Getting into a routine with your baby is a personal thing. You'll learn to read your baby's cues to develop a pattern of eating, sleeping, and playing that meets your little one's needs and works for your family.
That said, it can be a big help to see what other moms and dads are doing. We asked parents of 1- and 2-month-olds to share their baby's daily schedule, then picked the eight below as a helpful representation. (If you have a baby this age, share your routine in the comments section at the bottom of this page!)
As you're creating a schedule for your baby, keep in mind that at 1 and 2 months most babies need:
• 12 to 24 ounces of breast milk or formula in a 24-hour period, though this amount may be as high as 36 to 40 ounces. (Get specific tips on how to tell whether your baby is getting enough breast milk or formula.)
• About 15.5 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period — this includes nighttime sleep and naps. Three naps during the day (morning, afternoon, and evening) is typical. Read more about sleep needs at this age.
• Time for playing, developing important muscles, working on new skills, and interacting with you. Try reading to your little one, giving your baby a massage or bath, or going for a stroller walk.
Schedule 1: A formula-feeding mom of a 2-month-old and an older child
Editor's note: This schedule is a combination (parent-led and baby-led) routine
5 a.m.: Early-morning feeding. Chad gets 4 to 6 ounces of formula. He tends to fall back to sleep after this bottle, which lets me get more sleep!
8 to 9 a.m.: He wakes up and gets another bottle.
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Playtime. I try to spend as much time playing with my daughter as possible. She's going through a baby stage right now and likes to be rocked, which is really tough, especially when I'm feeding my son. She doesn't understand that I need to focus on him because he's a baby.
What works best is putting my son in the front carrier so I have my hands free to play with my 2-year-old, especially when my son is fussy and won't lie down or sit in his swing. He loves to be held and close to me.
12:30 p.m.: My daughter and I eat lunch. Chad gets a bottle and falls asleep. My daughter takes her nap after lunch as well.
4 p.m.: Chad gets a bottle.
4:30 p.m.: Playtime. After my daughter wakes from her nap, I usually take her outside with the baby so we can all play for about an hour before dinner. My husband gets home around this time, and he will usually play with both kids while I clean up around the house, do dishes, and so on.
6 to 7 p.m.: Dinner.
7 to 8 p.m.: Chad gets a bottle and sleeps. My daughter is usually watching one of her shows or playing in her room by this time.
8 to 9 p.m.: Bath time and bedtime for my daughter.
12 a.m.: Chad gets a bottle, then it's time for me to go to sleep.
3 a.m.: Chad gets a bottle.
Schedule 2: A breastfeeding mom of a 5-week-old and an older child
Editor's note: This schedule is a baby-led routine
My daughter and I take our days as they come. She nurses whenever she seems hungry. I have no idea how much she eats at a time; I just let her nurse as long as she wants.
She takes little catnaps throughout the day (mostly while being held, which I know is bad, but she wakes up whenever I put her down), and we put her down for the night whenever she looks tired, anytime between 8 and 11 p.m.
She'll usually wake up for a feeding twice at night and then sleep till around 8 a.m., then after another feed, she'll go back to sleep for a couple more hours.
I hate living on a routine. It bores me to tears. So during the day I often ask my 3-year-old what she wants to do or where she wants to go. Off we go with the baby in a front carrier (she cries in the stroller or car seat, but loves the carrier). I don't pay much attention to the clock, just feed my kids when they're hungry. The only thing I stick to is bedtime for my older daughter at 8 p.m. Then Daddy takes the baby so my older child can have one-on-one time with me for her bedtime routine of jammies, teeth brushing, story, and kisses. I'm sure life will be tough when school starts, but right now the unstructured approach works for us.
Schedule 3: A formula-feeding mom of a 2-month-old
Editor's note: This schedule is a combination (parent-led and baby-led) routine
7:30 to 8 a.m.: Wake up.
8 a.m.: He gets 6 to 8 ounces of formula.
9 a.m.: He falls asleep and naps until noon or 1 p.m.
1 p.m.: He gets 6 to 8 ounces of formula.
We play on his activity mat, I walk around the house and tell him about things, I sing, or we sit outside on the porch or go out shopping. He really enjoys lying on his changing table while we "talk." I try to read to him, but he gets squirmy, so it usually lasts for only a couple pages.
4 p.m.: He gets 6 to 8 ounces of formula.
After his really long morning nap, he'll take one or two 15-minute catnaps. We struggle around 5 p.m. This is when he starts to get fussy if he hasn't dozed back off in the afternoon.
Bath time is at 7 p.m. or a little earlier if he's really fussy. He gets a bath every night because he really relaxes in the water. I only use soap every other night, though. On the days we don't use soap, I call it his "bird bath." After his bath, he gets a baby massage with lotion while we sing "Hokey Pokey" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." I like to teach him about body parts.
7:30 or 8 p.m. He gets another 6 to 8 ounces of formula. After his bottle, I hold him up over my shoulder and pat his back and we sing "You Are My Sunshine" a few times. I lay him down in his crib still awake, tell him I love him, and turn on his womb sounds bear. He "talks" himself to sleep.
We are on the verge of sleeping through the night. Just recently I tried not feeding him and only giving him the pacifier — and it worked! For about a week now, he has just gotten the binky. All I do is give him his pacifier and turn his womb sounds bear back on and he falls back to sleep.
Schedule 4: A breastfeeding mom of 7-week-old twins
Editor's note: This schedule is a combination (parent-led and baby-led) routine
Wake-up time is between 5 and 7 a.m., depending on what time they've gone to bed the night before.
They eat every one and a half to two hours, or on demand. They nurse for ten to 20 minutes and alternate breasts at each feeding. It's best if I feed them at the same time, because that's the only way to get any "me" time. If one isn't awake for a feeding, I wake them up.
The twins were born prematurely, so they still like to sleep a lot. They nap about three or four times a day for one to two hours at a time. When they aren't sleeping, they have tummy time to strengthen their neck muscles, I sing to them, we go for a walk, or we go to the neighbors' and visit.
There's no real bedtime routine. Whenever their last feeding is for the night — usually between 10 or 11 p.m. — we put pj's on after the diaper change and swaddle and cuddle until they fall asleep. I sleep beside the crib in the nursery. Sometimes they sleep straight through until 5 a.m., or they'll get up once at about 2:30 or 3 a.m.
Being the mother of twins has been nothing but a blessing, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.
Schedule 5: An exclusively pumping mom of a 10-week-old
Editor's note: This schedule is a combination (parent-led and baby-led) routine
I get up at 6 a.m. to pump. I try to go back to bed, but my baby usually wakes up for the day around 7 a.m. and has a feeding. We feed him on demand, so if he's hungry, we give him a bottle and let him eat till he starts to play with it or spit out the milk. He usually drinks about 6 ounces at a time. He refuses to drink formula, and he won't nurse, so he gets breast milk from a bottle 100 percent of the time.
Naptime is between 8 and 9 a.m. He'll sleep in his crib anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Following his morning nap, we play for a little while, usually with him in my lap (head at my knees, feet against my belly). I sing, wave his arms around, talk to him, and imitate the faces and noises he makes. He gets a bottle and I pump. Sometimes I give him a bath. Other days, I wait until he wakes up from his evening nap.
Around 1 p.m. he gets another feeding, I pump, and I try to get him to take a nap. It doesn't always work. When it does, he'll sleep for 45 minutes to an hour and a half. This nap is usually in his swing, but sometimes he'll sleep in his crib. Other times he flat out refuses, even if he can barely keep his eyes open.
If he's really cranky and won't sleep, I'll take him for a walk (which almost always puts him to sleep). Around 4, I feed him and then I pump again. If we didn't take the earlier walk, we'll go now. Otherwise, we just play or snuggle while I watch TV.
He'll usually nap again in the late afternoon, almost always in his swing. He won't do this one in his crib, but occasionally he'll sleep in his car seat or in his stroller.
When he wakes up, I give him a bath if he hasn't had one in the morning. After the bath, we play a little more, and I put him in his pj's so that when he's done eating, I can put him to bed. I feed him between 7:30 and 8 p.m. and put him to bed between 8 and 9 p.m. I take him to his room with the lights off, and I'll give him a pacifier while we rock in the glider for five minutes or until he starts nodding off. I put him in his crib groggy but awake, shut the door, and let him sleep. He sleeps for about six hours. I pump again at 9 p.m. and midnight, then I head to bed.
He wakes up at 2 to 3 a.m. to get a diaper change and a bottle, then goes right back down for the rest of the night. My husband usually gets up with him so I can get some rest. Then we get up and do it all over again the next day!
Schedule 6: A formula-feeding mom of a 7-week-old
Editor's note: This schedule is a parent-led routine
6 a.m.: He has 6 ounces of formula and falls back to sleep.
8:30 a.m.: We hang out and cuddle, watch TV, and play. I talk and sing to him while we watch Regis and Kelly.
10 a.m.: He has 5 ounces of formula.
10:15 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.: We have playtime. He lies on the activity mat or tummy mat. He holds a toy now if I put one in his hand!
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Naptime.
2 p.m.: He has 5 ounces of formula.
After eating, he swings in his swing, watches his mobile or sometimes TV, and then falls asleep for a short nap.
4 p.m.: The fussiness begins. He's cranky for the next several hours.
6 p.m.: He has 5 ounces of formula and sits in his bouncy seat. The vibration helps him to digest, but crankiness continues until he falls asleep for short nap.
7:30 p.m.: Playtime with Daddy.
8:45 p.m.: Bath time and bedtime routine. I massage him with lavender lotion and put him in pj's. He gets really happy and giggly while I'm doing all of this, so I sing and talk to him. Then we have mommy and baby quiet time together. I dim the lights and speak very softly. I do all I can to make his surroundings soothing. We listen to lullabies. This time is really special to me.
9:30 p.m.: He has 6 ounces of formula and then goes to bed. I stand by the crib holding him until I get one more burp before putting him into his crib. I turn on his nightlight, give him a kiss, leave the room, and he's asleep in minutes and sleeps until 6 a.m.
Schedule 7: A breastfeeding and pumping mom of a 2-month-old
Editor's note: This schedule is a combination (parent-led and baby-led) routine
Our little one wakes up around 6:30 a.m., but I give him his pacifier so he'll rest until 7. I really don't want his wake-up time to be before 7 a.m.
He nurses seven times during the day and night: At 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., 10 p.m., and whenever in the middle of the night — usually between 3 and 4 a.m. He'll usually spend ten minutes on each breast, or drink 3 to 4 ounces if I pump.
He always takes a good nap in the morning from about 8 until 11 a.m. I try to do the eat, then play, then sleep cycle. He usually gets really sleepy or fussy about an hour after he eats and falls back to sleep for half an hour to an hour until his next feeding.
Between eating and napping times, we do things together. He just started to grab the toys hanging above his bouncy seat. I hold him and sing to him. He loves to "talk," but he only speaks whale right now. He also loves to stand and he "walks" up my belly. He loves to go for rides in the car.
After his 7 p.m. feeding, I give him a bath and a massage with lotion. We read a story, then I put him to bed. This usually begins his fussy time. He will eventually fall asleep around 8 or 8:30. I wake him up at 10 p.m. to change him and feed him. He always goes right back to sleep without crying and is out for five or six hours until his 3 or 4 a.m. feeding. I love that I can count on that.
Schedule 8: A formula-feeding dad of a 7-week-old
Just for the record, I'm the proud daddy. I've been able to take advantage of paternity leave and have stayed at home two days a week with our baby girl. She's our first, and we have been blessed.
She wakes up between 8 and 9:30 a.m. and has a bottle. Unfortunately we're exclusively formula-feeding now. Due to misinformation and our own lack of knowledge on the subject, my wife lost her milk after a few weeks. Our little girl eats about four to five times a day and has about 6 ounces at each feeding.
Until a couple of weeks ago, she was asleep more than awake. She still naps a lot, but while she's awake she has Mom, me, Grandma, and Grandpa all vying for her attention. There's a lot of singing and story-reading going on.
She goes down for sleep at about 11 p.m. Prior to this we feed her, change her, and give her a bath. After the bath, we use lotion and give her a little massage. We have some CDs that are supposed to help with sleep. I don't know whether they work, but the classical music is very relaxing.
She's like me — as soon as her head hits the pillow, she's out. She usually wakes up once at about 4 a.m., and we feed her and change her.
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