Eat. Play. Sleep.

You may have heard of the Eat, Play , Sleep routine before. It is common language that often circulates in the sleep world.

Let's break it down…

Eat: This step is all about feeding your baby when they wake up from a nap. Keeping feeds at the start of this routine serves two important purposes. It helps ensure your baby has a full, more efficient feeding because they are rested and it helps to separate feeding from sleeping, which can become a tough habit to break.

Play: Allow you child to move and explore. Play with your child or watch them practice independent play. Get outside and enjoy some laughter together. This part of the routine is filled with endless opportunities!

Sleep: Using your baby's wake windows as a guide to determine when we are putting them to sleep.

This is a great way to help your little one find a routine in their day while making sure they are getting the most out of their awake times while keeping enough time between feeds and sleep to prevent feeds from becoming a sleep prop. This is also a routine that is easy to adapt as your child gets older and is able to handle longer awake times. As your baby gets older and their awake times increase, you may need to feed twice during their awake time making the routine more Eat, Play, Eat, Play, Sleep to continue the separation from a feed before sleep.