Hello again! In this Blog Post I will be sharing two big parts of Kelia's life that allow her to grow and thrive. I will be sharing with you all about Kelia's sleeping and eating habits, how we approach them and what we do, how much she sleeps, how much and what she eats, and more!
Sleep is Overrated....
So first, I will talk about sleep. What is her sleep schedule? How much and when does she sleep? How do we get her down? Where does she sleep?
Kelia's Sleep Schedule looks more or less like this:
6am Wakes Up for the Day
9am Nap
Another Nap Between 12-2pm Depending on How Her Prior Night Was
5pm Nap
8pm Bedtime
Gets up 1-2x a night for a bottle
6am Wakes Up and Starts all Over!
Her naps generally run anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours and randomly differ day to day and nap to nap. I would say she gets around 8 hours of sleep at night and about 3-4 hours a day from naps which means total per day (24hours) she sleeps about 11-12 hours. She's a super happy baby and developing right on track with everything so this just works for us. Every baby is different and I know many require a lot more sleep. She has never been a big sleeper in general and the doctor says its fine. Some days she needs more and some days less. We take it as it comes.
Up until yesterday she slept in a bassinet next to our bed. She got to where she could stand and potentially climb or fall out so now she is in a pack n play in the same spot the bassinet was by our bed. She can stand but its too high for her to get out or fat out at least for now. We make it dark, use her monitors white noise machine and low calming night-light, and I currently rock her by walking her around to fall asleep or she will fall asleep with her nighttime bottle (I do make sure she burps still tho!) in our bed/my arms. The plan is to eventually get her in her own room and spend a week or so sleep training her to self sooth and sleep on her own. She does well at our friends house this way in a mini crib, but we don't have a room for her to have her own room yet.
Food before 1 - It's more than just fun!
Now I will talk about food and eating in Kelia's world! When does she eat and what does she eat? How much does she drink bottle wise? Where does she eat?
Generally speaking Kelia has 3 meals a day and scattered snacks. She also has a 6oz formula bottle every 3-4 hours during the day or about about 6 bottles a day and one-two during the night. She averages about 24 oz in a 24 hour period give or take a few. Her formula is Enfamil Reguline and I get it provided to me by WIC until she is a year old. WIC also provides me with my choice of fruit and veggie pureed foods in jars and I usually choose organic varieties from Gerber to Happy Baby and Beachnut. I also buy a few pouches a week to have on the go and she loves them!
Kelia's Eats On a Schedule Like this:
6am Bottle
7am Breakfast - Baby Yogurt or Puree or baby oatmeal and a combination of Peanut Butter or Avocado Toast, Eggs, Puffs, Crackers, and Fruit.
9am Bottle
12pm Lunch - Whatever we are having in pieces or mac&cheese/pasta, puffs, crackers fruit, veggies, lunch meat, cheese, etc whatever I have on hand
3pm bottle
5pm Dinner - Purees, Whatever we are having in pieces, usually a meat and veggie, crackers or puffs, rice or noodles, whatever I have on hand.
*Snacks are on her own terms and I give them to her when she is fussy and wants them usually so more of on-demand. She will eat puffs, yogurt melts, teething wafers, crackers, fruit, a baby cookie, and occasionally for constipation has a little bit of watered down prune or apple juice.
We have tried all of the top 9 allergens several times and are so grateful to have never had a reaction to any of them and she loves them all even shrimp! She has eaten tons of different foods and so far only isn't too fond of peas or anything pureed with peas!
For meals I typically offer finger food solids for awhile before I give her her purees because she prefers those, but if i give her enough time with the other she will eat that up first and still eat the purees.
She eats in a portable highchair for meals and sometimes on the tray in her walker, carseat, or in our arms for a snack or drink. Bottles we give her propped up or in our arms and only in a dire need we will give one in her carseat in the car. (I sit in the back with her in the car most the time as well to be on guard). We got the highchair from my shower I found it on Amazon and love that the tray has a second tray that comes off to wash easier.
Since eating and sleeping take up most of baby's life we are doing our best to keep our little love happy and nourished! Remember, every baby is different when it comes to just about anything so no baby will have the same eating or sleeping routines.
Well thanks again for reading and I hope this can help you or give you a good idea how a 9 month old can be.
With Love, Alana