Since I’ve become a mum, one thing I’ve found really useful is seeing what other people do with their babies. Things like routine and feeding schedules were so handy for me, especially as a new mum. Feeding schedules offer up ideas for things that I can feed my baby, and seeing how other people structure their day gives me ideas too.
Obviously not everyone is big on routine, but personally I don’t think we could survive without one! Trying to juggle a toddler, work, blogging, family life, cleaning and all the other life admin things would be almost impossible without having some sort of structure in place. Routine really works for us, as I know when Jack will be sleeping and eating, and I can sort of plan our day around this. Jack loves routine too and when he’s out of it, his mood really changes. So luckily it’s a bit of a win-win for all of us!
I think as a first time mum with everything being new, this type of stuff can be so handy. So I thought I’d share Jack’s daily routine and feeding schedule, as well as a look at what I might feed him in a typical day. Obviously this schedule is flexible, but we try and keep his nap time as close to 11am as possible.
At the moment Jack is waking most mornings around 7.30am and others at around 7am. In this case the nap time remains the same at 11am, and he gets a milk drink on wake up and breakfast about an hour after waking. So sometimes breakfast might be 8.30am and other times it’s closer to 8am.
Jack is now fully on cow’s milk, and has been since about 12 & 1/2 months. The food below is just a sample of what he might get. We try to give him as many healthy, low-sugar, and filling foods as possible, and also offer water at every meal and throughout the day. We also don’t give him anything processed, so he doesn’t get sausages, cheerios, ham, chicken nuggets, or anything like that on a regular basis.
13 Month Old Daily Routine
7.30am: Wakeup & 160ml bottle of cow’s milk
8.30am: Breakfast – Usually 1 Weet-Bix crushed up, with fruit (usually either kiwi/apple/banana/peaches/pear) and cow’s milk
10am: Cow’s milk in a sippy cup (approx 100-150ml)
10.30am: Morning tea – usually a couple of Little Bellies biscuits or puffs and half a banana
11am: Morning nap
1pm: Wake up
1.15pm: Lunch – usually a Vegemite & cheese sandwich + 1/2 a banana OR scrambled egg and toast.
3pm: Cow’s milk drink (approx 150ml). Jack usually has a little bit of TV time around now, which allows me to get a few extra things done and keeps him interested while he’s having his food and milk.
3.15pm: Afternoon tea – Usually cheese and crackers + a mandarin OR a baby pancake and mini muffin and yoghurt.
6pm: Dinner – Always some veggies & meat + a 1/2 slice of bread with peanut butter + yoghurt OR fruit.
6.30pm: Bath time + 90ml of cow’s milk right before bed
7pm: Bedtime
In terms of naps, I let Jack have as long as he needs with his nap (unless we are going out, in that case I will wake him). Sometimes he might only sleep an hour, but usually it is between 1.5-2 hours. Bedtime is always around 7pm and usually no later than 7.15pm. He goes to bed at night really well, and is always well and truely asleep by 7.30pm.
Sometimes he does wake during the night and I give him a few minute to self-settle which he often does. If he doesn’t, I’ll go in and resettle him with his dummy. In the mornings, we never get him out of bed until at least 6.30am (unless he is really upset). If he wakes earlier, he usually just lies there and chats to his animals, although generally he is waking between 7-8am at the moment anyway.
