My baby is now 3 months old, and we are finally out of the newborn stage and getting settled into a morning and night routine. I am embracing all of motherhood, and I know that my daily routine likely looks a lot different than other moms. I’m thankfully still on maternity leave for another three weeks before I return to finish the school year. After that, I will be off again for the summer. In this post, I’m going to share my morning routine with a 3-month-old baby! Productivity is not my goal, and this season is short, so I’m soaking it in as much as I can!

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My Morning Routine with a 3-Month-Old Baby

I will not be the mom to brag about how my baby “has been sleeping through the night since 2 weeks old.” We have our good days for sure! Some nights she will give me a 5- 6 hour stretch, but that’s only a new development in the last week. Other nights, I’m up every two hours, but luckily that’s been less often as she is getting older. Either way, I’m not someone who will be sleep training. I’m going to get up when my baby needs me, whether it’s for food or comfort. It’s a normal thing for babies NOT to sleep through the night!

Typically, my husband gets up for work at 5:30 am- 6:00 am, and this is the time my daughter wakes up for the last time during the night for a feed and diaper change. I usually stay up with her for a longer stretch during this time while my husband is getting ready, and she goes back down at 6:30 am for about an hour (unless our dog decides to wake us up when my husband leaves around 7:00 am).

7:30 am- 8:30 am

If we manage to make it to 7:30 am (yay!), we typically have our first wake window. If we wake up before 7:00 am, it usually ends up turning into a contact nap until 8:00 am.

During this first wake window, we do a change, feeding, and I get ready for the day. While I’m in the shower, I put my baby in the BabyBjorn in the bathroom with me. After, she usually has some tummy time while I get breakfast, finish getting ready, and sometimes finish a few chores like a load of laundry or the dishes. Since her wake windows are getting longer (60- 90 minutes right now), we usually manage to read a few books, practice rolling, and play with some of her toys before she is tired again and goes down for her first nap.

8:30 am- 10:30 am

On a typical day, she usually sleeps 2- 3 hours during her morning nap. I don’t cap her naps, and basically all of he naps during the day are contact naps. I would love to add in a crib nap during the afternoon, but I’m honestly bad about making it happen, and she doesn’t sleep as long, which leads to it being harder to put down during bedtime. When we do get a crib nap in, it only lasts for around 20- 40 minutes. During this middle part of the morning, she is contact napping, and I am usually reading my Kindle, scrolling, ordering groceries, etc.

10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Between 10:30 am and 11:30 am is usually when my daughter wakes up from her longest nap of the day. After her nap. I change her again and put her in the carrier so we can go on a walk outside with my pup. We take around a 30-minute to one hour walk before I head back to each lunch. While I’m eating lunch, my daughter spends a bit more time on the floor doing some independent play before she gets tired again. Right now, she loves to attempt rolling and reaches for toys on her play gym! After this wake window, she nurses and goes back to sleep for another 1- 2 hours. 

Naps

Usually, we only have one long nap in the morning. Sometimes, if she wakes up early for whatever reason, we can squeeze two in. She will also fall asleep in the carrier if we start our walk later into her wake window. If she falls asleep in her carrier, I try to take a longer walk or keep her asleep in it when we get back to our apartment.

Overall, during the day, she ends up with around 5 naps, but sometimes she will skip her nap around 2:30- 4:00 and end up going to sleep earlier in the evening. Our apartment is very bright (even with all the blinds closed) around mid-afternoon, so it’s the hardest nap to get her down for. My husband also comes home around 4:00 pm, so there is more going on in the apartment, and it’s harder for her to get to sleep if she starts to get tired around 3:30- 4:00 pm, depending on the timing of her naps that day.

Repetition

Mornings in this season are very repetitive. It has taken a bit to find my footing and adjust to life with a baby. However, I love the slow morning and find comfort in the repetition! I sit in my rocking chair, get to sip on coffee and not feel rushed or like I need to be productive, and can focus on this time with my baby. I’ve also read a ton of books! So far this year (January and February), I have read 14 books and was able to read another 10 in December since nursing sessions took a lot longer and wake windows were shorter. Some days I’m bad about doomscrolling, but I’m trying to focus on replacing that time with reading; otherwise, I feel more anxious.

Preparing for Contact Napping

I have learned that you need to be very prepared when contact napping! Now that my husband is no longer on paternity leave and it’s just me, I try to prep a bit during wake windows so that we can do longer stretches of contact naps. I use the bathroom, fill my water, grab a snack, and make sure my Kindle, charger, blanket, and the TV remote is nearby. There is nothing worse than nursing your baby who is about to fall asleep and realizing you left your water bottle across the room or is empty (the thirst you get from nursing is intense)! I’ve also had my Kindle and phone die on me during a contact nap with the remote nowhere in sight, which is also not an ideal situation.

Tips for Creating a Morning Routine for a 3- Month-Old Baby

• Follow your baby’s cues and be flexible (every day is different, and babies are always going through developmental changes that can throw off the “schedule”).
• Meal prep for easy and healthy snacks and breakfast during the weekend or the night before. 
• Have something you look forward to each morning! Whether it’s contact napping, a treat, your morning coffee, reading, or something else!

Final Thoughts on Our Morning Routine