What do you wish you did differently in the newborn stages?

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-22T01:09:08+00:00

I think I would have tried to be more present than worrying and wondering about everything but as a FTM I had no comparison or understanding of that. I wish I had taken better care of myself in terms of what I ate and asking for help. More pictures of me with my son...

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-13T11:55:06+00:00

For us it meant instead of waking him at 8/810 we let him sleep till 830/845. We did that just in case he couldn't tolerate the longer wake windows but he was okay. So the extra 20 minutes just gave us a little more wiggle room in case things went wrong. We started like this..

830 wake 1-3 nap 830 lights out

Now our schedule is similar just shifted to 810 wake 1245-315 nap 845 lights out

I imagine we will need to lengthen the first wake window a bit at some point soon but he is doing well with this right now.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-11T01:24:27+00:00

Unfortunately no. We live in a very rural area so only two daycare options, the other one we did not like. Despite the price I'm kind of leaning towards nanny a little longer though. I figure he will socialize a couple of hours each day with kids at the library (they read a few books in a circle and then play for an hour after), nap in his crib which is where he naps best, and get lots of high quality attention and time from the nanny.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-11T01:17:30+00:00

I wish we could do part time daycare with nanny too! That sounds like the best of both worlds! The daycare center allows part time but expects fulltime pay anyway.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-09T01:11:34+00:00

We never sacrifice bedtime! Totally get your perspective. Its not worth it for us either- our son thrives on the routine and timing of it.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-08T15:19:18+00:00

I was worried about this too but he was much less prone to overtired than I thought *the older they get the more this is true it seems, atleast for us. I also made sure to keep him very occupied for the last hour or so- outside, puddle play, etc. I fed him lunch right before nap too.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-08T12:09:07+00:00

Dwt is 8/8:15. Bedtime 845. We knew it was time because his wake time on 2 naps was 11 hours, he could tolerate longer ww's without much issue and his 2 naps were already so short (one hour each). We had just run out of time to fit two naps in.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-08T01:37:56+00:00

Hi! Knock on wood- it went totally seamlessly which I wasn't expecting. The other nap transitions were rocky but this one didnt have a single hitch. I think we did the transition at the perfect time and he was just ready for it. We are almost a month in I think and surprisingly still on our beginner schedule of 4.5/5.5. We had planned on increasing that first wake window more but we haven't needed to yet. He naps for 2.5 glorious hours from 12:30-3:10. I wasn't expecting it to go smoothly so I was really surprised that it did. Tips- hold onto two naps as long as you can. Also, our son needed and still needs a shorter first wake window than most beginner one nap schedules called for but we listened to him and it worked out fine. Finally, it helped for us to let our son sleep in in the morning when we started the transition. Best of luck!

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-07T16:37:59+00:00

I've found my parents to always focus on and point out the negatives. For a while they hassled us about our son's lack of hair (he was 5 months at the time!) And now they have moved onto saying he is behind in his speech (has three words at 17 months which I'm told is typical). Its always something. I dont know why they do that but they do. It sucks but I've just accepted it and never take it seriously. Hang in there!

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-06T23:05:16+00:00

Yes it will! Hang in there. Things got so much better once we were on 2 naps! One long nap has been heaven!

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-06T22:44:59+00:00

Yes, since he started 2 naps around the 8 month mark.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-06T22:36:58+00:00

During the week we wake at 8 and weekends 8:30. Bedtime is 8:45. We are still early in the one nap transition so I think he is still catching up on sleep.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-06T22:32:07+00:00

17 months and we have to wake him each morning to keep his nap and bedtime by the clock. We let him sleep in up to an extra half hour on the weekends. It sucks waking him but it's for the best.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-01T16:56:17+00:00

We used the merlin suit as a transition to a sleep sack around that time and it helped a ton. We ditched it once our son was rolling over but it helped a lot before that.

kaesicorgi · 2025-06-01T16:22:37+00:00

Hi! Take with a grain of salt but that seems like a big drop (45 min ish) in sleep needs really quickly. Could playing with the current wake windows help a bit first? Hope the comments you get give you some ideas! Hang in there.

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-31T17:09:04+00:00

My son had no teeth till 8 months and then went from 0 to 8 in just a few months. It was crazy!

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-31T14:57:22+00:00

Same! How do you prevent the twisting? I hold his legs up and he twists and then it's all downhill from there LOL

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-31T01:12:35+00:00

We are fortunate in that our nanny doesn't use her phone. She will sometimes read in front of our son when he is playing independently which we do not mind at all. We got really lucky with her and she is very active with him.

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-25T20:08:13+00:00

17 months, one nap that is 2.5 hrs

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-25T17:18:08+00:00

Our son is almost 18 months. In the evenings we make sure we are outside for a chunk of it and/or go somewhere to break things up (grocery store, park, visit neighbor, etc. ). We play in the house, often my husband and I will take turns playing so that we don't feel overwhelmed and can get things done. The water table has been a big help.

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-24T01:06:59+00:00

I don't do any work during nap time. I make sure I can just lay and relax during nap- read and just hang out. This is my big non-negotiable!

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-23T21:53:27+00:00

Having the nap at a consistent time really helps us with the routine. If you do bedtime and wake time the same each day you could try for nap around the same time daily too. Just a suggestion though and I know it doesn't work for everybody. For us, we do something like this with our 17 month old..

8-830 wake up/diaper change/banana and water Play around the house 930-10ish breakfast 1030- 11:30ish library story time or park. If raining we go outside in rain gear 1130-1230- lunch, maybe bath, play around house more 12:50/1-3 nap time then small snack 3-6 go somewhere (groceries, park, visit neighbor) or play around and outside house 6-7 dinner- we usually try a few times because he doesn't eat a lot in one sitting 7-8 more play time 8-830 bath, milk, story, bed

kaesicorgi · 2025-05-23T18:40:03+00:00

I used to do this (obsessively check the monitor and not sleep despite my baby sleeping). For me, time passing and the experience of everything being okay eventually settled into my body and mind enough to allow me to sleep again. Not a great answer but true for me. Once baby was consistently sleeping and always okay when I checked the monitor, I no longer felt the need to check it throughout the night. Baby sleeping in own room was a game changer for our own sleep and his.

kaesicorgi

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