Daily Routine: 3-6 months

Xavier:  master bubble-blower

Big changes I noticed during the 3-6 months stage, was that Xavier had longer periods of "awake" time from nap to nap.  He also started sleeping longer during the night.  And by that we are talking like 5 hour stretches which felt AMAZING!!!!  I always rewarded him with bunches and bunches of kisses when he let me sleep that long.  I also started to realize how much I despised that baby monitor!  I literally wanted to throw it out the window.  Xavier was a noisy sleeper starting from day 1 with all those baby grunts during the night.  I started to get more confident that if he really needed me, he would belt out the cries.  And.  He.  Did.  Too bad it took me until month 4 to get comfortable with that.  Would have saved me from lots of sleepless nights!

Look at all this pinchable baby chub!

Our daily routine was very similar to the one I mentioned in the 0-3 month post.  Change his diaper, feed him a bottle, sit up-right about a half hour now since he was taking more formula, let him play for 1-2 hours, then put him down for a nap in the swing or bouncer.  Playtime consisted of more tummy time with help from the boppy, playing music on my iPhone (Baby Einstein has a great baby station on Pandora), placing books infront of him, time in the doorway jumper, exersaucer (an absolute favorite!!), and bumbo seat, time under his activity gym, and stroller rides around the neighborhood/mall.  His favorite napping spot was in his swing.  At some point during this stage, he started smiling and interacting more with me.  We're not talking big changes in that department, just more swats at things I placed infront of him and more eye contact with me.  The best part is when he started smiling!  Those toothless grins are the most adorable ever!  I also started feeling a little better, anxiety-wise.  When Xavier started reaching milestones, like propping his head up during tummy time, smiling, rolling on his side, I started to feel less anxious.  I was getting used to having him around, more comfortable with the whole take him to daycare/go to work routine, and I really started to miss him during the day.

The first outfit I bought for Xavier when I found out I was pregnant.  Unfortunately, he only got to wear it a couple times.  Babies this age grow super duper fast!

We kept Xavier exclusively on formula until very close to his 6 month birthday.  Once he started drinking 55-60 ounces a day, we started him on solids.  See that post here.

Some random observations during this stage:

--I was never going to let my kid watch as much TV as other moms I knew, buuuuuut, enter parenthood.  Now that Xavier was staying awake for longer stretches of time, the TV was becoming my best friend for calming him down during those fussy, evening hours between 5 - 8 PM.

--I have never been so sick in my life, until this little guy entered my world.  Wow, daycare is infused with so many germy kids and it seemed Xavier has had a runny nose every day since we started him there around his 3 month birthday.  He is now 7 months old and still snotty.

--When your kid is sick, nothing else in the world matters.  You will stay up with him all night, rock with him to keep him from crying, call off work and not think twice about it, anything you have to do.  Xavier had the worst diaper rash in history close to his 4 month birthday.  Red sores covered his cute little tooshey and he screamed whenever I dabbed it with a wipe.  I frantically texted every mom I knew about how to cure it, called the emergency nurse line, laid on the floor crying with him because he wouldn't stop crying..... oh it was awful.  I was so worried I felt like vomiting.  But once it cleared up the next morning and I could stop worrying, the biggest feeling of relief, bigger than I ever thought possible, came over me.  You've never experienced real relief until you have a kid.

See all daily routines here.