As your baby grows, feeding will have become established and your days might form a loose daytime routine. It might mean less time spent feeding and settling and more playtime with bub, including walks, visiting friends, reading cloth books, singing and cuddling – even swimming lessons or baby sensory classes for active mums and bubs!

A day in the life…

Here’s a sample daytime routine for three month-olds from Kidwrangling by Kaz Cooke:

• Baby wakes up. Feed: breakfast (breast milk or formula). Play. Sleep.
• Feed: Morning tea (breast milk or formula). Play. Sleep.
• Feed: Lunch (breast milk or formula). Play. Sleep.
• Feed: Afternoon tea (breast milk or formula). Play – introduce a restful activity if the baby is cranky or overtired. Sleep: possibly short or the baby may want to stay awake, but watch for tired signs.
• Bath, wind-down. Feed: dinner (breast milk or formula). Sleep: about 7pm. Feed: supper (breast milk or formula). Sleep: through the night (hey, it’s a plan!).

Are you getting enough sleep?

If you’re not getting around five or six hours’ sleep each night by the time your baby is six months old, speak to an early childhood nurse for some advice on how to adjust your daytime routine.

Important!

It’s worth bearing in mind that routines are easy for some babies to pick up, and not so easy for others, so these are only suggestions and guidelines.