Dropping the 4th Nap

My son Haydon just turned 4 months old today! Yippy! I am finally out of the land of newborn-hood and on to baby land! Along with Haydon’s 4 month birthday, he also dropped his 4th nap. I knew it was time to adjust his schedule because his 3rd of 4th nap of the day were just brief catnaps and no longer than 45 minutes each.

From 9 weeks- 15 weeks, Haydon’s schedule looked like this:
7:00Nurse
8:20-10:00 Nap
1o:00 Nurse
11:30-1:00 Nap
1:00 Nurse
2:30-4:00 Nap***
4:00 Nurse
5:30-6:15 Catnap***
6:15 Nurse
7:30 Bottle of expressed milk, followed by bedtime

***However, from 15-16 weeks his 3rd nap of the day went from being 1.5 hours long to only 45 minutes long. I played around with his waketime, but that still did not fix the nap length. I also noticed that Haydon was not nursing as much every 3 hours so I thought it might be good to try and extend his schedule to eat every 3.5-4 hours, except in the evening when I cluster feed. Extending the schedule worked. It got rid of the 4th nap and he is nursing better. Also, by extending the scheduled feedings, Haydon started taking a longer nap!

Haydon’s new schedule at 4 months (17 weeks old)
7am Nurse
8:30-10:30 Nap
10:30 Nurse
12:15/20-2:15 Nap
2:15 Nurse
4:00-5:00 Nap
5:00 Nurse
7:00 Nurse +Bottle of Expressed milk, followed by bedtime

 

Read Full Post »

Baby Wise- The First Year

A friend of mine maintains and writes a great blog called, “Chronicles of a Babywise Mom“. Her blog is amazing and you should check it out.

She just recently posted a chart that summarizes your baby’s needs in the first year. I found the chart to be a great run down and a wonderful tool for first time moms.

Here is the post: http://www.babywisemom.com/2012/01/your-babywise-baby-first-year-overview.html

Read Full Post »

Variety & Organization (Activities & Toys)

Here is how I vary the toys and the play locations throughout the day. I hope this well help give you some ideas.

In the playroom, I have toys in plastic containers with lids. The containers with toys are all kept on shelves I bought from Walmart for $15 each. We have 4 shelves (with 3 shelves each).  I only let them get out two containers at a time. I also have a play kitchen in the playroom and a small table and chair set in the playroom.
Toys we have in each container are:
– Wooden Train Set
– Playfood, Cups, Bowls, and other kitchen items
– Plastic Animals
– Building Legos
– Medium Sized Cars
– Puzzles
– Toddler Toys in 2 different boxes (various toddler toys)
– Little People Items

In my son’s room, he has a few toys. The toys are arranged in plastic containers with lids too. He is allowed to choose 2-3 different type of toys to have out during roomtime. The rest stay on his shelves in their containers and are not played with. The kids also do sibling playtime in Coopers room a few times a week- and the same rules apply, only 2-3 types of toys out at a time.
– McQueen Cars (from the Movie Cars)
– Chuck Car items
– Marble Run
– Books
– Other Match Box Cars
– Felt Roads & Play Rug with Roads
– Tag Junior
– Vet Clinic Toy
– Stuffed Animals

In the Girls’ Room, they have a few toys. I store all their toys in their closet. They still have IPT in their cribs. I usually allow them 2 types of toys and some books during IPT. They toys stored in their closets are:
– Little People Sets
– Little People Builder Blocks and Sets
– Light & Sounds Toys (electronics)
– Playfood
– Babydoll items
– Books
– Stacking toys & Shape sorters

In the Gameroom, I store all their educational materials, art supplies, and other table activities. I have it stored in an entertainment system with doors. I have things in plastic containers with lids marked with what time of things are inside. We don’t really have any other toys in the gameroom because we don’t play too much up their yet because I cannot keep an eye on them in there if I am down stairs working (game is upstairs).

In the living room, I have a basket of random toys- some cars, some stuffed animals, some little people stuff, some other toys (doctor kit, etc). They can take anything out of the basket when we are in the living room, but it all has to be put back when we leave the room.

In my bathroom, I have a small tub of toys for when I am getting ready in the morning or during bathtime. I usually bathe all the kids at the same time, but they don’t all get in the tub at the same time so I need toys to keep the occupied during bath time. I have books, cars, and a few small toddler-ish toys in there.

In the kitchen, I have a few leap frog toys on the fridge and I also have some file folder games, busy bag activity, quiet books, and play dough items all stored in my pantry. That way if I need a quick table time activity for a time of transition or while I am cooking dinner, I can quickly pull them out.

What I have found, is even though I don’t rotate all the toys, I think allowing them only a few toys at a time helps. Having them play in the playroom, bedroom, and living room at different times of day helps too. I think that free play, Independent Play Time, and table time/ blanket time help to keep it interesting. I also do outside play every day and try to include a walk. So variety of activities, organized toys, and not allowing them to play with too many things really helps to keep the kids happy and having fun throughout the day. The toys don’t get as boring this way.

Read Full Post »

Schedule Update

I realize it has been a while since I updated the schedules I have kept with my Son, now 3 years-old, and my twins, now 18 months-old. So here are the updated schedules. These schedules are just the bare bone schedules which include, eating, sleeping, and waking times. For a more detailed schedule that consists of a break down of various activities, please see the other posts below.

Babywise Schedules by Month (Version 1: My Son)
Babywise Schedules by Month (Version 2: My Twin Girls)

Structuring Your Toddler’s Day When Taking Two Naps A Day
Structuring Your Toddler’s Day When Taking One Nap A Day

Read Full Post »

Blanket Time In Action

I am a firm believer in blanket time. I am so glad that I did blanket time with all 3 of kids. It has taught my kids respect for boundaries, discipline, and allowed me time to get things done around the house without having all 3 of my kids under my foot. I wrote a longer post, entitled Blanket Time, about the benefits of blanket time and for a further explanation on how to start blanket time.

Here is a short video clip of my 13 month old twin girls during blanket time. Currently they do blanket time for 30 minutes in the morning while I do circle time (learning activities) with their older 2.5 year old brother. When I recorded this video, their older brother was visiting his grandparents (which is why I had a chance to capture this short video clip).

Read Full Post »

Table Activity: Dirt & Cars

Cooper loves cars. I think I must have said this in more than one post, LOL. But when I need a quick and easy table activity to keep him entertained for 15 minutes, this is a winner. All I did was pour some brown rice into a cooking pan. Then I gave some cars to Cooper. Cooper thinks he is driving his cars through “dirt”. Quick, Simple, Engaging, Loving it!

We’ve been using this activity during table time and during times of transition.

Read Full Post »

How to Fit Learning Activities into Your Toddler’s Day

I break the day up a bit with my son’s learning activities (2.5 years old). We do 4 different types of learning activities
1). Circle time
2). Structured Learning
3). Table Time
4). Family Game Time
Optional: Times of Transition

I use times of transition as educational times as well. I just have Cooper do a brief table time with a short activity he can do independently.

1. Circle time: We do calender activity, weather, sing our songs, chant our nursery rhyme, bible memory verse, phonemic awareness game/ activity, and usually a read aloud. (15-30 minutes, depends on read aloud and his attention span)

2. Structured Learning: We do bible, phonics, math, science/ social studies, and arts/ crafts. Some days we do all these subjects, and other days we only do 2-3. We almost always do bible, phonics, and math. I pick and choose from the Littlest Learning Activities and to them during structured learning time. I also create many of my own lessons and ideas. You can find them on the blog I have started for teaching Cooper called, “Teaching Toddlers and Preschoolers”

3. Table/ Blanket Time: I use this as a time for Cooper to do an activity at the table that he can do independently that reinforces the skills that he has already learned. I also use this time to let him play at the table or blanket, so it is not necessarily always academic.

4. Family Game Time: 2/3 the time this is educational. I like to get my husband in on Cooper’s learning. So we tend to play games that reinforce the skills that Cooper is learning. Most of the time, it is just repeating an activity we did earlier in the day, but now Cooper gets to show dad what he learned. Cooper LOVES to do his learning activities and games with dad. He gets so proud of himself.

8:00 Wake Up, Breakfast
8:30 Free Play
9:00 Circle Time (while his sisters have Blanket Time)
9:15/9:30 Outside Play
10:00 Structured Learning (while his sisters nap)
11:00 Snack & Read Stories
11:30 Independent Play Time
12:30 Lunch
1:00/1:15 Play with Mommy
2:00-4:30 Nap
4:30 Snack & TV
5:00 Table Time/ Blanket Time (while his sisters have Independent Play Time)
5:30 Free Play or Outside Play
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Family Play
7:15/7:30 Play with Daddy
8:00 Family Game Time or Read Stories
8:15 Bedtime Routine
9:00 Asleep

The twins (13 months old) only have about 15-20 minutes of structured learning right now. I do it in the morning after they first wake up. They are also read to at snack time. They have blanket time in the playroom while Cooper does circle time, so they hear us sing our songs and chant our rhymes, but obviously they are too young to participate yet.

Read Full Post »

How Can I Get My Newborn to Sleep?

I am part of a group on Baby Center called Babywise Babies. One of the moms on there had a question about her newborn and how to get her to sleep better. Made me go through a couple of posts that I have written and revisit the newborn stage so I thought I would share some of my experience and thoughts on how to help your newborn sleep better.

1. You need to find the right sleep window for your baby. This it a short window of time that allows your baby to fall asleep faster and easier. If you put your baby down to early he or she might be not tired enough. If you put your baby down too late, your baby might have hit a second wind and have some nervous energy and not be able to relax enough to sleep well.

2. The length of wake time is very important. Most newborns can only handle 30-45 minutes of wake time. Wake time includes the time it takes to feed them as well. So if you wake your baby and nurse for 30 minutes, then you only have about 15 minutes left of wake time at the most.

• My personal experience: My twin girls had a waketime length of about 40 minutes when they were newborns. It consisted of the following: Nurse, Diaper Change, Immediately Swaddle, Put in Swing or Bouncers, Watch for their eyes to get heavy, Pick up and put them in their crib, AHHH Napping! To a list of schedules I kept with my twins click here.

3. Remember that Newborns can become very overstimulate quickly. It does not take much. They just spent the last 9 months in a quiet, dark environment. All the new lights and sounds can be a bit much for newborns. Try to keep the environment quieter, calmer, not as bright.

• My personal experience: When my twins where born, my son was only 18 months old. He was full of energy and loud. He was a very good boy, but 18 month old toddlers have a hard time understanding what peaceful and quiet are. In order to keep the babies from getting too over stimulated I kept their bouncers and swings in my master bedroom (which was on the first floor). I kept my blinds shut, but there was still natural light in the room, just not overly bright. I sometimes had quiet classical music playing if Cooper was making a little too much noise and other times I just kept no music on. The babies would hang out in their bouncers or swings swaddled up tight in there. That kept Cooper from messing with them and it also allowed me to sneak in and “peek-in” on them. Once I noticed their eyes getting really heavy, I would carefully pick them up and place them in their cribs. The girls were sleeping in my walk-in closet at the time because I did not want to go up and down the stairs for middle of the night feedings. So I did not have long to walk between their swings and bouncers to my walk-in closet where they slept. I also allowed my girls a pacifier, which I think helped them sleep too.

3. Swaddling is so important for newborns. I cannot stress this enough! The startle reflex that newborns make causes them to jolt themselves awake. They just spent 9 months all balled up tight in your womb and now they are no boundaries and it scares them. Learn how to swaddle good and tight and I promise you that your baby will sleep well.

• My personal experience: I found the best method for swaddling was to use a modified miracle blanket wrap. See my utube video of how to do this here (I need to upload the video still, I will do this later, so check back soon). I also found that if I finished diaper changing and put the twins in their swings or bouncers without a swaddle, when it came time to place them in their crib for their nap, they would get very fussy and wake up totally as I was trying to swaddle them. Then I had to start the whole nap routine all over again. In order to avoid that this was our waketime routine:
  1. Nurse
  2. Diaper Change
  3. Swaddle Tight
  4. Place in swing or bouncer
  5. Watch for heavy eyes or eyes shutting
  6. Pick up once heavy eyed and place in crib for nap
  I could not reverse #3 and 4 or they would fully wake up.

4. White Noise works. I know that a lot of people don’t want their baby or infant to get use to white noise to sleep because they will become dependent on it. But let me say, white noise does help. It gives the baby some background noise to hear. They just spent 9 months hearing fluid, heart beating, and other things going on inside of you. It was not quiet in there. The white noise is actually calming to babies. The other benefit of white noise is that you don’t have to tip toe and whisper around your house. If you have older children, white noise is essential if you ask me. I did not want to keep telling my toddler to be quiet, he is just being a toddler. With the while noise, I did not worry so much about my toddler’s noise level.

• My Personal Experience: All 3 of my children sleep with white noise. We have a portable white noise machine in their rooms. It is easy to travel with too. I wrote a review on the two white noise machines I have used here. You can also use a stand up fan or a humidifier to give off white noise. Music can also be used to help drown out the sound by placing some soft quiet music.

5. Room Dimming helps too. You don’t have to go out and by dark out blinds, but make sure the room that you baby sleeps in is dim and not overly bright. I have found with all of my kids that they sleep better in dimmer rooms. Babies go though sleep cycles every 45-50 minutes. At the 45-50 mark, if the baby is semi-aroused and sees light in his or her room, she might wake up and not want to continue sleeping. More on sleep cycles read this post.

• My Personal Experience: My son Cooper is a very sensitive sleeper. The smallest sound or crack of light could wake him. As a new mom, I did not realize the power of making the room dimmer until one day I tough I would give it a try. He took such better naps from that point on. Cooper was the chronic 45 minute napper and the room dimming really helped. My twins defendant benefited from room dimming too. But now Cooper is 2.5 and my twins are 1 and I find they don’t need it quiet as dark anymore to sleep so I have started to make their rooms a little brighter.

6. Sometimes Babies will fuss in their sleep around 45-50 minutes into their nap. This does not necessarily mean they are hungry and are ready to wake up. Like I mentioned before, babies go through a sleep cycles every 45-50 minutes. At the end of the sleep cycle they are in light sleep and might wake up. Most newborns do not know how to self-sooth at this point and they start to fuss, fidget, and cry. My advice is to leave them alone for a few minutes to see if they can work it out on their own and return to sleep. If you see their fussing, crying, fidgeting getting worse, then you might want to go in your child’s room and help. I offered some advice on my post about the 45 Minute Intruder that you might find helpful.

• My Personal Experience: With my son I wrote a lot about it on the 45 minute intruder post. With my twins, I learned to go in and put their pacifiers back in their mouths. That seemed to do the trick most of the time. If that did not work, I often would then pat their bellies and rub their heads and that helped to calm them back to sleep. I would do a very slow rhythmic pat. If after several pacifier attempts and patting and they were still not going back to sleep, I would get them up and feed them because I assumed it was a growth spurt.

Read Full Post »

Structuring Your Toddler’s Day (two naps a day)

When I first wrote my post about structuring your toddler’s day, I wrote it for when my son was taking one nap a day. But most toddler’s don’t drop the morning nap and move to one nap a day until they are closer to 15-18 months old. My son Cooper dropped the morning nap at 12 months, which is early. My twin daughters are 12 months old and are still taking 2 naps a day. While there are days they only take one nap (due to activities we have planned outside the home), 5-6 out of 7 days they are still taking two naps a day. I thought it would be helpful to write out their schedule at 12 months for parents who are looking to structure their toddler’s day while still on two naps.

Click on each activity to learn more about them. Check back frequently as I add more links to the various activities as I blog about them.

For a sample schedule of a toddler on one nap a day, please see my post entitled Structuring Your Toddler’s Day (one nap a day)

7:00 Nurse, Potty, Dressed for the Day
7:30 Structured Learning/ Free Play
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Free Play in Playroom & Circle Time
9:00 Outside Play
9:45/10:00-11:00 Nap
11:00 Nurse, Potty, Diaper Changes
11:20 Independent Play Time
12:15 Lunch
12:45 High Chair Activity (AKA Table Time/ Transition Time)
1:00 Play With Mommy inside or Outside Play
1:30 Story Time & Quiet Play with Mommy
2:00-4:00 Nap
4:00 Nurse & Snack, Potty, Diaper Change
4:30 Blanket Time
5:00 Sibling Play
5:30 DVD in Playroom (while Mommy gets dinner ready) or Play with Daddy if he is home from work already
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Family Play
7:00 Bath
7:15/7:30 Nurse/Bottles, Followed By Bed

Read Full Post »

What’s on the Blanket? (10-12 Months)

I thought it might be helpful to share what I have been putting on the girls’ blanket for blanket time. The girls are able to stay on the blanket for 30 minutes. I typically do blanket time in the afternoon after they wake up nurse and have a snack. They are nice and rested and ready to play on their blankets without too much fussing. These toys seem to really hold their attention. What I have found to be good blanket time toys are toys that are easy to stack, open and shut, and small objects they can put inside various containers. I also have a few electronic toys that I throw into the rotation.

On a typical blanket I usually put: 1 nesting cup toy, 1 electronic toy, books, and some other toy. There are days when all I put on their blanket is the sensory tub and give them some cups and containers to place things from the sensory tub inside. These toys always work very good for independent playtime.

List of Toys I use for Blanket Time Rotation
Play food
Nesting Cups (Iplay Nesting Cups, Munckin Caterpiller Nesting Cups, and Green Sprout Stacking Cups)
Stacking Rings (Fisher-Price Star Stacker, Melissa & Doug Wooden Stacker, Rattling Stacker)
Shape sorter (Fisher Price Shape Sorter, Melissa & Doug Wooden Shape Sorter)
Small plastic animals (Farm Animals, Zoo Animals, Dinasour Animals)
Laugh & Learn Tea Cup Set
Leap Frog Birthday Cake
Alligator Piano
Old Plastic Containers (large yogurt containers, butter containers)
Large Pom-poms & Shoe box with wholes cut out in the lid to place pom-poms in and out
Clothes pins & Formula container with a whole in the top to place clothes pins through
Sensory Tub
V-Tech Helicopter
V-Tech Laptop
Leap Frog Picnic Basket
Shoe Box with Laminated Photos of Family Members
Touch & Feel Books (DK Touch & Feel, That’s Not My…. Books)
Touch & Feel Flash Cards
Shoe Box with Textured Cards (Glued different fabrics to thick laminated card stock)
Yogurt Container with milk tops to push through a slot in the lid
6 plastic bowls from the dollar tree (They use these to stack and put things inside)
Board Books

For more information about Blanket Time, please see my post entitled “Blanket Time“

Read Full Post »