Sleep Consultant & Daily Schedule

Hello loves!

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a great week! I am so ready for the long weekend! Both girls came down with the dreaded summer cold one after another! We are slowly on the mend now.This month has been so busy with birthdays, end of summer and I am planning to do preschool at home with Harlow this year because she is unable to go to preschool this year because she isn’t going poop on the potty yet. (TMI ?) Wanted to share where we are with potty training!

I have never shared to much in detail about our daily and what I do during the day with my girls! I am no expert most of my knowledge comes from instinct, caffeine and learning from my mom. I have never been one of those moms who puts their kids on a schedule for sleep but all that changed when I met my good friend Lauren from @sleepandthecity. She is an absolute goddess when it comes to scheduling and helping your babes sleep so us as parents can function during the day and sleep at night! I put in what I call our ‘sloppy schedule’ before Lauren helped us out with her phenomenal Sleep & Eating guide for 0-3!

I will explain more how it changed my balance throughout the day and helped both my girls nap during the day at the same time! Let’s check out my daily before Lauren and then the after!

600am– Sutton wakes up to nurse and then falls back asleep

9am wakeup time for both girls (We all snuggle in bed I nurse Sutton again and Harlow watches TV)

10- 11am– breakfast for both

11am– get dressed/ lay sutton down for her nap

Usually from 11-1pm I play with Harlow outside/ in her play room or if we have to run errands I will skip Sutton’s nap and we will get our errands done.

Sutton will wake up around 1245pm and I will nurse her

1-130pm – Lunch for both

230- 3pm I will put them both down for a nap.

445pm – They wake up.I nurse Sutton, then the girls play. Daddy is home early lately so they play before dinner.

6pm – Dinner

730pm– Play before bed

800pm– get ready for bed

Usually asleep by 9pm- Sutton is always asleep around 815pm she doesn’t take long to get ready. I nurse her and then read her a story. Harlow procrastinates and we snuggle and read books with her and it is usually 9 when she goes to bed.

Sutton will still wake up at 4am to nurse. I know that is bad and I shouldn’t have created that habit. Lately it has been 2 or 3 times a night (due to her cold),are probably in shock and thinking wow she is the worst mom ever. Letting my almost 1 year old wake up in the middle of the night to nurse is a huge no no. Lauren’s guide has really helped me to understand a schedule isn’t terrible and helpful for children to develop routine in order to sleep peacefully longer. My biggest downfall is wake up time in the morning. When Sutton wakes up so early in the morning she nurses and then instantly falls asleep and will sleep for 4 hours and wake up around 9am.

Here is what I have learned from Lauren:

My new revised schedule for us!

7am- wake up for both girls

8am- breakfast

9am-dressed, Preschool for Harlow, Sutton will nap

10am- Harlow will go outside with just mommy!

11am- Sutton up, nurse, then take a walk around our neighborhood

12pm- Lunch for both

130- nap both girls

330- wake up and snack

4pm- walk again

5- dinner prep eat around 6

715pm – get ready for bed

8pm- god willing both my babes will be in bed and sleeping

Lauren’s guide is available on her website here; goes in detail with what is happening in your child’s brain and how it has to do with sleep, how many naps at what age, and how long a nap should be. The guide I am referencing in this post is her Sleep and Feeding Schedule for Newborn to 3 years old. It fit the best because Sutton is going to be 1 next month and Harlow just turned 3. All of Lauren’s guides will help prepare new parents but experienced parents like me for when your kids are opposites and one is a good sleeper and the other isn’t.

Lauren told me to get dockatot which I did. We switched over our music to the Hatch Baby. Dockatot was for Sutton (she now grew out of it and haven’t upgraded) and the hatch baby is for Harlow so she knows when she can wake up and when it is still sleep time! If you don’t have these two items I encourage you to spend the money because it is worth it!Hatch Baby is located on Harlow’s dresser in the picture below

Lauren told me also never to have my girls sleep longer than 3 hours and be sure there is at least 4 hours before bedtime. There is always things to be learned and I am constantly learning but any sleep related questions I definitely go to my girl Lauren! Also following her instagram @sleepandthecity will give tips and advice as well as debunk those myths we believe.