Baby: Florence’s 5 Month Routine
Up until around 4 months, Florence didn’t have much of a daily routine and many books (and friends) say that it’s difficult to establish one until 3 months onwards regardless. We have had a bedtime routine from when she was just a few weeks old but now her day is a lot more structured and I have to admit, I love it. I’m a big fan of routine and knowing what is happening when. And am also obsessed with hearing about other people’s routines and what works for them with their babies.
Here’s what a typical weekday usually looks like…
7am: Florence tends to wake up around 7 but it can vary between 6.30 and 8. She’ll have her morning feed although if she’s fed at 5ish she’ll hang on until a bit later (she definitely doesn’t need that 5am feed but that’s a whole other story!). I haven’t included her other feeds really as I tend to still feed on demand.
If Chris is working from home he will take her downstairs and play whilst I get some extra sleep. If it’s just me we’ll chill in bed for a bit before going down. She’ll go on her playmat, or sit in her highchair and watch me unload the dishwasher whilst we listen to some music- 5 months old is great as she’s so easily entertained!
9am: She’ll be ready for a nap a couple of hours after she wakes up so we’ll either put her in her swing chair, or put her in her cot for a sleep. She is having more naps in her cot now but the swing is handy for when we need her to nap before going out as she falls asleep more quickly.
9.30-9.45: Her first nap of the day usually lasts between 30 to 45 minutes which gives me time to get ready for the day and have a quick tidy.
In the morning we sometimes go out to a class or to a baby group, or if we have a home day we’ll just play on her mat, or in her inflatable play nest. She likes me singing songs to her and dancing too.
12: Around midday she’s ready for her big lunch nap which tends to be in her cot. For naps, I’ll put her in her sleeping bag, I’ll read her a book and then give her a feed to get her nice and sleepy. We’ll put on some white noise (usually a fan or hoover sound!) and she’s getting really good at settling herself to sleep. I find it fascinating to watch on the baby monitor.
1.30 – 2.30: This nap really varies but is generally between 1 and a half to 2 hours.
In the afternoon we will usually be at home, or will go to my parents who live down the road so they can play with her – they have two dogs and she loves watching them.
3.30/4ish: Sometimes she will need a third nap to get her through till bedtime – sometimes she’ll just fall asleep on my boob and have ten mins there, other times she’ll go in her cot for half an hour. We don’t let her sleep past 5.
5/5.30: We have started giving her some purees so I’ll usually give her one around 5.30 – sometimes I’ll do this before her lunch nap. She is really enjoying trying everything – current faves are courgette and parsnip.
6 – 6.15: She is starting to get ready for bed earlier and earlier but we try and stick to starting the bedtime routine at 6ish. Chris will bath her (or I will if she’s away) and she absolutely loves the bath – it’s definitely her favourite part of the day. Sometimes we do some baby massage too. We’ll then get her into her sleeping bag and read her a book (by this point she’s usually so tired that she couldn’t care less about the book!) before giving her a final feed and putting her down.
7: She’s usually asleep by 7
Nights are a different game – wake-ups vary from 1 on a good night, to 4 on a bad night. We’re trying to cut out feeds gradually so hopefully by 6 months we’ll have her sleeping all night long (ahaha).
Daisy x
