's study where he minds her while I'm on my walk.  Sometimes she does fall asleep during this time!

4pm If Emilia is awake when I get home I put her back on her mat.  I also have something to eat!

5pm She's normally hungry again for a little top-up by now, so I feed her on one side and if she hasn't slept since 2 she'll go down again for a half hour/an hour.

6pm Here's where it gets kind of varied...and totally depends on the day.  Usually I change her nappy, then she plays on her mat...if she's asleep I leave her be! 

7pm This is when Jonathan starts preparing dinner and I bring her upstairs to start getting her ready for her bath.  She has bath-time, I put her lotion & moisturiser on and change her into her pj's.  Then she comes back downstairs with me and I nurse her on the couch either before or while eating dinner.

8pm Between 7-8pm is when we usually eat dinner and Emilia's "bed-time".  I say bed-time loosely because as of yet she is still sleeping in her swing.  When we put her down in her crib she sleeps for a maximum of 45 mins.  I feel like she gets the fullest, longest and best quality sleep during the day when she's in her swing so that's how we've chosen to do things for now.  

9pm Emilia usually sleeps from about 8/8:30 till about 10/10:30 before she gets the next big feed.  We normally watch TV & relax.  This is also normally when I get the time to blog and recently, paint my nails! ;)

10/10:30pm She generally wakes up ready for another big feed, gets a nappy change and then depending on the time we go up to bed.  

11pm/midnight Jonathan and I normally go to bed about this time and since Emilia is sleeping with us, so does she! :)  If for some reason she didn't get a bath that day (say we were out for dinner or something like that) she does gets shower time with daddy before snuggling up in bed with mommy.  I then nurse her to sleep and read Goodnight Moon to her while she's feeding!

And then we repeat the same thing the next day (pretty much)!  I hope this helps you in some way and answers your guys' questions about our daily schedule...obviously her routine will change as she gets older but I will say that I've noticed that this has been the general outline of our day for about a month now.  

Stay Stylish!