William’s Week 12 Babywise Schedule and Update

Last week came and went so fast that I wasn’t able to get a week 11 update out.

Now, we’re starting week 13 with William, and I’m writing a look back on week 12. I figure I’ll just incorporate week 11 with it, because honestly- I don’t know where one week stopped and the other began! LOL!

There was nothing significantly different in the two weeks. They had one thing in common though…

The 45 minute intruder.

Hello 45 minute naps. I’m hoping to say goodbye soon!

We’ve got a fantastic schedule going on right now. Nighttime is awesome.

But, suddenly in these two weeks William’s naps have become 45 minutes long.

We stall him to stay on schedule, but my goodness does it make for a BUSY, crazy, frustrating day.

I no sooner get him down, get something done (like feeding myself and our daughter), and he’s awake and needing me.

Once he wakes I’m in there every few minutes until it’s time to get up again.

It’s a lot of up and down, and here and there. It’s days where I don’t get to even brush my teeth, and I’m lucky if I get us fed.

It’s a phase… but my goodness it’s a hard one!

Week 12 Babywise Schedule

Ok so to start with, his schedule really is going great. This schedule was the same for week 11 as well, and it is much different than week 10 was!

Feeding Schedule:

6:30 am wake and feed, 10 am feed, 1 pm feed, 4 pm feed, 6:30 pm wake, 7 pm feed and bed

Nap Schedule:

He naps from 8 am to 10 am, 11:30-1pm, 2:30 pm to 4 pm, and 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

We get him up at 6:30 pm. His last cycle is out of order, since it is the bedtime cycle. He does not eat right away.

Rather, he has wake time for 30 minutes, then we take him up for his bedtime routine, where he is changed for the night, fed, read a book and put to bed.

Eating

On this new schedule, he’s been doing great with feedings. He’s not having any issues, really!

He was suddenly pulling off, and then acting like he wanted to relatch (frantically), but then wouldn’t. It was so hard because I had no idea what to do!

Now, on this new schedule, he’s eating well on both sides.

He’s no longer pulling off and wanting to relatch but not doing so.

He seems to be becoming very efficient with his time as well.

I changed the schedule starting in week 11, because I was thinking he may need to drop a feeding. I think this helped him tremendously!

He’s now down to 5 really good feedings.

Wake Time

William’s wake time is now usually 1.5 hours long.

Occasionally, he needs only 1 hour and 15 minutes. We just watch him to see if he needs a bit less than 1.5 hours and put him down a little early if need be.

He’s now very alert for wake time!

He’s swatting at toys.

His favorite toy is a little soccer ball. I think he is drawn to the black and white contrast. He also loves the plastic crinkly noise it makes.

William is doing much better at sitting, although he’s still needing a lot of support.

We even tried out his high chair this week to give him a new perspective to play with toys.

He’s great at tummy time, and loves to roll from belly to back.

He no longer has much desire to try and roll from back to belly.

He’s not yet grabbing at toys, but his starting to open his hands more, and he’s starting to swat at them.

He’s even lifting his arm up while on his belly, to move it and reach out for toys!

He’s talking more! He’s saying lots of “ahhhs” and “maaas”.

Smiles are happening more and more frequently! They are adorable!

I’m doing some independent playtime with him at this young age as well. For now that looks like him in the family room on the playmat, while I’m in the kitchen or near by.

I can hear him and see him, but he’s not very aware of my presence. I let him play and don’t interrupt him for several minutes.

Nap Time

When we first switched to this schedule we had several days of good long naps. Dropping one really seemed to help a lot.

Then, the 45 minute naps started happening. This was probably mostly in week 12.

He wakes after about 45 minutes, and we stall him as long as we can.

I’m often able to just go in and pat his chest to get him back to sleep.

He then sleeps for a few minutes and is crying again. We repeat this several times.

I offer him the pacifier and the same thing happens.

If he’s awake 30 minutes before his feeding time, I will just stop the repetition and feed him.

We try to extend the nap as far as we can, however.

I distinctly remember this phase with Caroline. It was short lived and we moved on to nice long naps again.

So, we are just hanging in there and staying consistent.

He’s also in leap 3 right now, and had a little growth spurt during week 11.

All of those things can contribute to this as well.

He’s also very aware of nap time and wants to fight it. I walk in his room and he knows that it’s time- he immediately gets fussy! Smart boy!

He goes down pretty easy for his naps still, which is good. I just put him in his Swaddle up, turn the sound on, and pat his chest for a bit. He usually goes right to sleep.

Nighttime

Nighttime is great.

He falls asleep by 8 many nights, and is almost always asleep by 8:30 pm.

He usually only wakes once at around 2:30-3 am.

Occasionally, he wakes at 1:30 am, causing him to wake again in the early morning hours.

If he wakes in the 1 am hour, I do not feed him right away. I stall him with a pacifier one time.

I then feed him when he wakes the second time.

If he then wakes in the early morning hours, it’s a judgement call. Usually if he wakes before 5:30 I just feed him.

Anything after that I stall him with a pacifier until his 6:30 desired wake time.

Life With Two

This has been the hardest two weeks so far.

William having 45 minute naps is causing me to be up helping him every few minutes all day long. It’s exhausting for sure.

Add to that, Caroline has been having very poor behavior these two weeks. She’s not listening, she’s repeating herself over and over, she’s yelling, she’s hitting, she’s throwing things.

She’s screaming so much that she’s waking William up. Then I have to deal with getting him back to sleep, and deal with her screaming at the same time.

Add to that, our dogs needing to in and out of our backyard to go to potty… and it’s a mud pit. So every time they need in, I have to wipe off their feet.

Between the 45 minute naps, the screaming 4 year old, and the muddy dogs, I feel like I’m hardly able to even get lunch made, much less have time to sit for a couple of minutes.

As a result, the 11 week schedule update did not get written, this post is taking days to write, the dogs often spend their days outside, and well, by the time my husband gets home I just want a shower and a break.

On school days and ice skating days, it’s even more hectic. I’m disrupting William’s schedule to get Caroline where she needs to be.

He goes with the flow, but it’s stressful for me.

What’s really tricky now about school days is getting him to have a morning nap. We leave the house around 8:15 for school.

William is supposed to start his nap at 8 am. Obviously, I don’t want to put him down for a nap only to wake him a few minutes later.

We’ve tried leaving the house at 8 am instead, and just getting to school early and waiting.

We’ve tried putting him in his car seat in the house, early so he can start sleeping.

He usually sleeps with whichever method we choose, but then wakes up as soon as we park.

He’s then awake until I get home, or just shortly before. But, of course, when I park he’s awake.

I get home about 45 minutes before his next feeding. I’ve tried just feeding him and making up the time elsewhere.

I’ve tried putting him down for the remainder of his nap that he hardly got.

Neither is perfect.

Pretty much the same thing happens for pickup. I either have to let him sleep, and then eat late, or feed him early, and get him up early.

I haven’t found the perfect solution yet. But I know his schedule will keep evolving in these early months, so I shouldn’t worry too much about getting the perfect routine, for it will only change.

I cherish our days at home now!

The flip side to that is that life with two kids is so amazing.

One moment Caroline might be screaming, and William crying, but the next, Caroline is playing with William and making my heart smile.

They look at each other with such love. It’s beautiful to watch them together.

New This Week

William sat in his high chair for the first time this week. It’s the kind where he’s strapped in, so it’s relatively easy for him to sit in.

He still slouches to the side a bit, but it’s good for working on his sitting muscles and he’s enjoying the new perspective.

The Swaddle Up is still working great so we are still using it this week. It would be really nice to have more than one, so I’m going to grab another one… the kind that the arms zip off of so we can slowly transition him out of it in a month or two.

His favorite toy is the soccer ball that comes in this sports ball set that his grandparents got for him.

Our Favorite Products This Week

He’s now in 3-6 month clothes. We pretty much only dress him in sleepers since they are so easy.

We’ve never found a need for pants and socks at this age. These one piece outfits are so simple and nice for this age.

And, one of my favorite products is still the day dreamer. I sit him in this to take his reflux medicine, and to have a place to prop him up in the family room. Such a nice baby item to have!