Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 8

Newborn schedule for baby’s 8th week. Baby newborn schedule and routine for the eighth week of life. 7-8 week old newborn routine. Find out what to do with a newborn all day, feeding intervals, and playtime activities.

Family photo with two parents and 4 kids

This summary is for Brinley in her 8th week–while she was 7 weeks old.

NURSING

Brinley started to be more awake for her feedings this week, keeping her eyes open for the feedings. She hasn’t ever been consistently difficult to keep awake for feedings, but even so, she wasn’t completely alert during feedings. This week, she was alert.

Toward the middle of this week, I suddenly had a clogged duct in each breast. I woke the next morning to find they were red and hot to the touch. I feared mastitis was either here or imminent. It was Saturday, and I don’t like our Instacare (Urgent Care), so I decided to try to work it out and call my OB on Monday if it didn’t go away.

I got one side to go away by massaging it out. If you have never massaged a clogged duct, let me tell you, it doesn’t feel good. But it is better than mastitis.

The other side, however, was bad. It hurt so much that if her toe lightly touched my breast while she was eating, I flinched in pain. That day, I started every feeding on that side. I applied warm compresses and massaged and massaged. I also hand-expressed the milk out.

By Monday morning, it was fine! I was so happy. I really, really want to avoid antibiodics if possible because in my experience, that has led to thrush all but one time. 

>>>Read: Mastitis

FEEDING INTERVALS

Brinley is old enough for a 2.5-3.5 hour schedule. She eats much better if she wakes on her own versus me waking her, so if she is still sleeping at the three hour mark, I let her go thirty more minutes before waking her.

She will then often have a 2.5 hour interval at some point in the day. Doing this doesn’t remove a feeding from our day, it just shifts the exact time of feedings.

POOPING

She kept to the once-per-week poop. It has been about 7 years since I had a once-per-week pooper, and it is rather nice! It is nice not changing a poopy diaper every time I change a diaper. I don’t mind newborn poop per say, but wet diapers are much easier.

SLEEPING

Naps have continued on as usual–which is fabulous.

Nighttime got even better. She extended her nights a bit, waking for her first time around 4 AM most nights. She also started sleeping consistently until my desired wake up time of 7:30 AM. I have to wake her each day to eat at 7:30.

SLEEPY TIME OF DAY

Brinley has a sleepy time of day, and it is the same as my other girls. She is super, super sleepy after her 1:30 PM feeding. I pretty much have to just feed her, change her diaper, and put her back in bed. My other girls were also sleepy at this time of day–especially Kaitlyn.

This does not have a negative affect on her schedule or night sleep.

MILESTONES

The smile came! Finally! I love it! I have even been able to catch it on camera. Oh those first smiles just make your heart melt!

Even if you have a baby that doesn’t cry much at all, you spend 4-6 weeks taking care of this person, adorable and all, who doesn’t utter a thank you or even give a smile in return.

Some, like Brinley, are quite cuddly and that is a nice thank you. But that first smile just makes it all okay! It is the best thank-you ever. 

I also noticed Brinley’s eye-lashes are in and dark. 

ADJUSTED AGE?

Adjusted age…this is such a difficult thing. So Brinley was born three weeks early. Do I count her age as 7 weeks old or 4 weeks old?

Babies born 36 weeks or younger often are adjusted to really start counting age from the due date, but a 38 or 39 weeker isn’t going to be adjusted…but shouldn’t they if they are still before their due date? And what about late babies?

In my mind, I treat her like a 7 week old; however, I also acknowledge the fact that she was born early and might meet eating, sleeping, and physical milestones later than she “should.” With sleeping, a huge factor is weight, so an early baby is often smaller than on-time babies.

>>>Read: How To Calculate Baby’s Age

MAKING BABY FOOD

I have been making baby food to freeze for Brinley. Most foods will freeze for around a year, so I can make the food now while it is in season and less expensive (or free…we have a garden and we have relatives who grow things we don’t) and freeze it for later.

>>>Read: How I Make Homemade Baby Food

A FABULOUS resource for easy baby-food making is Fresh Baby. Fresh Baby often sponsors giveaways on this blog.

Their instructions for making baby food are super, super simple and easy to follow. The way they have to you it is not intimidating in the least. 

Another great resource if you are into lots of information (like a textbook) is Super Baby Food. I love that book. 

>>>Read: Book Review: Super Baby Food

OUTINGS

I forgot to mention last week another big outing we had. We went to an LDS temple open house. It was super busy and crowded, so we were inside for a couple of hours.

She slept for one hour in our arms, then was awake for one hour. She was super good.

Once we got out, we offered her a bottle of breastmilk, but she only took an ounce. She is not a great bottle drinker yet. She often gags with it in her mouth. Hopefully that can change. We drove home and she nursed great. 

We had family pictures done this week. I am very excited to see them! Brinley was good. No smiling, but no screaming. 

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 

SCHEDULE

This is our daily schedule that we shoot for. 

7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30-11:00–feed
11:20–nap
1:30-2:00–feed
2:20–nap
4:30-5:00–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

RELATED POSTS

Babywise Newborn summary week 8 pinnable image

Brinley Newborn Summaries

A list of all of the baby newborn summaries for Brinley. Get a week by week summary of what is going on and a typical weekly schedule and routine for a newborn baby.

28 thoughts on “Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 8”

  1. I always get blocked in my nipple. I guess they are called milk blisters….. It took me forever to figure out that that was what was happening. Now I know how to pop it out before it gets backed up:)

    Reply
    • So when she only naps for 1 hour that means she's awake for 1 hour before bedtime routine which is 45-60 min also so she is up almost 2 hours straight? Is that right? I thought babies this age should not be up for more than 1 hour at a time?

      Reply
    • By 8 weeks, they can handle a bit longer sometimes–especially late in the day like that. But if she napped for an hour, she would be up for 60-90 minutes and then back down.

      Reply
  2. I tried to post this comment earlier but I guess it didn't go through. My daughter (now 20 months) was born at 35 weeks due to placenta previa. She was almost born at 32 weeks but fortunately bedrest bought her a few extra weeks. She had minor breathing and feeding issues that kept her in the special care unit of the hospital, but she was still sent home with me. Doctors have never even mentioned an adjusted age for her. She's reached all physical milestones close to average ages for them (some later and other earlier). She also slept through the night at a very early age, which I definitely think was a result of the Babywise schedule from the very beginning. For us, 35 weeks was not early enough to have any need for an adjusted age, but of course every baby is different.

    Reply
  3. Hi Val!  I'm a brand new mommy, of a 7 week old beautiful baby girl, and your blog has been so helpful for me!  Our daily schedule is very much like yours above, with a 7pm bedtime/7am wake up call.  The past week we've been working on a combo schedule… extendjng her waketimes and trying to get her down for naps when I notice her sleepy cues.  She's also moved to eat about every 3.5 – 4 hours.  The one thing we do try and keep very constant is a 7pm bedtime/7am wakeup…however  in the past week it had been a huge struggle to try and get her down at 7.  She cries the minute she hits the crib, but isn't hungry and won't eat and spits out her paci 2 mins after we give it to her..  We try swaddling, rocking,  sushing and just sitting with her but the only thing  that seems to work is by putting her in her swing. Well do the bedtime dance with her for about an hour until we give up from exhaustion and frustration and put her in the swing.  Any suggetions on how to make bedtime run more smoothly?? 

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  4. Hi Val, sorry to hear about the blocked duct. I had one the 3rd week and, and it was terribly painful. I was able to get it worked out. I have a 6 week old little boy who goes down for bed at 8:00. He does not do a dream feed, but he has been sleeping for 3 nights until 3 or 4 am. However, when I lay him back down after eating, he has been waking after 45 min to an hour instead of sleeping until his 7:00 wake time. I am not sure why he is having trouble. Has anything like this ever happened to you with your kids. It's really terrible because I am just getting back to sleep when he wakes up crying. I have generally been holding him until he falls back to sleep and this may have been a mistake, but I did not want him to cry and wake his brother. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Shea, it could be habit from being held. Is he burped? Clean diaper? I would guess it is either discomfort of some kind or the holding thig.

      Reply
  5. Valerie, Do you find it hard to only spend a few waking hours each day with Brinley? My son is 7 weeks old and I follow about the same schedule you have for Brinley, but I'm just finding it so difficult to grasp that I'm really only spending about 4 waking hours with him, and the rest of it he's sleeping. I suppose it's normal, it just seems crazy to me. Any encouragement would help 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristen it can be hard. I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. I get anxious for her to be up longer, but my experience tells me that a)if she were up longer she wouldn't be happy she would be grumpy from being tired and b) time goes by quickly and pretty soon she will be up longer. And before I know it she will be up most of the day like the older kids.

      Reply
  6. I am a mommy of twin boys, who are 8 weeks this upcoming friday. They are on a 7, 10, 1 ,4, 7, 10, 1, 4 schedule and are just ok with keeping to the schedule. Two questions though, one of my boys seems to wake up half way thru his 7 am nap and I don't know why? Sometimes I can get him back to sleep, but not always. Should I feed him more? And they still are not sleeping long hours at night. With twins, should I expect sleeping milestones to be weeks behind? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Amber it depends on if they were born early or not. At this age it is likely either a growth spurt or the wonder week 8 ( see today's newborn summary for more on that). My kids had growth spurts at different ages, so I imagine twins could do the same. If it is just the morning nap he has trouble with, then I would guess he needs a shorter morning waketime length.

      Reply
  7. Thanks for your response. I am the mommy of the twin boys. I saw your post today and I am flabbergasted that your daughter sleeps so long at night. My boys were born at 38 1/2 weeks, but considered full term for twins and will be 8 weeks this friday. We have been doing baby wise since week 2. After the 7 pm feeding they go down at about 8:15. Our boys have longer wake times than your kids. Anyhow, they have slept thru their dream feed twice and when they did they slept till 1. But when we wake them for their dream feed at 10:30, they don't sleep for a long stretch, but rather wake for the 1 and again at 4. And I have lots of milk too, as I haven't had any problems with breast feeding. Thanks for you input or ideas.

    Reply
  8. I am having a hard time with my son Easton. He will be 8 weeks this Friday. He is still in our room (in his own bed) at night but takes all naps in crib in his room. I haven't wanted to move him to his room at night until he sleeps all night but maybe I need to get over that. What do you think? Also, he tends to fight nap sleep. I can get him down every time but it takes work. I change his diaper, swaddle him, and then cuddle him (sometimes I walk around, sometimes we rock just depends on what is working). I lay him down after he has spit his paci out usually. That means he is either very much asleep or very relaxed with eyes closed. I think he needs a sound machine for sure. Also, if he wakes on his own in the middle of a nap (if he's not hungry) he will usually soothe himself back to sleep by whining or something. I always allow him that chance to soothe. The hardest part though is getting him to sleep for naps, etc. Any thoughts or helpful tips. Plus his schedule is all over the place. He eats anywhere from 2 hours to 3.5 hours. It's usually either 2.5 hours or 3. :/

    Reply
  9. I am curious too how I would do this with my twins they eat their night time bottles at 8 pm would I dream feed at 11? Or should I let them sleep till that midnight feeding?I would never be awake at 11 pm lol so waking up at midnight isn't too different from the 11, or should I dream feed at 10pm still?They eat at 8, 12,4,8,12,4

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  10. They grow up so fast. Before you know it, she'll be getting into her own Hatley pyjamas and asking for bedtime stories.

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  11. Looks like you got the makings of a super model right there. You don't see a kid posing that good in baby clothing everyday.

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  12. I can totally feel for you, having a baby is stressful but it’s the most wonderful thing that could happen to you. Anyway the link about easy baby-food making is very useful; I always browse on it to look for new recipes. I just want to ask if do you, by chance have sources/ materials on how to deal with positive discipline for toddlers?Louisse

    Reply
  13. I want to create my own summary for my baby too. I am starting to create personalised baby clothes for her while I can because I want her to look beautiful every day.

    Reply
  14. Any advice for starting babywise at this age? My son will is almost 8 weeks, and weighs around 11 lbs ( was born at 6"10"). He also was diagnosed with reflux and is taking meds. He is pretty much eating at 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 730pm then bed, dreamfeed around 1030' up at 130/2am. We would love to work towards dropping the 2am feed and getting closer to a 6am wakeup- any advice? Meh did start daycare this week so we are giving him time to settle in and adjust….

    Reply
  15. This diaper does not leak so easily like other cheap varieties. I am using it for quiet some time for my kids. Will suggest to you too.honest company

    Reply
  16. Maybe by the time you reply to this, I'll have answered my question but it's worth a shot! My daughter is 8 weeks this week and her schedule is 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 (ish) a lot of times in the evenings I cluster feed her. But my husband and I go to bed very early, at like 8:30 or 9, and I have RARELY been awake for a dream feed, and I cannot seem to wake up for them! When I have, 99% of the time she won't eat anyways. So for the past while she's been just waking once after her 7pm feeding. It varies from 2-5am, but I'm just wondering if this is going to work? Will she be sleeping through the night soon even though I've been lazy with the dreamfeed

    Reply
  17. Love your blog! Thankful for this post today! My Tripp is 7 w 4 d and was also 3 weeks early. I ask myself the same questions about how old I should really consider him; it's great to read another mom's thoughts! He started out a little rough with his weight; we were feeding every two hours per pediatrician for almost two weeks to get/keep him healthy. He has been doing great with the 3 hour schedule since week 4 but I feel he's starting to change it up. He normally starts his day at 6:30 and is pretty clockwork after that until evening where he sometimes goes to 2-2.5 hours. This past week he hasn't wanted to wake up or eat much at 6:30. We finally decided if he doesn't want to eat much and is so sleepy w'ell put him back to bed, and he sleeps fine until 9:30. He still wakes in the night (usually between 3 and 4); we feed him at 10:45 pm. I head back to work next week (!!! 🙁 ) and am trying to make sure we have a decently consistent schedule before then!!

    Reply
  18. I have a almost 8 week old. I have been feeding her at 7,10,1,3,6,8,11 then between 4-5am. Around week 4 she sleep through the night for about 5 total nights but has since gone back to waking in the middle of the night to eat. Since I know she can sleep all night I keep expecting her to and it doesn't happen. Can I do anything to help her to. Also I really want to drop a day feeding because I know she doesn't need that many. I feel like I should wait till she sleeps through the night to drop a day feeding? Is that a correct thought? I kinda feel if I extend her day feedings it might help her sleep all night? Does that make sense? (Sorry so long)

    Reply
  19. Hi, my 8 week old has slept through the night around week 4 about 4-5 times so I know she can do it. She is now back to waking between 4-5am every morning. I am currently feeding at 7, 10,1,3,6,8 and dreamfeed at 11. I really want to move her to one less daytime feeding but I am not sure if I should since she hasn't been sleeping through the night consistently yet? Would you recommend changing my feedings to 7,10,1,4,7 and the dreamfeed even though she isn't sleeping through the night? Why do you think she did so well those times sleeping through the night and now she won't? She is clearly able to? Thanks so much for you advice on this.

    Reply

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