3.5 EASY

As I have mentioned before, I have Kaylee on a schedule that is described in the Baby Whisperer books. It is the acronym Eat Awake Sleep You (EASY). From the time she was born she has been on what is called a 3 EASY. Eating every 3 hours, being awake anywhere from 45 minutes to 1hr 15 minutes, and sleeping 1.5-2 hours every 3 hours. It has been great to have her on a schedule so I know when things are going to happen every day.

About two weeks ago things seemed to start to unravel. She started waking up 15 minutes before she was supposed to from every nap. She wasn't very hungry ever and would only eat for 5 minutes. Then at night she would eat for almost 30! She started waking up two or three times a night, something she hasn't ever done. Along with that she was fighting every single nap like a wild animal and would end up finally passing out after being awake for 1.5 hours almost to the minute. I couldn't figure out what was going on!

Finally after going back and reading parts of the "BW solves all your problems" book I realized that she was giving every single signal in the book saying that she needed a 3.5 EASY! So yesterday I started her new routine. If you look here you can see an example of her old routine, and here is her new one:


E-8:00 am - Wake Kaylee up and feed her
A-8:15 am - Usually she sits in her swing while I make my breakfast, then she does tummy time
I always start her nap routine at 9:10 and it usually takes around 20 minutes. She NEEDS to be swaddled by 9:15
S-9:30 - Asleep
Y-9:35 am - Pick up the house, and put away any clothes in the dryer from the night before. Exercise Hobbs on the treadmill, computer time
E-11:30 am - Feed
A-11:45 am - Sometimes we walk with the dogs, or she lays in her play gym for a while
S-1:00 am - Asleep
Y-1:05 pm - Do housework, take a shower, eat lunch
E-3:00 pm - Feed
A-3:10 pm - Bumbo seat, errands, stories, more tummy time, basically whatever she wants
S-4:30 pm - Asleep
Y-2:45 pm - Nap, computer time or work out
E-6:30 pm - Feed
A-6:45 pm - Hang out with Daddy, Bedtime routine: Bath, Massage with lotion, PJ's, Song (hummed), Swaddle
E-7:45 - Usually just a small snack after she is swaddled just to tank her up for the night
S-8:00 pm - Asleep for the night
Y-8:05 pm - Eat dinner, relax
Dream Feed - 10:00-10:30 pm - I do this with pumped milk in a bottle because it doesn't wake her up as much as nursing does. I pick her up while she is asleep, pop the bottle in her mouth and hope she stays asleep until I put her back in her crib. 9.5 times out of 10 she stays very deeply asleep.

It was like magic!! She slept all the way through her naps, not even waking at her 45 minute sleep cycle change. She was back to eating for 10-15 minutes, and was only a little fussy when it was time for naps and bed! I wish I would have realized earlier that this was what she needed.

Just for records' sake, Kaylee slept for a whole day of naps with her arms out of her swaddle. I did it to see if she was ready and at first thought she was. Then by her short nap (this was before we switched routines) she was obviously VERY tired and cranky so I swaddled her arms in and she slept much better. So she isnt' quite ready for arm out yet....maybe next month!

I will eternally be glad that I have a baby who is on a schedule and is so predictable! Hopefully the next one is as good.

Baby Whisperer

I posted a while ago during my pregnancy about a book called "The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer". It has been SO helpful these first few weeks with Kaylee. I recently got another book by the same author called "The Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems" and it is even better than the first one! It has more details on how to implement the techniques in the first book.

For the past three days (today being the third day) I have been keeping Kaylee on a 3 hour feeding schedule that is suggested in the book. The suggestion is to keep the baby on a routine of Eating then being Active then Sleeping while I get some You time. That comes out to be the acronym E.A.S.Y.

Here is an example of what our day looks like:

E-8:00 am - Wake Kaylee up and feed her
A-8:25 am - Change her diaper, talk to her, and sometimes put her in the swing
S-8:40 am - Start her nap routine, usually takes around 20-30 minutes
Y-9:00 am - Eat breakfast, and relax or nap
E-11:00 am - Feed
A-11:25 am - Change...usually all she can handle during this awake period
S-11:40 am - Put down for nap
Y-12:00 pm - Do housework, take a shower, eat lunch
E-2:00 pm - Feed
A-2:25 pm - Change, play/tummy time
S-2:30 pm - Put down for nap
Y-2:45 pm - Nap
E-5:00 pm - Feed
A-5:25 pm - Change, play or bath
S-5:40 pm - Put down for nap, this is usually her hardest nap it sometimes takes 45 minutes to get her to sleep
Y-6:15 pm - Cook and eat dinner, relax
E-9:00pm - Feed
A-9:25 pm - Change
S-9:30 pm - Put down for Bed
Y-10:00 pm - Go to bed!

Then she wakes up between 2 and 4 am for a feeding and goes right back to sleep....not always, but most of the time

So there you have it! This has been so good for her and me the last few days. It makes it much easier for me to get things done during the day because I know when she will be sleeping and when I need to wake her up next. I definitely recommend this book to everyone with a newborn baby!