Newborn schedule for baby’s 7th week. Baby newborn schedule and routine for the seventh week of life. 6-7 week old newborn routine. Find out what to do with a newborn all day, newborn playtime activities, newborn growth spurts, and witching hour at this age.

This is for the week Brinley was 6 weeks old–so her 7th week but while she is 6 weeks old.

NURSING

Nursing is still going great!

POOPING

This week, Brinley suddenly stopped pooping 4-5 times per day.

My other girls were always the type to poop several times a day. Brayden, however, was always a “once every few days” sort. So I knew this could be normal for a baby.

They can poop multiple times a day or once every week (or longer). I have to wonder if the timing is with wonder week 5. The book The Wonder Weeks says a baby’s digestive system will be more mature after that week.

WITCHING HOUR

So far, Brinley rarely has witching hour times, but McKenna didn’t start until she was older so I wouldn’t say we are free and clear.

We decided to set up her swing this week. We hadn’t used it at all yet, but I thought it might come in handy sometimes and I wanted to know if she would like it since McKenna hated it.

She had one night of witching hour this week, and for that we put her in the swing and she took a nap in it! Always remember, if your baby has a witching hour, don’t be afraid to do what it takes to keep baby happy and get a nap in. 

Also, if your baby has reflux and needs to sleep in the swing often, don’t worry about it. Kaitlyn took a lot of naps in her swing as a baby, and she is a great sleeper today. It didn’t negatively impact her at all. Sleep comes first.

>>>Read here: How To Manage Baby’s Dreaded Witching Hour

OUTINGS

The big outing for us this week was my postpartum doctor visit. I wasn’t worried at all about how Brinley would do. My other girls did great (Brayden, however, did not. He was crying so much my OB had one of his nurses take him out so he could talk to me. That was before we started with Babywise, though). 

Brinley started to cry as soon as my OB entered the room. Before that, she was fine. But I was thinking how funny it is to have a woman with a 6 week old stripped down and ready for a pelvic exam. It doesn’t really put you in a position to help your baby.

My OB did my exam and then I picked Brinley up and soothed her. Neither of us were stressed; she has four kids, now I have four kids…I guess we are used to it all. My OB commented, “At least her cry isn’t annoying.” It’s true! Her cry isn’t annoying at all. I assumed I just thought that because she is mine. Oh, and you might have noticed the pronoun genders changing with my OB; my first OB moved across the country after Kaitlyn was born so I have a different one now. Anyway, we survived just fine.

DREAMFEED

For her dreamfeed, she pretty much went back to eating from only one side. She sleeps the same with one or two sides, so I don’t stress it out. I try to get two sides, but if she will only take one, I put her in bed and don’t worry about it.

>>>Read: The Basics of a Dreamfeed

WAKETME ACTIVITIES

These are the things we do during waketime. If there is a certain time of day we try to do something, I have noted it.

• Bath (I always do this after her first feeding of the day)
• Get held by siblings/parents (this happens a whole lot)
• Tummy time (this varies based on mood–I like to do tummy time when she is happy and alert)
• Gym play (I do this after her 10:30 AM feeding. I treat it like an independent play, though I am in the room with her while she does it)
• Read stories (we do this before bed–after her 7:00 PM feeding)
• “Play” on blanket
• Lay there and have me take a million pictures of her
• Walks 

AS FOR ME

I had no insomnia this week! Hurray!

I had my six week visit this week with my OBGYN. Everything is great with me and I was cleared for exercise, so I decided to start out with simple pilates. With pilates, I don’t get sweaty, so I am cool with doing them at any point in the day and not having to get up early to do them before I get ready.

I figure I will do pilates for a couple of weeks and then try something more vigorous. Pilates will also be good because my abs really need some strength! They are definitely the weak spot in my body right now. 

If your back is really sore, work your abs. Often times back pain is caused by a weak “core”–including your abs. I am sure the extra weight from your breastfeeding breasts doesn’t help, either. I have seen a big improvement just after three times of doing pilates. I did Winsor Pilates (you can find these online also).

SCHEDULE

This is our daily schedule that we shoot for. Our first feeding varies the most. It typically ranges between 6:30 and 7:30 AM.

She is now old enough to do 2.5 to 3.5 hour intervals between feedings, so if she is sleeping when the time comes up, I let her go up to 30 minutes longer. She will eat better if she wakes on her own, and if not, those extra thirty minutes can often be enough to get her interested in eating.

7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30–feed
11:20–nap
1:30–feed
2:20–nap
4:30–feed
5:20–nap
7-7:30 (time varies here)–feed, then bedtime
10:00–dreamfeed
Then night feed(s). Typically, this happens between 2:30-3:30 AM.

HELPFUL BOOKS

• Chronicles of a Babywise Mom Log eBook
• The Babywise Mom Nap Guide
• Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby
• On Becoming Baby Wise
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
• What to Expect the First Year
• The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior–Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood

RELATED POSTS

• Adding Waketime to Your Newborn’s Day
• How Long Should a Newborn Be Awake Between Naps
• My Sleep Hierarchy For Newborns
• McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Seven
• Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 6
• Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 8
• Sample Babywise Schedules: One Month Old (5-9 weeks)