McKenna Baby Summary: Week 26

Schedule and routine for a 25-26 week old newborn baby. Get info on this baby’s daily schedule and routine for each day and know how to structure your baby’s day.

26 week old baby McKenna and her dad

Things are still going really well. We moved to a new house this week and McKenna didn’t seem to bat an eye. Here is a summary of our week.

NURSING

Everything remains the same. You may wonder why I say that every week :). I do it to show and assure you that milk supply is fine and she is growing fine. We are having no issues, and since “you will lose milk supply” is a common claim of the anti-babywise folks, I like to continue to point out that everything is fine.

Not only is everything fine, but everything is fine amid the stress of moving, packing, unpacking, me forgetting to eat…everything is still going well. But now that we are more settled, I am making sure to focus on eating right and drinking what I should.

NIGHTTIME SLEEP

She still slept the same. I had to wake her each morning and she slept through the night just fine. This was nice because I fully expected to have some nights of disruption due to the move (and that is totally normal), but she seems to be quite adaptable.

SOLIDS

This week, I introduced McKenna to green beans and pears. She liked both. She seems to have a special delight in pears, and who can blame her! They taste like candy when they are ripe, and’tis the season for ripe pears! I know I posted this over the weekend, but if you didn’t see it, now is the time to make pears! Pears will last for one year in your freezer, so no matter the age of your baby (or unborn baby) right now, so long as your baby will reach the age of solids before one year from now, you can use them!

ROLLING

We didn’t have any disruptions to sleep this week due to rolling.

26 week old sample schedule Pinnable image

DREAMFEED

We still have the dreamfeed, but we are feeding at 10:15 and moving it back. I have to wake her for it. I wanted to wait two weeks after starting the four hour schedule before dropping it fully, and I also wanted to wait a week or two after moving. Her six month appointment will be soon, along with vaccinations, so I am deciding if I should try to have it dropped before then, or if I should wait to have it fully dropped until after then. I am pondering over that right now. Either way, we are on our way.

FOUR HOUR SCHEDULE

She is still doing well with the four hour schedule. It has been nice to have long chunks of time to pack and unpack.

MOVING

I plan to do a moving tips post, but I will discuss some of our moving experience here. McKenna did really well with the move. The first day, she did cry for a couple of seconds (literally) when I put her in her bed, but other than that she was fine.

While we were moving and remodeling, she spent a lot of time at my parent’s house. She didn’t like sleeping there at first. She cried before naps. But she soon got used to it. Prior to this experience, she really didn’t sleep anywhere other than her crib in her room. During the experience, she slept at my parent’s in their crib and in their closet. She also slept in my neighbor’s closet. So she got used to sleeping all over the place. I want to be sure to keep up moving her around to sleep so she maintains her flexibility.

OUR SCHEDULE

8:00 AM–wake, nurse, eat 2-3 T prunes and 1 T peaches mixed with 3 T oatmeal (3 T dry before mixed with water).

9:00-9:10 AM–nap

12:00 PM–wake, nurse, eat about 4 T green veggie and 4-8 T banana (she will eat an entire banana. She loves them).

1:15-1:30 PM–nap

4:00 PM–wake, nurse, eat about 4 T yellow veggie and 4 T pears. I then offer 2 T oatmeal and let her eat until full. She usually doesn’t eat much oatmeal, but I offer it to see if she is still hungry.

6:00 PM–(sometimes she is tired between 5:30 and 6:00, in which case I put her down) nap

8:00 PM–wake, nurse, change into PJs, story, bed

10:15 PM–dreamfeed

Babywise Schedule Week 26 Pinnable Image

HELPFUL BOOKS/WEBSITES

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26 thoughts on “McKenna Baby Summary: Week 26”

  1. At what point does a baby begin to require more calories from solids than from breastmilk? Does bm need to be the main source until a year?

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  2. Am I doing the math right–does she really only have about 5 hours of waketime each day? Do you attribute this to your slow progression since birth? How was Brayden–your kid who doesn't prefer to sleep–different in waketime by this age? I would love to hear any details you remember about how Brayden slept his first year.

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  3. Hi!! I am a new mom and LOVE your blog. Love it, love it. Thank you so much for all the information you provide to all us new moms! I have searched and searched to find the definition of STTN and perhaps am just overlooking it….but here is my question. My baby girl is 9 weeks. Goes to sleep after last feeding at 7;30ish, has a dream feed at 10:30-11pm and sleeps until 5:30. Is that considered STTN? I assume so but also have seen different definitions. Is the 7-8 hours NOT including dream feed or including? Please feel free to point me to the blog post that addresses – I wasn't able to find. 🙂 Thank you so much. Jess

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  4. Wow~ what a great sleeper you have! We are still dealing with the 45 minute naps though we are starting to get the occasional 1 1/2 hour nap (William will be 6 months October 1). He also takes 3-4 naps a day and I am grateful that he goes to bed around 6pm and sleeps until around 7am. William is my only child so the short naps are not a problem for us and don't seem to be for him. Aside from the 45 minute naps we have tried our best to follow other Babywise principles and make it work for us.My only concern right now is my milk supply. I am still feeding on a 3-hour schedule and only doing solids one time each day but I feel as though my supply has decreased. I don't respond to the pump very well and as a result William doesn't respond to a bottle very well so right now I am exclusively breastfeeding. I don't know for sure that my supply is low. William is fussier than normal but he is getting a tooth on the bottom and has had some poop issues as well so I don't know for sure that he is hungry. I did have my doctor call in a prescription for Reglan to increase my milk supply. I will start that tomorrow and let you know how that goes. A friend of mine also recommended a recipe for Lactation Cookies. I found the recipe at this address http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/LACTATION-COOKIES-1252680. I have not made them yet but she swears that they work for her.

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  5. Okay, I am in need of some advice too! So, I have a baby girl just a week younger than McKenna and she has been an excellent baby. Naps good, sleeps good, eats good…until the past week! She has been waking up at 6:00am instead of her usual 7:30am, and her naps are just cat naps (she takes three that are no more than an hour long). She is more fussy. I still swaddle her. I just don't know what to do. She eats four times a day (four hours apart), but now that she wakes up earlier, it throws my whole schedule off. Do I add another feeding? Put her down to bed sooner? (her bedtime right now is about 7-7:30 with no dreamfeed). How do I get her sleeping good again? AHHHH help!If anyone has advice please share!ThanksKami

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  6. Although I do not follow Babywise, I enjoy your blog and have found many helpful tips, particularly regarding sleep — thank you. I could not help but comment that while you make a big point of saying that your milk supply is great, McKenna is eating a LOT of solids –up to 29 tablespoons per day according to your record — and she is just turning 6 months old. I'm sure you know that the AAP recommends delaying solids until six months, and that breastmilk or formula be the main source of nutrition throughout the first year. It's obvious that you are a very thoughtful and well-informed mother, so I am wondering why you choose to make solids such a large part of her diet at this age. It also seems likely that a baby eating that amount of solids would consume less milk than an exclusively breastfed baby of the same age. I wonder if breastfeeding would be going as well on your current schedule without solids? Is the early introduction of solids part of the Babywise program to compensate for less frequent nursing? I'm not trying to get into any sort of debate, I am genuinely interested in your answer.Thank you!

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  7. Katie, it depends on who you ask. Some say breastmilk is the main source until one year. Others until 6 months. Many even don't give anything other than breastmilk until one year.There is a lot of conflicting information out there and conflicting "facts." I would talk to your pedi about it and go with your feelings on the topic. Everyone (mostly) agrees that breastmilk (or formula) is very important until the first year, and then whatever form of milk you decide to do beyond that. Some doctors will tell mothers to cut back on the liquid to get more solids in at six months. Other doctors tell moms to cut back the solids to get more liquids in. Lots of opinions out there 🙂

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  8. Ben and Jenny, you are right. What do you mean by "slow progression"?At 6 months, Brayden was basically up for two hours, down for two hours. 7 eat9 nap11 eat1 nap3 eat5 nap7 eat9 bedHe had a late bedtime because my husband was in school and working. He was gone before Brayden got up and didn't get home until 8:30 PM, so I wanted him to see his Dad each day.

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  9. Jessica, STTN varies by age. For the 9 week old, 7-8 hours of continuous sleep is STTN according to babywise. It sounds like she is STTN. I don't count the DF in the 7-8 hours–you are counting straight hours of sleep. After 12 weeks, she will slowly (some quickly but most slowly) extend the night to 9-10 hours. Then eventually 12. I am glad you like the blog!

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  10. Anna, that is hard to figure out. Most women find they aren't able to pump as much as time goes by, so pumping isn't always reliable. Let us know how it goes. It is always hard to figure things out–there are always so many factors!

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  11. Kami,There are several possibilities. One is the 6 month growth spurt. If that is it, add a feeding to your day. Another is teething. See the post "5-8 month sleep disruptions" for a list of common causes for sleep problems during this age range.Another possibility would be the swaddle. It might be time to get rid of it.

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  12. You are welcome B. Morgan C.!I always breastfeed McKenna a full feeding before offering solids. When I pump, I get well over 6 ounces per session (she will eat 8 ounces from a bottle). I then just feed her what she wants in solids. I follow her lead.My philosophy with solids is to let the baby take the lead. I know a small number of babies don't regulate themselves well, but mine have so far (and most do). McKenna eats far less in solids than Bradyen did and far more than Kaitlyn did. All three have weighed about the same at their various ages. I think Brayden and McKenna have faster metabolisms (like my husband)–those two are actually smaller at each age than Kaitlyn (who ate significantly fewer solids–and the size difference is minimal, but Kaitlyn still weighed the most at most ages). Kaitlyn has a metabolism more like mine. Anyway, strong breastfeeding, LLL members actually say that feeding solids will compromise your supply. If you go to them with milk supply problems, one of the first things they tell you to do is drop your solids. The reason for that is that baby won't take enough milk to stimulate and keep produciton up if baby gets too many solids. So, solids could compensate for baby eating less milk, but it wouldn't explain why I still get lots of milk.Starting solids before 6 months isn't actually a babywise thing; babywise states to talk to your pedi about when would be the best time to start. Many BW moms don't start solids until after six months without milk supply problems.When Brayden was a baby, most people still started solids at four months. Brayden was more than ready, so we started. When Kaitlyn was a baby, most were saying to wait until 6 (though not all yet), but with her reflux, we started solids to see if it would help (and it did). My intention was to wait with McKenna until 5 months, but she was very ready just like Brayden was. AP moms like to tell me I am just one of those people who has a good milk supply no matter what. There are women who have good supply without effort, just as there are those who have poor supply despite their best efforts. It is possible. I have never had supply issues with any of my kids, but I am actually quite conscious of it. I do all I can to be sure it is kept up. If I am one of those women, then I put a lot of effort in for nothing 🙂

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  13. Thanks for your response, Valerie. McKenna just seems to have over-the-top requirements for both food and sleep. You are fortunate to have a good supply (I have struggled with low supply since the beginning, only having a 2/3 supply despite working very very hard and following all the current lactation advice). I believe you when you say that you have a great supply with only 4-5 feedings per day, but I also believe the women who say they could not maintain a full supply with those few feedings and STTN. There is great variability in storage capacity and production ability from mother to mother, not to mention differences in how much babies will take in one feeding. I think the bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all way to breastfeed a baby, and, as you said, it's important to constantly monitor your supply, especially when dropping feedings or STTN are involved.I have an expectant friend who wants to get her baby on a schedule, and after warning her of the potential problems, I told her that if she chooses a scheduling approach, she should read your blog for help 🙂

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  14. "Slow progression"–in terms of waketime–since her birth. I think I remember you saying that you like to increase waketime very gradually, maybe even just 5 minutes. In retrospect, I wonder if I increased waketime too quickly. We were doing great until just before 6 months when we went camping. Ever since we have struggled with regularity in naps. But a weekend of bad naps shouldn't set us on a 2 month detour. I can now look back and see that teeth and learning to sit were probably a part of the disruption. We seem to be stabilizing a bit more now (7.5 mo). I've been asking myself if (when) I were to do this again, if I would place more emphasis on slowly increasing waketime; and where to start when things get so off track. Thanks for the info on Brayden's routine. I think my kids tend to be a little more like he was in terms of sleep needs. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I especially appreciate your thoughts on learning and discipline with Brayden right now; your ideas have been very timely for me. Thanks!~Jenny

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  15. B. Morgan C.McKenna is a big sleeper. But it is funny–I don't view her as eating a lot of food. She is no where near Brayden so it doesn't seem like a lot. At her age, he was eating at least twice as much per meal. My kids are usually only in the 20% for weight, too (we are smaller I guess). Seriously–it is the metabolism. Last January, my husband decided he needed to lose some weight. So he starting eating more like a normal person instead of all that he could possibly want. He didn't go hungry in the least. In one week, he lost ten pounds. Lame.I agree there is no one-size-fits all…to anything parenting. It is always an adventure 🙂 You have to tweak things for the individual child. I am glad you can find things that help you here even though you don't do BW. 🙂

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  16. Ben and Jenny,Ah, I see what you mean. Yes, I increase typically in 5 minute increments. I think I am just worried I will add too much. And I have often found that while 5 minutes does the trick, 15 sends them too far. You are very welcome!

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  17. My baby is in the 25th percentile for weight, but she eats less than half of what McKenna does, and she's 7.5 months! She is a very active baby who cares more about going and doing than sustenance. It drives me nuts, though, since I'm always working hard to get her to eat and she could just care less. They are just their own little persons.

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  18. Hi! I am so glad I found your blog…so many good questions and answers – forgive me if I'm asking a "repeat" question. My son is 11 weeks old, and we haven't done any specific training yet, but he has fallen nicely into a nursing every 2.5 – 3 hours pattern, then going to sleep around 10 pm. It's pretty much the "Babywise" routine. The problem is, he wakes up at 3:30 every night. It was sporadic – once he slept 8 hours until 6:00 the next morning!I've been going in, if he truly is awake and really getting ready to crank up the cry, and giving him the paci. Some nights he falls back asleep for good. The past few nights, I've had to re-insert it for about 30 minutes of fussing, until finally he settles back down and sleeps until about 7:00 or more.How can I get him to stop waking at 3:30? Is he truly hungry? if he is, should I feed him, or is it OK to "train" his stomach not to eat by doing the paci thing? He is a healthy boy with good weight gain. Not a good nurser (impatient), but I pump and give him a bottle to make up for what he doesn't eat at the breast.Thanks!!

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  19. Okay, I've been trying to tough out my afternoons with my baby, but now I've got to get some insight. For the last few months (he's 8 months this week) his afternoons have been very unpredictable. Sometimes he does a full 1.5 – 2 hour second nap and then a 45 min catnap before supper, but often it's a guessing game. He is waking up early a lot and cries almost every time I put him down in the afternoon. There are no tears in the morning or at bedtime. What do you think?

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  20. B. Morgan C – My DD is 8 months and 1 week old and only eats about half of what McKenna eats as well!!! It drives me nuts, too! She likes solids, just doesn't have that big of an appetite. She is in the 20th percentile as well. I think that there must be different percentile charts, because Valerie has mentioned Mckenna's weight a few times, and it has always been several pounds more than my DD at the same age. So I am not sure how they can both be in the 20th percentile range. Valerie's family must just have hearty appetites and high metabolism! My DD is VERY active also, and doesn't take good naps. She has always slept 12 hours at night, since about 12 weeks old. Each child really is very unique physically and in personality.

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  21. B. Morgan C., Kaitlyn ate a lot less, too.If you think she isn't eating until she is truly full, try singing to her or talking to her while she is eating. That might keep her there longer.

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  22. Julia, if he is really hungry, I would feed him. But if he is waking from habit and not hungry, you are doing what the Baby Whisperer suggests to do for a baby who wakes habitually in the night.

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  23. Melissa, he might need a longer waketime. Sometimes even just 5 minutes can do the trick. I would also check out the post "5-8 Month Sleep Disruptions"

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  24. Redheads, well, DH, Brayden, and McKenna seem to have high metabolisms. I belive Kaitlyn is more like me. I wish I had DH's metabolism!

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  25. I am so grateful for all your advice and hard work on this site! It has been a life saver!So.. my daughter just turned 26 weeks yesterday. We moved to a 4 hour schedule (which did great and I LOVE LOVE LOVE). She is awake for 2 hours (or a little less if she is tired) and then sleeps for 2 hours. When we first switched over to the 4 hour schedule, she did great with naps. Now, she is waking up all over again half way through… bright eyed. But if I put her pacificer back in to calm her down, she will usually go back to sleep for the other hour. Anything I can do to get her to stop waking up half way? We also have been on rice cereal 3 times a day (getting used to it more and more and eating a little more each time) for about 4 weeks now. And yesterday we just started her on peas at her 4:00 feeding. Any help?Oh! So I don't have to write you another comment… We still swaddle. When should I stop? Just one arm at a time? She is finally sleeping really well through the night and I'm scared to stop swaddling in fear of her waking up a ton. Thank you so much for any advice!

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  26. Susan,There are a few possibilities.She could be waking early from naps because two hours is too long for her. Older babies will often do fine with a longer waketime initially, but then the lack of sleep catches up to them and they start to have sleep troubles.It could be a growth spurt. 6 months is a growth spurt age.It could be a developmental leap. See "wonder weeks" blog label for more on that.See also the post "5-8 month sleep disruptions" for further ideas.See the blog label "swaddling" for lots of info on that. 🙂

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