As a mom of two, I understand the importance of routine, but my husband and I don’t force our kids into a strict schedule that can never change. Personally, I think that actual does more harm than good. I let my 9 month old kind of make her own schedule and I come in and adjust as needed to suit her needs at her current age.
Starting right when my babies are born, I like to follow the, “eat, play, sleep” method. The baby has milk, then plays a bit, and then goes down for a nap. And the cycle repeats again and again until bed time. This keeps the babies on a consistent enough schedule to where they are eating every 2-3 hours and also get good floor & playtime too.
This will be changing very soon as she nears 12 months old, but for now, this is the average day’s schedule for my 9 month old daughter:
6:30am Wake Up. She goes down around 7:30pm, so this is a healthy amount of sleep for her. Some days she wakes up earlier and some days sleeps in later, but her average wake up time is 6:30am. She wakes up happy so I know she’s well-rested. Right after she wakes up, she gets fed a bottle and gets a new diaper.
6:45am Play Time. While I get ready and continue on with my morning routine, my daughter plays. She sits up, rolls around, plays with toys, etc.
7:45am Breakfast. When Lany becomes more fussy, I know she’s hungry for some solids. Sometimes it’s before the rest of the family eats, but usually she eats with us in her highchair around 7:45am.
8:15am Change & Play. After breakfast, I get her dressed for the day and she plays more. When she gets fussy, I typically give another bottle.
9am Nap. She’ll sleep for about 1.5 hours (sometimes more).
11am Bottle and Play. After nap, the cycle continues. She’ll get her diaper changed, receive more milk, and play until she’s tired again!
12pm Lunch. She’ll sit in her highchair and have solids.
2:30pm Nap. She’s down to 2 naps a day most days. Her 2nd nap is around 2:30pm. Since she shares a room with her (almost) 2 year old brother, her 2nd nap is not in a crib since I don’t want them disturbing one another’s naps. It’ll usually be in a make-shift bed on the couch (closely supervised) or on the floor.
3:30pm Change, Feed, & Play. Once she wakes up (usually after 1.5 hours or so), she’ll get a new diaper, a bottle, and then some play time. Surprise! haha
5pm Dinner. She’ll sit with the family in her highchair and have solids.
7:30pm Bedtime. This time all depends on how long her 2nd nap was & how she’s feeling. She’ll have 1-2 more bottles before going to bed.
Every baby is different and have varying needs, but this *tentative* schedule works well for my 9 month old daughter.
Tia Marie
tia marie 