The Piper Manual--A Guideline for Keeping My Baby

I recently had to be away from P for 5 straight work days. During this time, I was lucky to have family step in to care for my precious little P. I wanted to make sure that they knew what to do so that I could keep her routine as close to normal as possible. It worked great! She seems to have adjusted beautifully. I thought I would share with you all just in case!

The Piper Manual

Piper’s Schedule

**** Don’t worry if you can’t follow this exactly. It is more of a guideline for you so that you know what to expect and what she usually does.

7:00—Wake and feed

8:30—Nap time—swaddle her and turn on sound machine.

10:00—Wake and feed

11:30—nap time

1:00—Wake and feed

2:30—Nap time

4:00—Wake and feed

5:30—nap time

7:00—wake and feed

8:30—naptime

9:30—Wake and feed

10:00—down for the night

Notes and Troubleshooting

Playtime

·         When is done eating put her down for playtime. If she gets fussy before her nap time, then put her in the swing. Once it is time for naptime you can move her to the crib/pack n play.

·         Try to vary what you do during play time. Sometimes she won’t get on the activity mat, and instead just wants to sit up in your lap, but don’t let her do this every time if you can help it.

Nap time

·         When you put her in crib/pack n play—

o   turn on sound machine. It should be pretty loud but not all the way up

o    Make sure she is swaddled well.

o   Try to give her the pacifier, but if she will not take it, then don’t worry too much.

o   Leave the room

o   She may cry for a little while, but she will fall asleep on her own. If she cries for 10 minutes, then go in and try to give her the pacifier again. If she cries for longer than 30 minutes, then try to feed her a little more.

·         If she wakes before the next scheduled feeding, then let her cry for 10 minutes. She may fall back to sleep. If she does not go back to sleep after 10 minutes, then move her to the swing to finish the nap. Let her cry for 10 minutes in the swing. If she is still crying, feed her.

·         If all else fails, and she will not sleep, eat, or stop crying. Give her ½ teaspoon of prevacid. Wait 10 minutes. If she is still inconsolable—give her 2.5 ml of Tylenol

Giving Medicine

·         Lay her down and make sure she has on a bib.

·         Put syringe with medicine in her mouth and squeeze part of the dose into her back right cheek area. Do NOT squeeze it all at once—she will choke. You have to squeeze a little at a time.

·         She will scream like you are killing her, but she is fine.

·         Once you are finished and you are sure she has swallowed it, then pick her up and bounce her while walking until she calms down.

·         Put her in the swing. When she has gone really crazy, then it is ok to just let her sleep in the swing.

Feeding

·         Bottles are pre-made. If she eats it all and still seems to want more, then take milk from extra bottles in the fridge. Just give her an extra ounce at a time.

·         DO NOT SHAKE BOTTLES—it ruins the properties of the breast milk. To mix you need to swirl in a circle. Make sure to do this before giving her the bottle. This will help remix the cereal in the bottles.

·         To heat—fill a large measuring cup with water and microwave for about 2 minutes. Sit the bottle in the water and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

·         When I put her down for her nap, I usually go ahead and get her next bottle ready. It can sit out for up to 5 hours.

·         If she does not take all of the bottle, then put the bottle in the fridge. We do not waste anything an ounce or more. If it is under an ounce, then you can dump it.