A Week in the Life of Finn
I've never been one to keep on a schedule. In fact, I've always prided myself on being spontaneous, carefree, and open to the "whatever happens, happens" mentality. David, however, has always worked best when on a schedule. Waking up at the same time each day, eating at the same time each day. While we were dating, some of his rigidity rubbed off on me, and some of my randomness rubbed off on him. We were in a cool little groove. We worked well this way - and then Finn arrived.I always thought my spontenaeity would be a huge positive in parenting, and it was at first. When Finn was a newborn, he was a wildcard. I never knew when to expect a hungry baby, and that was okay. I just rolled with the punches. Around the time I went back to work, Finn got himself into a pretty solid schedule. Of course, I didn't even notice it at first - it was David who started setting me straight as to when to feed the man, when bath nights were, he even got us into a great nighttime routine. I credit David with all of this because I truly believed that we could all just wing it for as long as possible. But once Finn was on a schedule, he became the happiest baby in the world. He slept better, he ate better, he was more content - and of course all of this rubbed off on David and me. We started to actually enjoy parenting.It wasn't until Christmastime that I realized how well Finn works on a schedule. We arrived late the day we drove up to New York. His typical bedtime was around 7pm at that time, and there he was, wide awake at 10pm. I was terrified that he would be fussy all week long. However, by Tuesday of that week, he had worked himself back into his normal schedule all by himself. I was shocked! And it was then that I realized that Finn would likely take after his Dad, at least in this aspect of life :)So what does a normal week look like to Finn? On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays we send him to daycare. I drop him off before work and pick him up just afterwards. The daycare is just a five minute drive from my office, so it's easy. On Mondays, Finn and David have a Daddy Day. David stays home and gets work done while keeping an eye on the crazy kid. On Wednesdays, David's mom and step-dad watch him, which I'm incredibly grateful for!Saturdays and Sundays are usually spent taking walks, playing with Mom and Dad, grocery shopping, the usual stuff.This is a typical day for our 9 1/5 month old:
- 7:00am - wake up (sometimes he gets up a little early, but we let him chat to himself in his crib until 7ish), get dressed, and a bottle
- 8:30am - breakfast, usually oatmeal or eggs
- 10:00am - bottle and down for a morning nap
- 11:30-12pm - wake up from the nap, usually around 1.5-2 hours.
- 12pm - lunch, usually some veggies or fruit
- 1:00pm - bottle
- 3:30pm - early bottle and down for a nap
- 4:30pm - wake up, afternoon naps are typically shorter
- 5:30pm - dinner, usually some veggies or fruit
- 6:00pm - start bedtime routine, bath time, book, pajamas
- 6:30pm - bottle and go to sleep for the evening
This is what we have found to work best for us. Of course, these times are on a typical day, and rarely does he follow this schedule at daycare. As he gets older, he will transition into more solid food, of course. I told the pediatrician that I feel like all we do is feed him, but she was not concerned at his weight and his growth was right on track, so we are going to keep doing what we are doing!