Baby schedule for baby’s 26th week. Baby schedule and routine for the twenty-sixth week of life. 25 week old baby routine and daily life. Learn about Wonder Week 26 and how it affects sleep. Get ideas for healing your baby like veggies more. Get tips for teaching your child how to roll over, and get tips for introducing the sippy cup to baby. You will also get info on dropping the swaddling and handling separation anxiety.
This is a summary for Brinley’s 26 week; she was 25 weeks old.
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WONDER WEEK 26
This is the big one–the big wonder week 26. Well, A big one, not necessarily THE big one.
The thing I have noticed most with my kids at this wonder week is just being grumpy. Her first day of this week she was very, very grumpy. Grumpy for a Brinley. She was not content or happy for long with any of her usual favorites. She mostly just wanted to be held when it was play time.
Another impact was that she would have a noisy transition mid-nap. Some babies just won’t transition mid-nap, so that might be the case for your baby. Brinley would go back to sleep, but there was no question when her transition was. She would talk very loud and angrily like I mentioned last week.
>>>Read: The Wonder Weeks and Sleep
NURSING
The big news this week is on the chocolate side of life. I tried some chocolate in a larger dose–a piece of chocolate cake. I have found I can have a little piece of chocolate here and there and not really notice an impact. I thought I would try the cake.
She spit up a lot once the chocolate reached her (through my milk–I want that to be clear–there seems to always be someone who reads it wrong and thinks I am giving her the cake–no, I am eating the cake and it is getting to her through my milk).
She doesn’t seem bothered by the spitting up, and it happens when she awake, not when she is asleep. I will still continue to avoid chocolate for the most part just because I can and I don’t feel the need to knowingly create a spitting-up issue with her.
If you are not aware, I haven’t been able to eat chocolate with her without it causing spit-up issues and thus sleep issues.
SOLIDS
This week, we re-tried peas. You might remember we tried them last month and she got a bad diaper rash after. I, however, also had some runs, which was likely caused by some Fenugreek.
She has done just fine with the peas. No rashes at all.
She is eating her veggies much better. I started putting a couple of baby spoonfuls of the fruit in with her veggie, and since I started that, she eats it all up. I even mix pears and green beans–it seems odd to me, but she likes it and it works 🙂
I mix:
- Pears with green beans
- Pears with peas
- Applesauce with butternut squash
- Bananas with sweet potatoes
Oh, and have I mentioned that Brinley prefers her food warm? She very much wants it warm. Not really even room temperature.
She will not eat it cold. She will eat it room temperature. She will inhale it warm.
SIPPY CUP
I forgot to mention that about a month ago, we started letting her try to drink water from a sippy cup after meals. She likes it, but she basically just chews the water out, not sucks.
>>>Read: Helpful Tips for Introducing Baby to a Sippy Cup
ROLLING OVER
I have always been the type to just sit back and wait for my kids to reach their physical milestones on their own.
I got thinking, however, that I should work with them for Brinley. I have a good friend who is a physical therapist and she often works with babies and young children. Her job is obviously to help children learn to do things physically.
I thought if she can spend her career doing that, surely there is merit in me helping my baby figure out how to reach physical skills by doing more than just “tummy time.”
So I put Brinley on her back and took one leg and crossed it over the other. She then tried to roll over [note–I later asked my friend if this was a viable way to do this, and she said yes]. We did this once a day.
The first day, she could not really get close, but she worked and worked until her face was red and she had a bit of sweat on her brow. She loved it. She obviously worked those muscles because the next day, she was remarkably stronger. She could roll over, still with my help in moving her leg over.
After a couple of days, I just gently pushed her leg in the direction, then she moved it herself and tried to roll over. Again, the first day she couldn’t do it on her own, and by the end her efforts were resorted to her basically arching her back and hoping for a miracle ;).
But the next day, she rolled over on her own, 100% her effort. I cheered and cheered. She was so proud of herself. By the time she had rolled over, she was facing away from me, so she was straining to look at me, with a huge smile on her face. She now loves to roll over and look at me for a nice cheer.
Even though she has long rolled from tummy to back, she isn’t good at it. She would just go into supermans and, again, hope for a miracle. She has gotten better at it, but she needs to be not very tired to do it without becoming “super Brinley.”
GRABBING TOES
Oh one of my favorites! Brinley is starting to grab her toes. McKenna was a major toe-grabber and sucker, and I just loved it (which I realize is really an odd thing, but I think anyone who has watched a baby do this will agree). I love watching Brinley grab her toes.
TEETHING PAINS
Brinley had some teething pains this week–as though the Wonder Week wasn’t enough on its own.
She would be much happier if I gave her some pain killer. I am okay doing this for a day or two, but the reality is teething pains last weeks and I don’t want to destroy my child’s liver in the process.
So I typically do pain killer for the first two days, then let them learn to cope unless they seem to be in a lot of pain. This strategy has worked well. I don’t think the teeth are about to break through–they are just causing trouble.
>>>Read: Teething Tips and Tricks
NAPS
Like I said, transitions were noisy this week, but I won’t complain because I know some babies have a difficult time going back to sleep so I am grateful she was able to do so. There were a couple of naps I put her in the swing for the second half of her nap, though.
>>>Read: What is a Sleep Transition (and How Does It Impact Naps)
SWADDLE WEANING
This week, I kept her arm out for her morning nap. She did great! She is now taking all of her naps with one arm out. The next step is night, which is always scary when the baby sleeps through the night.
You don’t want to mess with a good thing. But I figure if she can nap all day with one arm out, she can sleep at night with one arm out.
My biggest concern is her being warm enough with one arm out, so we have changed the temp at night to be the same as we keep it in the day (we previously lowered it by four degrees at night).
>>>Read: Everything You Need to Know About Dropping the Swaddle
STRANGER DANGER
I forgot to mention a few weeks ago that one day, my mom came over to watch Brinley while we all left. Well, she totally lost it (Brinley, not my mom). My mom said she seemed terrified. Happily for both involved, it was about Brinley’s nap time and we were back before she woke up.
That week, my mom came over a couple of times and visited with Brinley with me around. The kids played with my mom in front of Brinley. Later in the week, she again watched Brinley and she was just fine. My mom now watches her about once a week for a few hours and she does great!
>>>Read: How to Manage Separation Anxiety in Babies
SCHEDULE
Our schedule typically looks like this:
7:30–feed with solids–2-4 T prunes and 2 T of oatmeal mixed in
8:45–nap
11:30–feed with solids–4 T of pears and 2 T of oatmeal mixed in and 2 T of green beans OR peas with 1 T oatmeal mixed in and some fruit
1:00–nap
3:30–feed
5:00–nap
6:00–feed with solids–half a banana mixed with 2 T oatmeal OR 3-4 T applesauce mixed with 2 T oatmeal and sweet potatoes (1-2 T) OR butternut squash (1-2 T) and some fruit
7:30–feed, then bedtime. In bed by 8:00-8:10
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
- Wonder Weeks
- Baby Body Signs
- Super Baby Food
RELATED POSTS
- Brinley Baby Summary: Week 25
- Brinley Summary: Week 27
- McKenna Baby Summary: Week 26
- When To Stop Swaddling Your Baby
I also mixed many fruits and veggies and it really helped. My daughter ate even her least favorite foods which were peas and green beans when mixed with fruit or carrots or squash. I
I was actually just going to ask you about waking up mid-nap and not getting back to sleep! My 12-week old daughter naps for about 45 minutes and has a VERY hard time getting back to sleep. She's whimpering as we speak. I sometimes go in and rock her back to sleep, but most of the time she's wide awake. I'm putting her down no more than 75 minutes after her previous nap. Should I try putting her down earlier? Anything else I should do during this "nap transition" time that you call it? My other daughter was a napper by the book, so this is new to me. :/
Rebecca,First, be sure she isn't hungry. 12 week is a common growth spurt time, but also a common wonder week age so it could be wonder week related. If 75 minutes worked for her in the past, she might need a longer waketime length. Try adding 5 minutes and see how she does.I also have a post called "waking early from naps/won't fall asleep for naps"
Valerie,This doesn't have anything to do with the above post but I need advice with my 2 YO. She is almost 2 1/2 now but she started 'fighting' her nap about a month or two before her second birthday. At first it was just once a week every now and then. As she gets older, it is becoming more and more frequent. Today, marks the 4th day in a row that she hasn't napped. I put her in the crib every afternoon following lunch (between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.) and I leave her in the crib for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours regardless of whether or not she falls asleep. She has an 8p.m. bedtime and sleeps until about 6:30 a.m. give or take. I am going to continue the routine of putting her in the crib and allowing nap time/quiet time. Am I leaving her in the crib too long? Is that cruel? I am completely devastated that she seems to not need a nap as often especially since I have another baby due beginning of May. I thought the 2YO's who 'stopped napping' were the ones whose parents just didn't enforce it and make it part of the routine. Any advice would be so helpful. Should I continue doing what I'm doing? Putting her down later? (which would probably mean a later bedtime?). I have found a lot of help with your blog in the last two years, thank you.
There's definitely something in those Wonder Weeks. My 7mo old has been text book, fussy when they say and happy when they say. We've just finished the 29-30w fussy period associated with a new understanding of distances and the fact that mummy can 'walk away'. I've had tears every time I lie her down, she fears I'll walk off. And shorter naps. Today a switch has been flicked, and she's my cute, happy, confident baby again, and took her full 2hr nap 🙂
Thank you, Valerie! She's never had a time of being a really good napper (except for the first 2 weeks as a newborn). I'll check out your other post as well. 🙂
Val-I love your blog and am so thankful for your posts! My sweet baby boy just turned four months and in fact we are in th middle of week 19 of the wonder weeks. Several weeks ago I was feeling like I might be able to drop the dream feed so I did it cold turkey. He did great the first two nights and slept until 6:30-7 (wake time is 7) but then was waking up between 5-5:30 after that so I figured he wasn't ready to drop it yet and I reintroduced it. He is on a 3-3.5 hour schedule and has seemed to be ready to drop the 4th nap. I will feed him at 4 or 4:30 and then the last feeding of the day is 6:30-7. Lately I have been doing our bath and bedtime routine and then feeding him last, and he usually falls asleep while nursing. (It might be a huge no-no, but I know the last thing Brinley does is eat, so I thought this was okay.) Since last Thursday (5 nights ago), he has been waking up once between 3-5 and some nights even has been waking up between 10-10:30 (when I usually do the dream feed) and he used to never wake up and cry- he would literally be asleep the whole time and get a good dream feed in. He has been sleeping through the night since 7 weeks (From 10 PM – 7 AM) so this is so abnormal. I'm wondering if it is just part of the wonder weeks or if it has to do with dropping nap/falling alseep while nursing or if the dream feed is not affecting his nighttime sleep. What do you suggest I do?
I'm sorry- the end of that was confusing. I meant do you think that the dream feed might BE affecting his sleep?
Finally we got a schedule down and solid sleep. My baby has been on a 4 hour schedule. 2 hr wake time and 2, 2 hr naps..as of Saturday she's been sleeping bad and just seems fussier. Nothing has changed and I can't figure it out. I see a small white speck on her gum wondering if teeth or somethnig else? She screams and screams until nap should be over after 45-1 sleep. Wonder if teeth, needs extended wake time or something else?
Darci, part of it is just a normal two year old thing–I call it a two year sleep regression. Totally normal. She is also at an age where she might start not napping 1-2 days a week.My guess is she needs a later naptime, but that doesn't necessarily mean she will need a later bedtime. Brayden was extrememly sensitive to his naptime even at that age. I had a ten minute window of when I could put him down. Not all kids are that sensitive, but the point is she might have a perfect window, so test things out and move the window in 10 minute increments.
Oh Anita I didn't even know that one was coming! Brinley has been pretty textbook about it, too. I only remember a couple with McKenna, but Brinley seems impacted by each one, at least to some degree.
Audra,First, I think him falling asleep while nursing at night is fine in general–Brinley did that for a long time. She won't anymore–she wants to fall asleep in her bed. But I loved it while it lasted.However, it might be causing trouble if he isn't getting a full feed in before he falls asleep. Brinley would get a full feeding before she fell asleep. Second, if I were you, I would wait until WW 19 is over before messing with the dreamfeed. It is possible the dreamfeed is causing issues, but it is highly likely it is WW 19. It is hard to make changes while wonder weeks are happening because a)you don't know if the baby is not reacting well because it is wonder week issue or because baby isn't ready to handle it and b)baby might not be in a position to be able to hand a change with wonder week going on.On the other hand, you could drop it one night and see what happened.
Garrett and Denise Stone,How old is your baby?Whenever I suspect teeth, I give pain killer and see if that fixes things. If it does, then you know it is pain. If it doesn't, then you start to look at other ideas. It is a very fast way to test what is wrong.
She turned 5 months on the 13th. Hard to say right now too as we are traveling so schedules are off which is always hard and she's sleeping in our room while ut of town.
I just hit week 26 and now crying in the middle of the night–which we haven't done for months now. It's almost 2am….do you let them CIO on wonder weeks? or feed? My LO is on a 4hr schedule formula and solids.