I can’t believe my sweet girl is five moths old already! That means next month is half a year and I could already cry about it! I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Gemma’s schedule and how she’s sleeping, so I will be covering all that today. I’m also going to share some of our current must have baby products and toys that she has been loving.
But first, I want to say that being a parent is hard. Being a mom is the most challenging job in the world. We’re all just trying to do the best we can for our babies and that is what truly matters. I’m going to share some resources along the way that I have found helpful as a new mom. What I share may not align with your values or parenting style and that is okay. BUT I think it’s important to recognize that sometimes we feel like we have to be doing something because everyone else seems to be doing it with their kids. That is not the case, especially if it does not feel right in your mama heart. I want you to know that there are other options. There are other ways. Trusting your mama gut will never steer you wrong!
FUN FACTS
Her eyes are still blue!
She weighed 12 lbs 13 oz & was 24 inches long at her 4 month appointment.
Her new thing is growling and it cracks us up every time.
She loves going for walks with the pups & quad rides with daddy.
She’s always chomping on her hands & drooling all over the place.
Her current fave book is pout pout fish.
She rolls from belly to back & we’re still working on back to belly.
DAILY SCHEDULE
From birth til now, I just let Gemma do her thing. If she’s tired, I let her sleep. If she wants to play, we play. If she’s hungry, she gets a bottle. In the beginning, I knew I had to be this way because newborns are unpredictable. I knew if I went into it with zero expectations of any kind of schedule or routine, I would be much happier and way less stressed.
Even now, I go with the flow because she’s still a baby. I didn’t know this until one of my friends shared it with me, but there are resources out there that will give you schedules based on baby’s age. It’s so important to realize that every baby is different and there is no way that one set schedule will work for everyone. You have to do what works for you! You also have to know that your baby won’t be unpredictable forever. They will fall into their own routine eventually. I would rather go with the flow and be happy than lose my mind trying to get her on a strict daily schedule at such a young age.
Over the past month, Gemma has fallen into her own rhythm and a * typical * day looks like this:
6:30am bottle & back to sleep
10am wake & play
12pm bottle, nap & play
3pm bottle, nap & play
6pm bottle, nap & play
9pm bottle, bath, pjs, sleep sack & story
10pm asleep for the night
Now, I say this is a typical day because sometimes she will sleep till 9am, sometimes she won't go down for the night until 11pm. Sometimes her naps will be two hours, sometimes they will be 45 minutes. Sometimes she will nap and then play, sometimes play and then nap. She eats during the day every three-ish hours and in between bottles we play and nap for however long she needs to. If it’s 3pm and she’s still sleeping, I let her sleep (never wake a sleeping baby!).
Being flexible with her is the best thing I could have done. We are so lucky that she is an easy baby and going out to run errands or going to our parents for dinner is never an issue. I always bring enough formula with us for a bottle or two and I make sure I have her pjs with us if we are expecting to be out a little bit later than usual. I plan on doing a what’s in my diaper bag type post & also showing you how I organize everything for easy access! Stay tuned for that.
SLEEP
First things first. We are BLESSED that Gemma is naturally a great sleeper. Please do not compare her sleep patterns to your baby’s sleep patterns. Most babies do not sleep great which is NORMAL. I repeat, it is normal if your baby, even as a toddler, does not sleep straight through the night without waking. I was actually terrified of this because I am a sleeper, but luckily she is just like her mama.
Because of my fear of lack of sleep, while I was pregnant I swore I would sleep train Gemma. Everyone else seemed to be doing it. All the new moms I follow would talk about taking cara babies or moms on call (two sleep training programs), so I started to follow these accounts in preparation for what was to come.
Then, one day, I came across the account @islagracesleep. THANK GOD. Because now that Gemma is here, I could NEVER let her cry in her bassinet or crib without picking her up. And that’s what sleep training is: cry it out. Even “gentle” sleep training is still sleep training. And that goes against everything my intuition tells me to do. I know this can be a sensitive topic, so all I’m going to say is this…
I was very thankful to come across an account that does not promote sleep training. Instead, it focuses on baby led sleep and well being and creating healthy attachment which makes SO much more sense to my mama heart. If you are a parent to be, I think it’s important to explore both sides before making your decision. Different things work for different families, so you have to do what works for you, but I also believe it’s important to be educated and not hold babies to such a high expectation when it comes to sleep. Babies are not meant to sleep independently through the night at a young age. I had no idea there was even “another side” to sleep training, but I’m sure glad I discovered it.
Now more specifics about Gemma. In the beginning, of course she would wake multiple times during the night and I would feed on demand, etc. We would typically get a three hour stretch when she was a newborn. Then it went to five hour stretches. Now we’re at about an eight hour stretch with her waking maybe once during the night, usually because the dogs get out of be or rob is snoring lol. When this happens, I pick her up and rock her back to sleep and she’s out within a minute.
As far as tips go, we don’t do anything major to get her to sleep through the night. Like I said, she is naturally a great sleeper and I will be forever thankful for that. I do give her an 8oz bottle before bed (she gets 5oz during the day) which I think helps keep her satisfied longer. She typically does not take a pacifier. We’ve tried so many and she just spits them out. We still use the halo sleep sack swaddles and are big fans of them. They were easy to transition from arms in to arms out. She’s been sleeping great with her arms out and she’s pretty much outgrown the startle reflex.
When it came to the four month sleep “regression" we definitely went through it. I would rather call it a progression though. The reason sleep is disrupted is because babies go through a lot developmentally at this age and they want to practice their new skills. They are growing & learning which is a good thing! So why call it a regression when it just means positive things are happening? Yeah it sucks even if you have a great sleeper, but it’s temporary. For about a week & half, Gemma would just cry and cry. She would wake a few times per night, so I often let her just sleep on my chest during this time, especially for naps.
Speaking of naps, I mainly just watch her wake windows so she doesn't get overtired. She will typically stay up for 1.5 -2 hours and then be ready for a nap again. If she does stay up longer and seems content, it’s still a pain to get her down and she will cry. It’s not always easy to get her down, but once she’s asleep, she’s asleep. I still let her nap on me because I love all the baby cuddles and she sleeps the best on me. It’s so important to remember that babies spent 40 weeks (give or take) nice and warm and cuddled up inside of us! So naturally, they still want that warmth and closeness (even at five months) which a crib does not provide. However, I do think I’m going to start putting her down for naps again just because it will give me a lot more freedom to get stuff done and I think she would be just fine.
To wrap things up about sleep, keep in mind this is what works best for us at this point in time. What works for us might not work for you and that is okay. That’s why there are options. If sleep training is what you feel is best, go for it, it does work for a lot of families. If you would rather snuggle your babe and have them sleep right next to you, go for it, that works for a lot of families too! There is never a wrong answer when it comes to trusting your instincts as a mom!
PRODUCTS AND TOYS WE ARE LOVING
When it comes to baby products and gear and toys, I’m pretty minimal. Our house isn’t huge and I don't want a lot of stuff all over the place. She also doesn’t need a ton! But there are definitely a few things so far that have worked great for us!
I pretty much retired her bouncer and now we mainly use the fisher price sit me up seat. It’s worked out great so far. I can just pop her in knowing the dogs won’t bother her and she’s content while I load the dish washer, make a quick meal, or simply go pee. It’s so crazy to see how much head control she has gained since we first put her in it around three months! I also like it because it supports the natural curve of her spine which is a lot better for development than the structure of the bumbo seats.
I tried to get a jumpy that hangs in the doorway, but our ceilings are too high for it and it was a bit big for her at this point. So instead, I caved and ordered this exersaucer. I think it has a cute vibe compared to most that are just ugly lol. Personal preference though! I was unsure about this because our house is small and I literally don’t want baby stuff everywhere, but I am glad we got it. So far, she’s been liking it for short periods of time. Even on the smallest setting, she’s still a tad too short for it so I think she gets tired of her legs just dangling there after a little while. I did try putting a book under her feet but didn’t find it to be super helpful.
I just got this play mat in the mail. We needed something because we have mostly all hardwood floors and like no area rugs (I’m v indecisive when it comes to choosing rugs). I’m super happy with the quality. It’s nice and thick and squishy. It’s reversible and both patterns are cute. It’s non toxic and you can wipe it clean. It’s also very big so she has tons of room to roll around and I can even sit on it with her to play or get a blog post done while she occupies herself! Highly recommend.
As far as little toys and teethers go, some of her faves are: this sensory rattle/teether, these wood & silicone teethers by Lou Lou Lollipop, and this unicorn teether I found at target! Besides these, we love books! Pout Pout Fish, Giraffes Can’t Dance, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I Love You Forever (from target with the polar bears on it) are some of our current faves!
If you made it this far, as always, thanks for reading!
I know this post took me forever to finish, but that’s life with a baby. I can’t believe my girl will be SIX months next week!!! So crazy. You know I’ll be posting milestone photos on Insta so make sure you’re following along!
xoxo
