The six month mark is always a tricky one especially if you’re in a routine and then choose to wean; it’s introducing a major long term change to baby’s routine. Here I walk through the baby routine, 6 months -9 months, I used and how I managed the slow introduction of 3 meals to baby.
To note: the timings were never set in stone – it would all depend on the time our day started – give or take 15 minutes of the below. This is an example based on our regular patterns and what worked for us.
Another note: We were in lockdown and so not a lot of factors ever broke our routine, but I really encourage choosing to do things that break routine sometimes. The few times our routine was out of sync during those younger months, I was nervous and dreaded it but was so glad we did it. Baby got more experiences, I got out, and baby ended up sleeping better! It was win-win-win. I’m looking forward to doing it more with baby number 2 🙂
| Start time | Routine | Details |
| 7:00 | Wake, nappy change, milk feed, play | In this order. I breastfed until 9 months so I fed her while laying in bed and then let her play/kick about while I had a lay in |
| 8:30 | Breakfast | Usually porridge (sometimes with pureed fruit) When weaning I started by introducing breakfast – it was a no brainer for me as morning was when baby would be most hungry but most settled to introduce a change. I did breakfast only for a few days and then introduced dinner as well. |
| 9:00 | Brush teeth, play | Myla got her first tooth at 4 months so we started brushing as soon as that came throughThis play time would usually be some playmat time or tummy time on me |
| 9:15 | Naptime (in cot) | The naptime routine we did majority of the time is: blinds shut/light off, sleep bag on, comforter to baby, white noise on, cuddle, lullaby and then down in cot (basically a shortened version of bedtime routine) |
| 10:45 | Wake, top & tail, dressed, play | I used this playtime for a more structured activity that I’d plan |
| 11:30 | Milk feed/Lunch | I kept this as a milk feed for the first week of weaning and then introduced solid lunch. Solids would be a veggie filled puree – I tried to keep the protein and root veg at lunch as they caused most tummy upset/wind in baby |
| 13:00 | Naptime (in cot) | This is usually a long nap |
| 15:00 | Wake, nappy change, milk feed | |
| 16:00 | 20-30 min walk | In pram or carrier – also a chance for baby to sleep a bit extra if tired or the 1pm nap wasn’t as long as normal |
| 17:00 | Dinner | A carby/veg loaded puree with a some fruit |
| 18:00 | Milk, bath time, oil/lotion massage, milk, story time | We split feed the milk before and after bath to make sure baby was settled before bathTry to keep bedtime routine as calm as possible |
| 19:00 | Bedtime | Sleep bag on, cuddle, lullaby and down in cot |
Hope this baby routine helps you with that big 6 month milestone or getting used to a new routine! Mostly it’s all about going with what you think is right and baby’s signs/signals.
~x~