McKenna Baby Summary: Week 38

Schedule and routine for a 37-38 week old baby. Get info on this baby’s daily schedule and routine for each day and know how to structure your day.

3 kids at Christmas time

What a busy week for McKenna! She seems to have decided to show me with full force that she is growing up.

NURSING

All is well and we are still nursing four times a day.

SLEEPING

Sleeping started a bit rough (for her) because she cut her first tooth! For a couple of days, she took some shorter naps than normal, but nighttime sleep was fine.

SOLIDS/FINGER FOODS

McKenna still loves eating what we eat. One night, she had her finger foods while we were eating dinner. We were eating French Toast. Since she can’t have eggs yet, she couldn’t have French Toast. She was not pleased with this. She wanted what we were having!

We of course also had oranges (no citrus for her!), so overall she was not pleased with this dinner experience :). I realized I should be more careful in meal planning and make sure there is something she can have from our meal each night. I want to encourage her wanting to eat what we eat.


Read: Finger Foods Basics


I have started making her baby food chunkier to transition her to eating her food without purees. I fork mash as much as possible without using the Baby Food Mill or a blender/mixer.

38 week old daily schedule pinnable image

ECZEMA

Her eczema is amazing! There is no sign of it at all and her skin is literally the softest skin I have ever felt in my life. This is what I currently do. I give her a bath 3-4 times a week. I use either Aveeno body wash or Aquaphor. I honestly find the bath wash to be basically the same between the two. Her baths are luke warm.

After the bath, I put her on her towel and carry her to her room, drying her hair as we walk. I then put her on her changing table and pat her diaper area dry and immediately put a diaper on her. By then, her body is usually dry enough without me having to dry her any more.

I put hydrocortisone cream on her back because that is where she breaks out into rash. I then put Aquaphor on her. That is nice stuff. It is basically the consistency of Vaseline. It doesn’t spread easily, but it is very moisturizing. I then put her Aveeno eczema lotion on her, which I think helps spread around the Aquaphor better. Then I dress her.

In the evening before bed, I lotion her just using her normal lotion.

On non- bath days, I lotion her in the morning with the Aveeno lotion and then in the evening with her normal lotion. This is what I do now that there is no sign of rash. It seems to be maintaining things well.

However, her head is now starting to get dry, so if any of you have any good shampoo recommendations, I am all ears! Also, in case her face gets dry, I would be interested in face treatment. Thanks!

DISRUPTIONS

Disruptions still continued this week. This is one reason I like having spring babies; they are old enough to handle disruptions by the time Christmas comes around. Of course, this last summer I realized that is kind of silly because summer is basically three months of craziness while Christmas is only one month.

TEETHING

McKenna has definitely had teething pains and signs off and on for several months, but this week she actually cut the tooth! For my other two, the worst pain seemed to be before the tooth ever broke through. For McKenna, it seemed to continue for a few days after the initial break through. Her cheek got all red and rosy while she was in pain, so that is kind of nice that she displays that obvious teething sign.

SLEEP DISRUPTIONS

You know how I have that post “Nap Disruptions: Standing, Crawling, Rolling, etc.”? Well, add to that “etc” shaking head no. McKenna is just in love with shaking her head no. I think it is partly because we all get such a kick out of it and laugh and laugh when she does it. She shakes her head no for any physical movement you try to do with her. Sign all done? She shakes her head no (even when she agrees). Sign more? Shakes her head no. Wave bye-bye? Shakes her head no.

So one morning, I heard her talking at 5:30 AM. I turned on the video monitor and saw her in bed, looking at the monitor, shaking her head no. It was really cute and really funny. Happily, we both went back to sleep 🙂

She also started crawling (army style) this week. So far, we haven’t had sleep disruptions with it. I am naturally hoping we never do.

TALKING

McKenna started undeniably talking with a purpose this week. One night, I was getting dinner ready and she was in her high chair. She was kind of fussing a bit, trying to let me know she was done. I was telling her to wait for a minute. She sat there with much concentration and suddenly started blurting out, “All duh! All duh!” I rewarded her by getting her out :). So now when she is done, she will let us know with words.

She also started calling her Daddy “Da Da.” She has quickly learned that when she says that, he is immediately right with her. Aren’t babies so smart?

OUR SCHEDULE

8:15 AM–wake, nurse, solids (prunes or peaches and oatmeal)
9:35-9:45 AM–nap
12:20 PM–wake, nurse, solids (green veggie and applesauce. Sometimes mix with blueberries).
2:00 PM–nap
4:30 PM–wake, nurse, solids (yellow veggie and bananas or pears).
5:30ish PM–dinner with family. Finger foods and what we are having.
6:30 PM–nap. Some nights, she stays up until 6:45-6:50. We are getting closer to dropping this nap.
7:45ish PM–wake, nurse, PJs, story, bed

Babywise Schedule 38 Weeks Old pinnable image

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27 thoughts on “McKenna Baby Summary: Week 38”

  1. Hi Valerie, My DD just started with eczema on her face this month. She also has a few areas on her buttocks. For the face, my doctor told me just to use hydrocortisone cream followed with a layer of Aquaphor. For the buttocks and other areas of the body, I now have a prescription cream to use, followed by a layer of Aquaphor. Baths are every other day now, cotton PJs (not polyester), and Dove bar soap to cleanse with. The ped didn't mention anything about shampoo, that is a good point though! I would just use regular moisturizing all natural adult shampoo and be careful not to get in eyes. This ezcema is really hard to deal with! I feel for you and McKenna!Amy

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  2. DH has eczema and his scalp is itchy and flakes in the cold, dry winter months. So he takes coconut oil (he just buys the jar from the grocery store but you have to allow it to liquify-so he'll just heat some water and put some coconut oil in a small dish and heat it up in the bowl of hot water and it becomes liquid in a couple of minutes). Then he spreads it on his scalp and shampoos. He usually has to shampoo twice. DD1 has a real flaky scalp in the winter (real scaly looking!) and he did that for her last winter and it helped a lot. It's kind of a mess but it really does work and it is all natural! That's the best thing for him so far. A lot of the shampoos can cause worse scalp irritation…it's probably trial and error.GL!

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  3. I really enjoy the new wallpaper/layout, it is so easy to read, I usually read your post from my RSS but today clicked a link from twitter and was pleasantly surprised.We use Arbone products, really like them got rid of his cradle cap quickly when he was a newborn and lotion is not greasy or thick

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  4. Hi Val,I was wondering if you could discuss in great detail what you mean by disruptions. Did you stay out late past bedtime? How did she react? How many times in the week did you have disruptions? As a first time mom I still NEVER take Olive out past bedtime. Ever. She has been out past bedtime exactly 6 times, every single one of them due to flights. I mentioned on the Yahoo group that I didn't go home this Christmas precisely because I avoid any disruptions to her schedule. Can I tell you how difficult it is to always be home for every nap and bedtime living in a city with no car (NYC)? Almost everything Olive does with our family is within a 30 block radius of our home because if it's any farther and we can't take a cab I don't have enough time to get her home before nap/bedtime. Anyway, PLEASE include more details about your disruptions. Also, did you ever figure out that thing about me posting under different names? I only post under loudgnat23. Sometimes I sign off with Natalie, but I'm curious to know what other names are popping up.

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  5. I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.Lucyhttp://maternitymotherhood.net

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  6. I thought Rowan had eczema when he was a baby (on the back of his hands), before eczema I thought he had a burn. Turns out he was just rubbing his skin raw whilst army crawling! I figured it out when he started really crawling and his "eczema" went away! But what I do for his very dry skin is eucerin cream and aquaphor. If his cheeks get chapped from the wind (it happens to him so easily) I will put the aquaphor on his cheeks. I apply the eucerin and aquaphor to the appropriate places after I wipe them or wash them after meals. We wash our hands together before and after meals to it fits in perfectly after. I also started using aveeno for after-meal clean-ups and hand washing.Hope this helps!

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  7. Thanks for the tips on the surgery, it went really well. They even let my husband go in with our son until he was "out" with the gas (I was with his 7 month old brother who was waking up from his).You can use aquaphor on baby's face as well, we load em up after bathing (we bath a lot in Hawaii,about 3x's a day cause the kids get so sticky) before bed it soaks in so fast by the time we put them down it isn't sticky anymore. I think someone else mentioned dove soap too but you can wash her head with that it worked wonders with Our 21 month old, he only uses dove now doesn't even need the aquaphor anymore.

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  8. I got an Aveeno Baby product for my own dry winter face, but I figured I can use it on my baby if he shows signs of dryness. It's Aveeno Baby fragrance free Soothing Relief Creamy Wash that says "gently cleanses and soothes dry skin even dry sensitive skin/skin feels moisturized for 24 hours/Tear-Free." I like it, it feels great going on my face, but I still use lotion after it. Just another idea.

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  9. Natalie,I agree with you on the disruption thing. My husband and I haven't been out past 5pm in almost a year! My DD's bedtime is at 6:30ish and we always have to be home by 5 at the latest to do bath, pjs, bottle, etc. It is tough, because so many cool events with the community and my church occur from 6-8 pm. I was wondering myself at what age my 11 month DD could handle an occasional disruption or even a weekly disruption to nighttime sleep. We are more flexible with the naps and if we want to do something during the day, we just let her nap in the car. But, this only happens a few times a year (hiking or shopping trips, etc). I would think by age 2, she should be more flexible with bedtime. But by then, I am hoping to have another baby! So, gee, does it ever end?Amy

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  10. I love the shaking the head "no". My little girl Kat did that same thing. Everything you said to her, she shook her head and then I would nod my head yes and then we'd laugh. So funny. Also, thanks so much for including the info about transitioning to finger foods. It has made me a little braver with trusting Kat's chewing abilities. I tried little pieces of noodles, toast, and I'm moving on to whole peas. So thanks again!Jaime

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  11. Haha! My LO does the same thing with the head shaking, she also tips her head side to side and giggles when we copy her…..for the eczema you can try California Baby moisturizing botanical cream. I love it for the face and after baths. I also only bath my 9mo. old 2-3 times a week in the winter (once she's walking and outside more I bath more based on need, not habit) I also have humidifiers on in both my girls' rooms for naps and bedtime since the air is so dry during winter. It's also nice "white noise" although ours are almost silent. I only experienced dry scalp with DD1 when I didn't use her conditioner a couple times (ran out & ordered online) we use the california baby sensitive shampoo and calming conditioner. I'm a little OCD about skin care (licensed aesthetician) and I have to say that California Baby and Aquaphor are to of my favorite brands! Just a heads up, I would stay away from head and shoulders, the ingredients are NOT safe: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wordsearch.php?query=head+%26+shoulders I wouldn't even use this on myself much less my babies. Oh yeah, and any product stating "tear free" means it contains a numbing agent in it so the eyes don't burn. Hope that helps and have a Merry Christmas! 🙂

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  12. As recommended by our dermatologist, we put mineral oil on dd's head before bedtime. During her bath the next morning we use California Baby wash on her head and gently rub with soft bristle baby hair brush to remove flakes. The doc recommended using head and shoulders too, but the wash is working so far and I don't really feel comfortable with using H&S.

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  13. Redheads, cute new pic! If you still have diaper issues, try out the Burt's Bees diaper ointment or the Lansinoh diaper cream. We are currently using the burts bees and it is really good stuff.

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  14. Natalie, I will do a post on it. My kids have all handled disruptions differently. Brayden never handled them well. If he was late for bed, he was crying. Kaitlyn and McKenna have both handled them well, though. The other name was Natalie…I want to say Willes? That is the name it showed up under. Sometimes that happens with people…if you get the individual emails, you see that some people's show up under different names. Sometimes it is their name and sometimes their email address. For most, the two are practically the same. But yours are ver different.

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  15. lkaika and Laura, I am glad it went well! That is really nice that they let you in the room with them. Thanks for the tips, too!

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  16. Amy, on those days you could try doing a bath earlier in the day (unless she needs it to calm down). That is one reason do baths in the morning.

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  17. I know, Jaime, they are so cute huh! You are welcome. I am not so brave myself, but I think the BLW post made me a lot more brave!

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  18. Nikki, that is interesting about the tear free. I was wondering about that the other day when I got shampoo in my eye and wished I had tear free 🙂 So it is bad to have tear free? Or are you just saying to make sure to not get it in the eyes even if it is tear free (which I do–who wants water in their eyes?)?

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  19. I guess it depends on what you consider "bad". There are plenty of products out there that are tear-free and contain pretty harmful ingredients otherwise, yet on the other end of the spectrum there are plenty of organic "safe ingredient" products that would probably sting pretty bad if they got into the eyes. I just like to know what's really in products so I can make an educated decision. 🙂

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  20. I see at 38 weeks you are not giving McKenna citrus. When is the reccommended time to give citrus? My son is 37 weeks and has had a bite or 2 of mandarine oranges on 2 occasever sions. he is like McKenna and wants to eat what we eat. Just wanted to know why u r waiting on citrus.

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  21. Jenna, citrus is not supposed to be introduced until 12 months old. It is because of the acid levels. It can cause rashes. So, if your baby has been fine, then he will probably be fine, jut watch for it.

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  22. I know this is an older post, but I have a 38 week old son and am so confused as to what "finger foods" are? He eats cheerios, and other dissolvable delights, but that's about it. What else can I give him?

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  23. See the blog label "finger foods" for more help on this. You can do cheese and soft fruits as well as many grains. The finger foods posts will give you more ideas.

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