The kids are almost one year old and there is a lot of transition going on with their daily routine. For example, they’re transitioning to only one nap a day. Here’s a run-down of their current schedule:
6:00AM: Wake-up and diaper change
This has been pretty consistent for a while plus or minus 20 minutes depending on sunrise, daylight savings time etc. Any later and there isn’t enough time to get them ready for daycare and us ready for work.
6:15AM: Put in high-chairs for 7 oz bottle of formula and some cheerios
We’ve been giving them their bottles in their high-chairs so that they get used to their high-chairs as “the eating place”. They hold their own bottles. In a week or so, this will change to a 4 oz cup of cow’s milk and some yogurt or egg or toast.
6:45AM: Get dressed for daycare and work
7:30AM: Arrive at daycare
This varies from 7:30 to 8:15AM depending on our work schedules
9:00AM: 3-4 oz baby cereal mixed with cow’s milk
They get this meal/snack at school. It’ll be one of the main ways they get their iron once they’re totally on cow’s milk.
9:30-11:00AM: Nap
They only get this nap when they’re at home on the weekends with us. At school, they’re awake and playing.
11:30AM: 7 oz bottle of formula
In a couple weeks, this will change to a 4 oz cup of cow’s milk and some baby food, like 4 oz sweet potato cubes, or zucchini etc.
11:45-2:00PM: At daycare, this is when they take their one nap.
2:00PM: 3-4 oz of baby food with water or juice in cup
2:30-4:00PM: At home, this is when they take their second nap.
4:30PM: 4 oz cup of cow’s milk with a baby biscuit
This used to be a bottle of formula.
5:30PM: Pick them up from daycare
6:15PM: Dinner
We give them a mix of foods like chinese turnip cake, tofu, udon noodles, vegetables that they can pick up, and jar baby food. Our goal is about 6 to 7 oz of food total, and eventually a 4 oz cup of cow’s milk as well.
6:45PM: Bath
7:00PM: 7 oz of formula
They’ve been having less and less of this bottle, and soon we’ll just give them a cup of cow’s milk at dinner and get rid of this bottle entirely.
7:15PM: Brushing their teeth and bedtime story
Currently, brushing their teeth consists of taking a damp piece of gauze and running it over their teeth and gums.
7:30PM: Bedtime
Their bedtime tends to be a little closer to 7PM on a “school night” since they only take one nap at daycare and are pretty exhausted by the end of the day. On the weekends, we let them stay up closer to 8PM since they’ve taken two naps during the day.
As you can see, the main changes over the next couple months will be elimination of the bottle and transition to all cow’s milk. As of last week, we’ve eliminated the 4:30PM bottle, so they’re down to only three bottles a day. That one was the easiest bottle to get rid of though since it was really only a pre-dinner snack.
And yes, Bernard and I eat dinner after they go to bed, since it’s just too difficult to prepare dinner for everyone right after work.
that’s a really nice schedule. lucas is still on about the same schedule too. are they getting regular milk already? b/c transitioning to regular milk took a little bit for lucas. i had to mix BM and cow’s milk in decreasing amounts to get him used to it. btw, as they get older and requiring heavy duty bib for the eventual self feeding (ie mess making), i would highly suggest the baby bjorn bibs. they’re expensive but i finally broke down and bought them b/c they’re the easiest and most sanitary bibs around. some targets carry them now. don’t forget a floor mat. they like to drop things and hear the sound/mess it makes. let me know when you’re ready to potty train them… i have a really easy method.
thanks for the comment sophia–i will definitely have to hear about this potty training method. they have one cup of regular milk a day at 4:30pm, which they’re pretty much okay with now. it took them about a week to get used to it. i’ll look into the baby bjorn bibs. eleanor definitely drops things on the floor now, and we refuse to give it back to her to try to not encourage it, but i still feel like i’m constantly cleaning the high chair and the floor.
hahaha… they sell those large soft floor mats which is wonderful for cleanup. they won’t stop dropping stuff. it’s part of learning… about gravity, sound, cause and effect, etc, just a pain to clean. he still drops things on the floor. plus, some kids don’t like stuff they don’t want on their plate/tray and guess where the food/utensil end up? yup… the floor. the baby bjorn bibs has a large pouch to catch all the food stuff that didn’t fit in the mouth. i just scoop it out and put it back in their mouths… cinch to clean and dry. vinyl ones still has fabric edges and gets really nasty after cleaning.