How should I structure the day for my 3.5mth baby who will soon be fulltime at nursery?
My daughter of 3.5mths is currently doing very well on the routines, goes down well at 7pm and just in the last week has started sleeping through from the last feed at 11pm until around 7am most days. I am now starting to bring forward the 11pm feed by 5mins a night and am going to reduce the amount offered as she is starting to eat less at 7am. The lunchtime nap is still a struggle but I am currently trying to train this through taking her out in the buggy for two hours (she will sleep the whole time) or taking her to bed with me if she wakes after 45mins and refuses to go back down. My husband doesn’t get home from work until 6.10pm and likes to be involved with bath time, so I have adapted the routine to the extent that we split the feed with a feed at 5pm, playtime till 6.20/6.25pm, bath around 6.30pm with the final bottle in the nursery at around 6.45pm.
My problem is that I am going back to work four days a week in four weeks time, and this will involve my daughter being dropped off at nursery at 8am and being picked up at 6pm (my husband and I are sharing drop offs and pickups). We are fortunate in that our nursery is around 2mins walk from our house and on our way to the railway station. Currently my husband is up at 6am to get ready for work, and when I return to work we will both be up at 6am.
We have a small two-bedroom flat which makes it hard to get ready and not disturb my daughter, despite her being in her own room with the door shut. I’m worried how we are going to get her up, fed, dressed and at nursery by 8am particularly once we start introducing solids. Should we adapt the routine for a slightly earlier start 6.30am with a longer nap around 8.30am instead of 9am? Similarly, at the end of the day our current routine with the later bath and split feed should work. Is this a reasonable adaptation of the routine? And again, once weaning commenced, should we continue to split the feed and when should the solids be given?
My daughter feeds at 7.15am 160-200mls formula, 10.45am 200-230mls, [often has this feed by 10am as hungry]. 2.15pm 180-210mls, 5.00pm 60-160mls, 6.45pm 130-200mls and 11.15pm 130-200mls.
My daughter weighs 14lbs 12ozs.
My daughter naps at 9-9.45am, 12-12.45pm, 1.15-2.15pm and 4-4.30pm.
Although the prospect of getting your daughter up and ready to be dropped at nursery by 8am seems daunting at present, once the time comes you will find she will probably adapt quite quickly to her new routine.
Until your baby is ready to be weaned continue to offer her a feed when you get her up or, if she wakes, possibly around 6.30am. If she has so far not been woken by her father getting up at 6am you may find she will continue to sleep until nearer 7am. If you yourself are up and ready by then you can spend the next hour giving her a feed and dressing her ready for nursery.
If your daughter is feeding at 6.30am then be prepared for her to need a small top-up, possibly on her arrival at nursery, to see her through to at least 10.30am, especially as she already is often hungry at 10am when at home with you.
Depending on the time your daughter wakes in the morning suggest to the nursery staff that she has her nap around 8.30/8.45am. It may take your daughter a while to settle down and sleep well at nursery. It is not unusual in the first few weeks for a baby starting nursery to have less sleep then she may do at home. Providing the nursery gives you a detailed daily report you will be able to work out the best time for her to go down for her naps. If your daughter does sleep from 8.30-9.15am she may need another short catnap around 10.45/11am to see her through to 12.15/12.30pm when she is put down for her lunchtime nap.
You are probably aware of the current guidelines of waiting until nearer to six months before starting to wean a baby. You also need to be sure before you begin that your daughter is showing all the signs that she is ready to wean:
- She is taking 4-5 full feeds a day. A full feed is 240mls.
- She is very hungry long before her next feed is due or seems unsatisfied at the end of a full feed.
- She is waking earlier from naps or starts to wake with hunger in the night having previously slept through.
- She is constantly putting her hands in her mouth and chewing on them.
- She is watching you intently when you are eating.
- She is dribbling a lot.
If your daughter is showing all these signs long before she is six months old then do discuss your concerns with your health visitor or doctor.
Once you do decide to wean you will find that your baby’s routine in the morning does not change too much in the first few weeks. Breakfast is the last meal to be introduced. By the time you have got this far with weaning your daughter will be used to the nursery routine and you will be able to judge what will work best.
You may give her a feed when she wakes and then wait until she is at nursery at 8am before she receives her solids or it may be better for her to have her solids before leaving home. Once she is ready for finger foods she may enjoy having some toast fingers once she is at nursery even if she has had her cereal earlier.
When you start weaning, you may find it will help your daughter to have a small milk feed at 5pm (at the nursery) if she will have to wait until you are at home, after 6pm, before she has her milk and solids. If you wait until nearer six months to wean your daughter, within a few weeks she will be having her solids at 5pm. This will be easy to arrange with her nursery timings and then she can enjoy her bedtime bottle once she is home again and bathed.