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04.04.18

Harper’s 3 Month Update and Schedule

How to dress for mom and daughter photos

I’ve received a ton of questions about Harper and her schedule, so I thought I would share updates by month. It’s also just a good way to document these early stages (when days are still a blur, lol), so I can look back on them and reminisce. Plus, I hope these posts will help other mamas either get tips, resources, or help you feel like you’re not alone. Motherhood is such a joy, but it can also be tough, and there’s no better remedy than feeling like you can relate to someone else.

This last month has been such a joy. Harper is an absolute doll and such a good baby. She’s smiling a ton, talking up a storm (more like babbling), and just downright adorable. I finally feel like I’m her mom and not just her source of food, lol. She’s the happiest in my arms and I can’t even put into words how that makes me feel. She’s growing up so fast, literally and figuratively. She’s outgrowing all her clothes and developing so much. When I put away her small clothes it makes me sad she’s not a teeny tiny baby, but I’m also excited for the next phases of her life. Other than her baths, this girl is one happy girl. At 3  months she’s a happy baby that knows what she wants. Which is the perfect balance of her mom and dad (Mike being the happy one, lol).

As a reminder, every family does things differently. What works for us right now, might not work for you or might not be the best for you and that’s okay.

Crystalin marie's baby Harper

Naps

Harper is currently taking around 5 naps / day. She naps in her crib in her Happiest Baby Sleepea. We start her nap routine when we see her tired cues (yawn or scratching her eyes) or if she’s been awake for 1.5 hours. Watching for her cues allows us to start her nap routine and get her down before she gets overtired, which ultimately makes the whole process easier. Depending on the day, she will sleep anywhere from 45 mins – 2 hrs. When she was very little, we used to turn on her white noise, swaddle her, and walk around with her for a little bit (until her eyes would get heavy). We noticed, putting her down in her crib after being swaddle right away was working better, so we started doing that instead. Depending on her mood and time of day, she will either babble for a little bit and fall asleep or will babble for a long time, which turns into a mild cry, where we will intervene and either pat her or give her her pacifier. She’s still figuring out how to put herself back to sleep between sleep cycles. Some days she can get herself back to sleep, other days we will help her. Her first 2 naps of the day are her best and they gradually get shorter throughout the day. We know it’s not easy for babies to put themselves to sleep, so we feel pretty lucky.

Awake Time

After she wakes and feeds, we give her awake time. We will either read books (these are her favorite), do animal cards, sing songs, have conversations, walk around with her showing her objects in the house, give her some mirror time, or use our play gym. We follow the Baby Whisperers schedule, so at Harper’s age the time between naps is 1.5 hours. With that being said, we also look for sleep cues (as mentioned above). Harper is the queen of the 40 minute mark. She yawns or scratches her eyes around 40 minutes nearly every time, which we then start her nap routine. According to the Baby Whisperer, by 4 months her awake time should be 2 hours. Not sure if she’ll get there, so my advice to other mamas, follow your baby’s lead with sleeping. Get them down early, so you don’t have to fight them to sleep.

We’ve been using this lounger for awake time and we love it! It puts Harper in a more upright position, which allows her to see more and not feel like she’s laying down all the time (we prop it up a bit with a towel). It also helps with digestion and spitting up. I also just bought this wedge to help prop her up while laying down and using her play gym.

Feeding

We’re exclusively breastfeeding right now. Early on Mike would bottle feed every so often (when I needed to be gone from the house longer than 3 hours) and she did really well with that. We weren’t consistent and the other day we tried to give her the bottle and she wouldn’t take it. I really hope we didn’t miss that prime time window… Now that she’s old enough to have a preference, we might be screwed, lol. Other than over-producing in the beginning (I’ve regulated since), nursing has come very naturally for both Harper and I. I know BF can be tough, so I feel really lucky. I did notice this last month, she’s become a little more fussy toward the end of day. When she initially started doing this, I was freaking out and thought something was wrong with my supply (flow, taste, etc.). After doing some research, I realized this was just a thing that some babies do (could be caused by tiredness, growth spurt, or nothing at all). Thankfully, it’s not an everyday occurrence.

Harper has always been an efficient eater. The longest she’s eaten has been around 30 minutes. Now that she’s older, our feedings last around 15 minutes. She’s also really good at telling me she’s done. She’s currently feeding 5-6 times / day and taking in about 3-5 oz per feed. I will get into more detail on the 5-6 times / day schedule in a later post, but in general it’s based on how the day has gone and whether Harper had enough milk to help her sleep through the night.

Night Time

We have been doing the same night time routine since she was born. There’s been a couple tweaks (we didn’t’ know what we were doing in the beginning, lol), but in general, it’s been the same. We have stopped the baths because she absolutely hates them. To make the process stress-free for everyone, we take baths during the day now. Basically, she will feed and get burped in her nursery and then we move to our room where her bassinet is and play Ed Sheeran’s Perfect song. I hold her upright and sing while the song plays twice. I hand her off to Mike to get swaddled (in her Snoo Sack) and held for a little bit longer (upright) and then we place her in the Snoo. The reason we don’t read or have awake time after this feeding – she would always fall asleep super hard when she was tiny (to the point where she couldn’t be woken up). This has changed more recently, but I’m scared to change up the routine, so we’re just going with it. Also, the reason we hold her up so much before she goes to bed – she had a case of silent reflux when she was smaller. We would put her down for bed and like clockwork she would start to make noises at 2 am. They were so loud, we couldn’t sleep. I did a ton of research, but basically, we try to keep her vertical after her nighttime feed for 20 minutes to let everything digest. It has since worked / she might have outgrown it (which is common).

By 2 months, she was sleeping through the night. She’s asleep by 7:30-8:00 pm and sleeps until around 6-7 am. We have been VERY lucky with Harper’s sleeping. We talk about it all the time, but we say it’s 50% us and our routine and 50% Harper, haha. She has slept in her Snoo since the 1st day we brought her home from the hospital. I’ve received so many questions about how we like the Snoo. My easy answer, it works for us, but I will be doing a detailed review soon.  

Harper's 3 month update and schedule

Favorites at 3 Months

Boppy lounger – I bought this about a month ago and we’ve used it everyday since. It’s a great way to have baby propped up. As mentioned above, we had some issues with silent reflux, so after she eats I like to have her upright. This was the perfect solution. Honestly, even if your baby doesn’t have issues with reflux, this lounger is a nice option for baby to hang out it. 

H&M kimono onesies – Either your a buttons person or your not. I happen to like these kimonos because you can open them up and lay them flat. Nothing goes over baby’s head and they don’t get upset. Mike happens to be the opposite. He likes the easy ones, that slip over the head with the least amount of buttons. He’s biased because his hands are big and he can slip the onesie over the head while lifting her head at the same time. I also prefer the look of these. Easy and basic, but still stylish. Also, H&M clothes tend to run more narrow and fitted, which I actually like. 

Owlivia onesies – These are hands down our favorite to sleep in. They’re nice and thick and once you wash them they’re super soft. They also fit really well. I put her in footed onesies from Gap and Old Navy and her feet wouldn’t stay in… also both said brands run wide, which hasn’t been the best fit for Harper. The zipper is also a game changer. These come in multiple colors and we buy ours on Amazon, which means fast shipping!

Ecco Piggy pacifier – We’ve been using these pacifiers since day 3. She took to it fairly simply, so we haven’t had to try anything else. Natural and no chemicals!

Nuna leaf – I’m not sure if I would recommend this product, but we had it and Harper has taken to it, so we’ve been using it quite a bit. The chair and accessories are sold separately, which is pretty stupid IMO. Basically, it’s a chair that sways back and forth, but you have to do it yourself. If you want the motorized piece, you have to purchase it separately. We use this when both Mike and I need to go hands free. For the most part, Harper will sit in it and hang out. If your baby needs more stimulation or doesn’t like to be placed in chairs that aren’t in constant motion, this might not be for you (or get the motorized piece). 

Soundbub white noise machine – We were gifted this white noise machine and instantly loved it! We were using one that only had 10, 20, and 30 minute options, but this one stays on until you turn it off. You can do so much with it (record songs, make playlists, etc.), but so far we’ve just been using the white noise. It’s adorable and small enough to travel with.  It gets pretty loud, too!

Happiest Baby Sleepea swaddle – We struggled hard with swaddles in the beginning. We tried everything and Harper would wiggle her way out. We noticed, she slept best in the Snoo Sack, so we were using that for her naps even when she didn’t sleep in the Snoo. Lucky us, Happiest Baby came out with the Sleepea swaddle, which is essentially the Snoo Sack, but without the side flaps (to connect to the bassinet). Unfortunately, the fabric on the Sleepea is more stretchy and thin than the Snoo Sack, so she’s wiggled her way out a handful of times. With that being said, it’s been our best option so far and I love the ease of getting her in and out of it!

Green Sprouts burp cloths – These have been our favorite from the very beginning. The shape is actually a game changer. They stand on your shoulder extremely well and they’re nice and big. 

Green Sprouts bibs – Since we loved the burp cloths so much, we bought the bibs last month. Super cute and simple and fit extremely well. It’s funny, I get so many questions about how we keep all the white clean. When it comes to bibs, white is actually best. Everything blends in ;)

Earth Mama Diaper Balm – We’ve used this diaper balm since day 1 and we love it! Works so well and smells delicious. 

Burt’s Bees Baby Stroller Blanket – We love this blanket! It’s the perfect size and thickness for everything baby. We use it while were out and it doubles as a stroller cover.

SHOP OUR FAVORITES

Baby Gap eyelet dress

Harper’s 3 Month Schedule

This is a general idea of what Harper’s schedule looks like. We try to give her as much consistency as possible and so far it has been working for us. With that being said, every day is probably a little different as life, work, and a changing baby are at play. We’re also not strict on exact times, so keep that mind when reading the schedule below.

6:15am – Harper wakes up

6:30 am – Feed

6:45 am – Activity

7:15 / 7:30 am – Nap 1

 

9:30 am – Feed

9:45 am – Activity

10:15 / 10:30 am – Nap 2

 

12:30 pm – Feed

12:45 pm – Activity

1:15 / 1:30 pm – Nap 3

 

3:30 pm – Feed

3:45 pm – Activity

4:15 / 4:30 pm – Nap 4

 

5:30 pm – Feed

5:45 pm – Activity

6:15 pm – Cat Nap 5

 

7:00 pm – Activity

7:30 pm – Night Time Feed

8:00 pm – Bedtime