one nap schedule

I am a very firm believer that schedules and routines are important for young children. You can read from others who agree with me here, here and here. Basically, “When a child knows what to expect, their world is more comfortable, it makes sense.” I’m sure there are others who say routines and schedules aren’t important and don’t matter, but that goes against everything I’ve learned prior to becoming a parent and everything that has been reinforced in my short time being a parent.  I’m not saying things don’t come up and you have to fly by the seat of your pants, of course that happens. But, in general and for the most part, having a plan of action for your (and your child’s) day is important.

Let’s face it, as adults we have schedules too, we wake at the same time, eat at the same times, go to work at the same time and go to sleep at the same time. You know, for the most part. For me, when my “schedule” is messed up I can be…less than pleasant. I had a job once where they scheduled my lunch at 10:30am…wtf? I just ate breakfast at 8:00am. But I digress…

Mile’s “schedule” has changed several times now (obviously). I implemented his first schedule around four months when he began solids. It looked something like this (I think):

7:00 AM Wake up and Bottle (4 ounces Breast Milk)

9:00 AM Puree

10:00 AM Bottle and nap (4 ounces Breast Milk)

12:00 PM Bottle (4 ounces Breast Milk)

1:00 PM Puree

2:00 PM Nap

3:00 PM Bottle (4 ounces Breast Milk)

4:00 PM Nap

5:00 PM Bottle (4 ounces Breast Milk)

6:00 PM Puree

8:00 PM Bottle and Bedtime (4 ounces Breast Milk)

           

Around eight months his schedule looked like this:

7:00 AM  – 8:00 AM Wake up and Bottle (6 ounces Breast Milk)

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Breakfast

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Bottle and Nap (6 ounces Breast Milk)

12:30 PM Lunch

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Bottle and Nap (6 ounces Breast Milk)

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Dinner

8:00 PM Bottle and Bedtime (6 ounces Breast Milk)

His schedule has stayed about the same for a while now. Although we dropped from four to three bottles a day, and then down to just two bottles (morning and night). I really wanted to separate milk from naps. I did not want that association to stay for an extended period of time.

Within the last two weeks he has decided that two naps are for…well…babies. The transition to one nap wasn’t what I expected. I assumed he would naturally start to get tired later in the morning and sleep longer and then just not be tired in the afternoon. WRONG. He still was falling asleep around the same time 10-10:30am and then just straight up refusing the afternoon nap, even though he was clearly tired. Clearly.

I started asking around and looking online to see what other “one nap” schedules were like for other parents and I decided on this generic schedule. Yes, times are listed. No, they are not definite. Especially not right now with this new transition. As you can see we also have moved the last bottle away from the bedtime routine and are attempting to move his morning milk to coincide with breakfast. Both of those choices are presenting their own challenges.

Last night was the second evening where we gave Miles his milk downstairs. We then went upstairs, took a bath, brushed teeth, changed into PJs and then attempted to snuggle in the rocker. Miles…wasn’t having it. He wanted to run around and get into everything in his room. I decided to opt out of snuggles and put him in his crib. He snuggled in and fell asleep fairly quickly. In the past we would go from PJs to the chair with milk, snuggles and then bed. He rarely would squirm away and want to explore. We just have to focus now on altering his expectations to the new routine. I’m sure it may take some time, but we are sticking with this new change.

Here is the new rundown of Miles’s day:

I print these out and hang them on the fridge. Why? I’m glad you ask. Yes, we have a nanny and she should be fairly aware of Miles’s schedule and what to do and when. However, this week she has a family emergency and Miles is going to have a different “caregiver” each day. Monday – nanny, Tuesday – backup sitter  (in our home), Wednesday, backup sitter 1 (in her home), Thursday – Daddy, and Friday – Mommy. I find that having a schedule printed and in an obvious spot eliminates the “what time should Miles nap/eat/have milk” texts and phone calls during the day from anyone who is watching him, especially if there is a last minute change. The times are generic and listed on the hour where they “should” occur based on what I have learned and picked up from Miles. If these times don’t work, we will adapt and on the spot or day if need be. The schedule is flexible in the sense that these events occur in this order but obviously I’m not going to force him to noon for a nap if he’s clearly exhausted at 10:30 in the morning and if he doesn’t want lunch before a nap then he can have it when he wakes up.

Thoughts? Am I alone in the crazy routine/schedule? Hit me up in the comments.