Morning Routine

Elise is falling into a fairly predictable morning routine. Mommy likes this. I read that this would start happening between 3 to 4 months of age, and for the past few weeks now, Elise and I have been developing a schedule.

Elise wakes up between 7:30 and 8:30 every morning. I sing her a wake up song (to the tune of Happy Birthday: "Good morning to you! Good morning to you! Good morning sweet baby, good morning to you!") and she laughs. Elise is very much a morning person.

Then I take her to the potty and I change her diaper, if necessary. I feed her, then we go feed the cats. We listen to the radio while we take care of the kitties. NPR. I figure it might expose her to some new words-- ones that I don't use on a daily basis.

I eat breakfast and then we pick up the cat bowls. I dress Elise and then it's time to potty again. After that, we play. She's just big enough for her bouncer as of a few days ago, so I put her in there for a bit and I also let her play on her mat. We usually read a book and rock in the rocking chair. Then she gets hungry around 10:00.

She's been taking a morning nap starting some time between 10:00 and 11:00-- usually at about 10:30. I used to hold her during her morning nap because she slept best that way, but then I realized that it wasn't a good idea anymore, after the first few months. I couldn't get anything done and I didn't want her used to being held while she slept for fear she'd become dependent on it. I started putting her down in her chair or her swing, so I could keep an eye on her while I did stuff around the house. But now that she's bigger she doesn't sleep quite so heavily and noises can wake her. So I've started putting her in her bassinet in my bedroom. She's still getting used to it. She doesn't sleep as long in the bassinet-- about half an hour compared with an hour in her chair-- but she's old enough to start learning that there is a designated sleep area for her, to be used for both bedtime and naps.

By the time she gets up from her nap, Husband is on his way home for lunch. She's always so happy to see her daddy.

Our mornings are nice. Predictable. Calm. I enjoy that time a lot.