I can remember it like it was yesterday, I thought to myself I CAN’T go one more night on just 2-hour increments of sleep. I literally will not survive!!!! I had been a new mom for about 3 months and in that time frame could count on one hand the number of times I got to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.
I was just done, like stick a fork in me done. So I asked the Google Gods “How do I get my baby on a schedule?”!
E.A.S.Y
The answer they provided me was from a website called NOOB Mommy and I felt it was actually pretty appropriate for where I was in my stage of motherhood. It was the E.A.S.Y. Baby Schedule and I ended up using it with both my boys.
So the E.A.S.Y. plan stands for Eat, Awake, Sleep, Your Time. Plus it came with this awesome handy-dandy printable cheat sheet to stick on your fridge. Or at least that is what I did! So before this schedule, there was no schedule. Everything revolved around my boys and what they needed when they needed it. I was miserable, exhausted and felt like I couldn’t get anything done around the house.
My Way – A.E.S.Y.
I do remember changing it to be A.E.S.Y. which doesn’t make a nice acronym but worked better for us. I found my boys weren’t hungry when they first woke up, they were happy and wanted to play. So I modified things to fit them but still kept to the timeframes. Between 7-9 am we played and they got fed, then at 9 am I put them down for their morning nap. Same deal from 11-1 pm and at 1 pm they went down for an afternoon nap. After implementing the schedule with our modification of swapping Eating and Awake time things improved dramatically!
New Woman
Finally, I was able to get at least one 4 hour stretch of sleep at night and I literally felt like a new woman! Every new mom remembers this feeling, you don’t feel like a zombie anymore, you get a shower and maybe even slap on some mascara & eyeliner because you feel so great! Even my hubby came home and noticed that I looked alive again!
Ironically enough I forgot about how I put my oldest on the schedule and when my youngest was about 3 months old I found myself once again saying I CAN’T do this another day with no sleep! As soon as I thought that I immediately printed out a new copy of the schedule and posted it to the fridge. It worked like a charm once again with my modifications.
Adapt to You
Here is the deal, no one schedule is going to be perfect for everyone. You might have to change things up. The important part of all of this is when you are feeling in despair try something different. This schedule was the godsend I needed and I used it with both my boys. They took 2 naps a day until they were about 3 and then it just dropped to the one nap. They stayed that way until this year when we dropped nap time to help them go to bed earlier.
How to Use a Baby Schedule So You Can Get Some Sleep
So if you have found this blog post because you too were asking the Google Gods about a baby schedule then I hope it was helpful!
If you liked this post, then you’ll LOVE:
Pros & Cons of Lifestyle Newborn Sessions
How to Prepare for a Lifestyle Photoshoot
5 Tips for Choosing Your Newborn Photographer
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.
