A Daily Routine

As a new mom I find myself with a lot of questions. I want to make sure that I am doing everything I need to do to help Payton live an enriched life. I want her to be happy, smart, nice to others, etc. If there is anything I can do to help her be all those things I want to do them.

I remember talking to a friend of mine that I used to work with. She made the comment that she thought it was good for her daughter to be in day care because the care givers were trained in early childhood development and she wasn’t. That made me a little nervous when thinking about raising Payton; after all I am not trained in early childhood development. Thus came the thought “What do I do with my baby?” You can only sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star so many times and she can only look at the same toy for so long, right?

Then I remembered the Supernanny. Have you ever watched Supernanny? One of the things Jo Frost suggested many families to do was to make a daily routine for their kids. She says that children do much better when they have structure. I think parents also do better with some structure. :o) I am the kind of person that can’t seem to make dinner if I haven’t planned a menu for the month. Anyway, I decided to make a daily routine for Payton. Payton’s schedule goes like this:

7:30 – 8:00 Nursing
8:00 – 9:00 Bath/Play
9:00 – 10:00 Breakfast
10:00 – 12:00 Nurse/Nap
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 3:00 Play
3:00 – 5:00 Nurse/Nap
5:00 – 6:00 Play
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00 – 8:00 Play
8:00 Nurse/Bed

If you are like me, you may try and follow the schedule to the “T”. However, from what I have read the times aren’t meant to be restrictive or set in stone. For instance Payton may sleep until 8:30 or she may only nap for 1 hour, I don’t worry about it. I just keep going with whatever is next on the schedule.

Payton and I have both done a lot better since I have put together a schedule for her. I get to have a plan for the day and she, for the most part, has an idea of what to expect next.

Now the schedule doesn’t totally help my thought of “What do I do with my baby?” So in addition to the schedule, I have been trying to come up with a list of games/activities to use with Payton during the “play times” in the schedule. My goal is to have different types of games/activities to use at each play time. For instance, during the morning play time we usually spend time in her room reading books, singing songs, or playing with toys. During the afternoon play time we may go to a play date, for a walk, etc.. I signed up for the weekly emails from BabyCenter.com and in those emails they suggest game/activity ideas that you can do with your baby. They are great! I have been trying to keep a list of the suggestions I like so that I can easily reference them when I think “What do I do now?” I also have a couple of books with game/activity ideas that I can pull ideas from.

I will have to share my favorites in a future post.

Does anyone have any fun game/activity ideas that they really enjoy doing with their wee one? Or does anyone have any good or bad experiences with using a daily routine?

Traveling with an infant.

I am a planner. I like to be prepared for any situation. I am the person that will pack a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a jacket for a trip in the middle of summer because it may get cold. Now that I have a baby…

I remember the first time my husband and I traveled with Payton; we drove two hours away to visit my grandmother for the 4th of July. You’d have thought we were moving. Everything came with us; the baby bath tub, bouncy seat, entertainment mat, and port-a-crib…need I say more. I honestly thought I needed it all to take care of my baby.

More recently we went on another trip, this trip involved flying from California to Iowa. I mentioned before that I was a planner; well I am also a thrifty person and could not bring myself to pay extra to check suitcases through. I worked and worked until I packed everything for my husband, Payton, and I in two carry on suitcases. My husband thought I was crazy. Although I did better about packing what we realistically needed, I know I can still improve.

Things I learned on this past trip.

• When purchasing plane tickets for you, your husband, and baby (if traveling as a lap child) book the isle and window seat. The middle seats are usually the last to be taken, giving you a better chance at having a seat for the baby too. Even if someone does book the seat between you and your travel partner the chances are they will swap you for either the isle or the window seat.
• Take advantage of the local Walmart or Target. Only take as many diapers, baby food, etc. as you need to get you through until you can get to the store. I packed diapers, wipes, and food for the whole trip. I regretted as soon as I had to take all the baby food out at the airport to be checked. Save yourself the trouble.
• Did you know most hotels have play yards or portable cribs? Nice! Make sure they give you a sheet to cover the pad.
• Bathing a baby in a hotel. You surprisingly don’t need a baby bath tub! Lay them on a hand towel, fill tub with water only until it barely touches your baby’s ear and wash away. You can also do this in a shower with no tub by stopping the drain with a wash cloth or hand towel. Who knew?
• You don’t need to take a lot of toys. With the new environment Payton hardly played with the toys I brought, she was more interested in the new people and surroundings. I would say that whatever toys you normally carry in your diaper back is plenty. Maybe bring a baby book.
  I am sure that I will continue to learn what we “really” need while traveling as Payton gets older and as we have more kids.

I would love to hear things that others have learned while traveling with infants, make a comment. :o)