I have to admit, we have been pretty blessed with a good sleeper practically since day 1. It is like her COVID gift to us (being alone, overseas without our family around) is that she is a good sleeper. Her 14 week old baby schedule – although getting a bit hairy – is still pretty good from the sleep side of things.
We do have our little Miss in the Snoo and have since day 1 of being home from the hospital, so while I do give the Snoo a lot of credit, I also just think we got lucky.
There are two rules/guidelines I have been following since day 1 that I think have helped. I go over them here in her 8 week schedule. I have been following these two rules since the very early days and still am.
As we enter month 3, creeping up to month 4, things are starting to get a little bit hairy – just like everyone says.
At 11 weeks, our little lady was sleeping through the night. Like actually sleeping through the night – 10 hours from the time she went to bed until she woke up. I did not intentionally wean her off middle of the night feeds, it just happened one night and then stuck.. for a bit!
10 hours is all well and good – but I will highlight that it is not as if she is going to be at 9pm and sleeping until 7am. Starting at 11 weeks, she was going to bed anywhere between 7 and 8pm – but somehow closer to 7. So, like the little clockwork baby she is, 10 hours after that is a 5am wake up!!! I tried pushing her bedtime closer to 8, but she couldn’t last that long so a 5am wake up it is.
Once week 14 hit, things started to change.
14 Week Old Baby Schedule: Baby Changes
As soon as she turned 14 weeks, she began waking up in the middle of the night. Like FULLY awake. Eyes open. Big, toothless grins. Ready to play.
In everything I had read, this was about right. Baby’s go through a “developmental change” during this time in which their sleep patterns transition out of the newborn phase and into a more adult phase.
What this means is that as newborns, baby’s cycle through 4-6 hour deep sleep cycles. As they enter the 4th month, they begin to mature and cycle through 45 minute to 2 hour sleep cycles. This means that they wake up more often and often need assistance getting back to sleep.
All the experts say to combat this, the best tool you can give to your baby is to teach them how to “self soothe” – meaning how to put themselves to sleep for naps, bedtime and in the middle of the night.
This is MUCH easier said than done.
And especially for us – we are in the midst of correcting a severe case of torticollis and plagiocephaly so we do as much baby wearing and holding as we can during the day to keep her off her head and neck. What this doesn’t support is good sleep habits and the ability to self soothe when she is always on me all cuddled up.
14 Week Old Baby Day and Sleep Schedule
SO with that all said, as an update from our 8 week sleep and day schedule, here is what our 14 week old baby schedule looks like.
It is a bit less glamorous than the 8-week schedule and it pretty much changes by the day, but this is a typical day in the life from around 12-15 weeks. I also spend the majority of her time awake treating her torticollis so our wake windows look a little repetitive but it is necessary.
6am: Wake up & feed (generally around a 5:30-6am wake up).
6:45 – 7:15am: Torticollis exercises round 1.
7:30am: Nap. This is the one nap I always attempt in the bassinet and the rest I will babywear for. We just introduced our bedtime routine in the last couple of weeks so I try to mimic that for this nap. Keep scrolling for what our 5 minute bedtime routine entails.
9am: Wake up & feed.
9:45am: Torticollis exercises round 2. I always give ample digestion time before I start these as they often cause a good amount of spit up from all the twisting and turning and tummy timing.
11am: Nap. Most likely on me, in a babycarrier while we go for a walk. The physiotherapist that has been treating her torticollis recommends the softer, cotton baby wraps so I am getting even more use out of my Konny that I intended!
1pm: Feed.
1:45pm: Torticollis exercises round 3.
2pm: Nap. Sometimes I try for this one in the bassinet as well and attempt a self soothe approach. Often, this works!
4pm: Feed.
Then things start to get a bit all over the place. These nights differ, but this is the gist.
5pm: Torticollis exercises round 4.
6:45pm: Bath time, every second night.
7:00pm: Feed.
7:30pm: Asleep. She is often falling asleep while nursing, which I know isn’t great. So I am playing with earlier bath and feed times to see if it helps.
12am: Flailing in the Snoo. Pop the soother back in.
1am: Flailing in the Snoo. Hand on chest.
2:30am: WIDE AWAKE. Let’s play, MOM.
2:30am: Pop soother back in. Hand on chest. Shhhh.
2:45am: Out of the Snoo and walking around the flat.
3:30-4am: Back to sleep.
6:00am: HI, GOODMORNING, I AM AWAKE, PEOPLE!
6:01am: Her big toothless grin is out the Snoo and in my arms and ready to eat.
And then we do it all over again.
I Do Break the Schedule
Look, you gotta live a little.
On the weekends, when my husband is not working, sometimes I just flat out forget to watch wake windows, put her down for naps at the most opportune time and forget this whole self soothing business exists.
I never forget to feed her every 3 hours though – ever! That one I always nail regardless of where we are or what day it is. She always will always remind me I forget.
But you have to live. I cannot be consumed by wake windows and self-soothing and sleep patterns.
So as much as this is our 14 week sleep schedule, it varies.
At 12 weeks we started local baby classes and as the weather gets warmer, we are starting to explore good old London again.
I try to stick to a schedule as much as possible because I was reminded one weekend that when you forget to nap a baby, they are NOT HAPPY WITH YOU the next day. You pay for it. So I learned my lesson, hard, once and now I pay more attention.
Easy 5-Minute Bedtime Routine
Everyone says, stick to a consistent bedtime routine, it helps. Ok fine. I’ve started.
My super quick and easy 5-minute bedtime routine includes:
- Take baby to room where she sleeps.
- Close blinds and turn lights off.
- Turn on calm lullabies from Spotify.
- Put into new PJs.
- Do a 3 minute massage. I rub my hands together over her face to signal that I am about to start. Then I rub my hands over her head and face. And then I focus for about 30 seconds on each arm and leg. I finish off with some tummy circles.
- If it is nighttime, I will then feed. If it is daytime, the feeding has already happened.
- Rock gently until her eyes start to close. Once they start to close but aren’t shut – THIS IS THE SWEET SPOT of “drowsy but awake.” I pop her into the Snoo at this point. Sometimes it works and she is able to put herself the rest of the way to sleep and sometimes that big toothless grin comes back and she is not out…
So in conclusion…
Baby’s change. By the day.
I just go with it.
But I do love reading what other momma’s are up to during the same age ranges, so I hope this sheds light for others who are looking at sleep schedules online or on instagram and curious as to why your baby is not a robot….!
OTHER POSTS YOU WILL LIKE:
The First 6 Weeks: Every Funny New Parents Quotes & Thoughts
A Day in the Life of an 8 Week Old: Day and Sleep Schedule
My 7 Most Used Newborn Essentials: Weeks 4 – 8