Daily Routine With a 12 Week-Old Baby


12 week old babyHere it is – our daily routine: 24 hours in the day of a first time mom and an almost-12 week old baby!  If you make it through this post, you’re clearly a mom or expecting since I don’t think anyone else could read this without falling asleep. Either that, or you really enjoyed the movie Groundhog Day.

7:00 am Wake up from a loooong night of fussing/waking up every hour and a half (we’ve hit the 12 week growth spurt). Change and feed Olivia.

7:25 am Put her in her rocker and chat with her while I pump.

7:50 am Hop into the shower for 5 minutes. Straighten up the bedroom, gather all of the night’s bottles and put them into my pump bag for washing.

8:00 am Now that I’m clean and have straightened up, I lay O on the bed and change her out of her PJs and into her day clothes. I brush her hair, sing her a special “Good Morning” song that makes her smile, and we read Where is Baby’s Bellybutton?. I make a game out of putting away the clean laundry from the night before so she can feel the different textures.

8:20 am I scoop up the pump bag and we head downstairs. Next, it’s on to her play mat for some tummy time.  After 15 min, I flip her on her back and go wash the bottles and pump parts and get my breakfast  ready. I keep an eye on her from the sink.  I microwave some oats with milk, flaxseed meal and sliced peaches. And coffee, of course.

8:45 am I put Olivia in her Snugabunny swing for nap time with her favorite blankie.  I try not to use the pacifier if I can help it, and I don’t need to this time since she falls asleep within 5 minutes.

8:50 am I eat breakfast and browse the internet while O naps.

9:50 am O wakes up and I feed her.

10:10 am I place her on my knees and use the Zo-li to file her nails while we chat.  She loves this, and I get lots of smiles.

10:25 am I lay Olivia next to me while I pump.  She is busy smiling and cooing at the ceiling, even though I try to show her the Fishy Tails book.

10:45 am I’m done  pumping, so I put the pump parts and milk in the fridge, change Olivia, and take her outside for a few minutes for a change of scenery.  It’s really hot out today, so we don’t stay out for long.

10:50 am We go back to they play mat, and Olivia plays with her toys as I read her the latest news from US Weekly. She seems more interested in batting at her toys, thank goodness!

11:10 am Olivia’s getting a bit fussy, so we go over to the couch and I lay her on my knees facing me and we read Fishy Tails and talk about the different colors and textures of the tails, which I help her grab.

11:20 am O’s clearly ready for a nap, so I put her back in the swing and she falls asleep right away.  I go wash her bottle, prep more formula and straighten up a bit.

12:20 pm O wakes up from her nap and is super hungry

12:50 pm Diaper change and tummy time in the pack and play.

1:00 pm I move O to the napper part of her pack and play, and she plays with one of her favorite toys while I wash her bottle.  Can you tell that I’m super OCD about not having bottles pile up?

1:20 pm O is still fascinated by her toy and cooing up a storm so I take the opportunity to pump.

1:40 pm O is getting a bit fussy, so I pick her up to play but she isn’t having it.  I put her back in the swing to nap.

2:40 pm Olivia wakes up. What is up with her precision?! All of her naps today have been exactly one hour long!  Oh, wait, she looked around for a bit and decided she wasn’t ready to wake up yet.  Wohoo, more me time!!

3:40 pm Olivia slowly wakes up

3:50 pm I feed Olivia, and she falls asleep after 3oz so I put her in her pack and play napper so I can pump.  She wakes up, of course 🙂

12 week old baby

4:30 pm I wrap up pumping, and change Olivia.  Then I put her on my lap and sing songs to her.

4:50 pm O starts to get a bit fussy, so I decide to put her in her Moby wrap while I make dinner (quinoa salad with avocados and tomatoes) and prep hubby’s lunch for tomorrow.

5:30 pm O is done with being carried, so I lay her on her mat since I’m finished with the cooking.  She bats at her toys for a while and decides sucking on her fists is WAY more interesting.  She turns from her back onto her side!

6:20 pm There’s a chunk of time I lost in here.  Hey, I’m impressed I’ve made it this far!  O just fell asleep in her swing.  Hubby comes home and we eat dinner and watch some TV before she wakes up.  These moments are rare – one of us is usually holding/feeding her while the other eats.

6:50 pm O wakes up. Hubby feeds her while I browse the Internet and eat an ice cream sandwich. Ok, two.

7:10 pm I pump while hubby plays with O. He makes sad faces at her and she copies them back and laughs!!

7:45 pm I put dinner dishes in dishwasher, wash the bottle and pump parts and get the bag ready so we can go upstairs: 3 bottles for the night – 1 formula, 2 breast milk (in a cooler pack), my Gatorade and pump parts.

8:00 pm we head upstairs. I brush my teeth and get ready for bed while hubby gets O ready. He changes her diaper, puts her pjs on, brushes her hair and tries to read her the Sleepy Bunny book but she is ready to eat!

8:15 pm I feed O. She fusses a bit more than usual but eats 4.75 oz, which is a lot for her. She falls asleep in my arms.

9:00 pm I swaddle O and put her in her bassinet. Hubby is already passed out. I get in bed, hoping for a good 5-6 hour stretch of sleep.

11:45 pm O wakes up, fussing around because she escaped from her swaddle and is furiously rubbing her head.  Hubby re-swaddles her and she’s out.

1:45 am O is up again, and I feed her.  I hold her while she sleeps and browse FB to keep myself awake.  Even though we went to bed early, I’m so tired.  I go to take a sip of Gatorade and spill it all over the carpet.  I then use a big blanket to wipe it when I could have used a couple of washcloths.  I’m trying to maneuver all of this so O (who I’m still holding) doesn’t wake up.

2:30 am I swaddle Olivia and put her in her bassinet.

5:30 am Rise and shine! Olivia’s fussing around, body slamming her bassinet with her legs.  She’s escaped the swaddle, of course. Hubby changes her.

5:45 am I feed Olivia.  Judging by her wide eyes, she is not going back to bed!

6:10 am Hubby puts her in her rocker while I brush my teeth and straighten up.  I pump and we chat with her while he gets ready for work.

6:30 am Hop into the shower for 5 minutes. Straighten up the bedroom, gather all of the night’s bottles and put them into my pump bag for washing (sound familiar?).

6:50 am Now that I’m clean and have straightened up, I lay O on the bed and change her out of her PJs and into her day clothes. I brush her hair, sing her the “Good Morning” song, and we read Where’s Baby’s Bellybutton?. We head downstairs to start the day!

Our days are pretty much like this, although we usually try to get out of the house at least once, whether it’s for a walk or a Target run.

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2 Comments

  1. I enjoy your posts. Our babies are both July babies. I see that you are still doing naps in the swing. I have been too. I started to transition my girl to the crib this week but she sleeps for shorter time periods (20 min). Have you tried it yet? Any thoughts or advice? She sleeps in her crib at night. Thanks!

    • Thanks, Gina!! Yes, I’m slowly starting to transition her from the swing to her pack and play bassinet (I’ve removed the newborn napper), since they’re both in the living room and the co-sleeper is all the way upstairs. We haven’t even started on the crib in her room yet 🙂 O definitely doesn’t sleep as soundly in the PnP – 30-40 min naps at most, just like your little one, even though she is able to sleep flat in her co-sleeper at night. I found that what helps, though, is having an infant body insert in the bassinet, so she feels a bit of the same support around her head and sides that she would in the swing. We have the Summer Infant Snuzzler, but I’ve also heard great things about the JJ Cole Body Support. I also wait about 30 min longer to put her down for her nap, that way she’s more likely to fall asleep in there.

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