7am. Wake up. Diaper change. Get dressed. 8 oz milk.

8am. Breakfast + leftover milk.

10:30am. Snack.

11:30am. Lunch. 6oz milk.

12:30/1pm. Sometime in this window, nap.

3/3:30pm. Sometime in this window, wake up.

3:30pm. Snack.

4:30pm. Recap day with Babcia and Papa.

7am. Rise and shine

• Open the door, open the curtain and blinds, and press and hold the sound machine to turn off the white noise. Softly and sweetly wake up Theo from his bed and remove his sleepsack. He usually shares a few smiles upon waking…or he’ll already be awake and babbling.

• Change his diaper and get dressed.

• Sit on the couch with Theo in lap and let him drink as much as he wants. Then when he’s ready, he’ll slide off the couch and start playing.

8am. Breakfast

• See Food & drink section below for details

10:30am. Snack

• See Food & drink section below for details

11:30am. Lunch

• See Food & drink section below for details

12:30/1pm. Nap

• See Naptime section below for details

2:30/3pm.Wake up.

3:30pm. Snack.

4:30pm. Daily recap

• See Daily recap section below for details

Diaper (and possibly outfit) changes

• Diaper change after waking (morning and afternoon), and before naptime, and generally every 2 hours.

• When he poops, change diaper immediately to avoid diaper rash.

• If diaper rash, apply vaseline to bottom before applying new diaper.

• Change outfit as often as necessary to ensure he’s comfortable.

Playtime and exploration

• This is where most of the day is spent. Open spaces at the house are the living room, family room, lenai, and backyard.

• You are welcome to take Theo for walks outside and to the neighborhood playground.

• Offer Theo a variety of learning opportunities: point out objects, talk about everyday things, sing songs, dance to music, learn about colors, fruits, veggies, transportation, numbers, animals, etc.. Anything to help him develop physically and mentally.

Clean up

• While Theo is napping, please wash Theo’s dishes and tidy up his play area.

• Before leaving for the day, please tidy up his play area.

Sippy cups

• Milk. Light green cup with desert theme. Theo drinks 8oz spread across wake and breakfast and 6oz for lunch.

• Water. Dark blue cup with space theme. Keep water available all day and remind Theo to drink now and then.

Meals

• Each meal needs a protein, vegetable, grain, and fruit.

• We use his toddler plate, where half is filled with veggies, a quarter with protein and another quarter with grain. Fruit is presented at the end (or ¾ of the way through) of the meal.

• Theo is very independent most of the time and can feed himself with a spoon, fork, or his hands. Sometimes he’ll ask you to do this. We encourage him to do it himself, but it’s ok if sometimes he’s less interested.

• Sometimes he gets picky or takes his time. When this happens, we find that when we show an interest in his food, he’s more willing to eat. Also, he may stall out about ¾ of the way through his meal. When this happens, this is when we bring out a small handful of fruit. He’ll scarf this down then usually proceed to finish the rest of his meal.

• He also sometimes will throw his fork/spoon. We give him 1 ‘redo’ to try again and keep the fork/spoon on the table. If he throws it again, it stays on the ground til the meal is over.

• Most often, Theo prefers his food cut into bite size pieces.

• He’ll get messy, and that’s ok. We wait until the meal is over to clean him and the table.

• Overall, Theo eats really well, in terms of healthy options, eating everything on his plate, and having decent manners. He just likes to shake things up every now and then!

• (NOTE: ADD PHOTOS FOR REFERENCE)

Snacks

• Small amount of veggie (e.g., 1 sweet potato spear, 1 squash spear, 5 green beans, 3 carrot strips)

Theo’s sleep habits are pretty solid and we need your help keeping them that way. The key is to give him the space and time to practice himself. Here are the key steps to put Theo to sleep.

1. Make the room as dark as possible by turning off all lights and closing the curtains and blinds. Tap the sound machine 2 times to see an orange glow.

2. Change Theo’s diaper and remove his shorts and socks (his shirt stays on), and put on his sleepsack.

3. Wind down with 1-3 stories.

4. Put Theo in his bed. He likes to roll around a bit or may fuss for a minute but will settle down very quickly.

5. Tap the sound machine 2 times to activate the white noise, leave the room, and close the door.

Soothing

• Theo will usually fall asleep on his own. He may fuss or cry if he has some energy left. Give him about 15 minutes to settle and find his comfy spot. If he still hasn’t fallen asleep, check his diaper, and follow the steps above to put him back to sleep.

• If Theo has been fed, has a clean diaper, and continues to cry after 15 minutes, you can go in and walk around his room with him, rubbing his back and singing a lullaby until he calms down (a few minutes). Then gently set him in his bed again, let him know it’s time to rest, leave the room, and close the door.

• Check the monitor when he does cry to make sure his leg isn’t caught between the slats. If that happens, go in immediately and get him unstuck. Soothe him until calm, then leave. (The last time this happened was a few months ago. Noting it just in case.)

We try to give Theo a wide variety of activities to do to improve his motor, social, and verbal skills.

• Playground

• Arts and crafts

• Neighborhood walks

• Soccer

• Storytime

• Singing

• Dancing

• Listening to music

Theo’s room

• Diapers

• Wipes

• Vaseline

• Hand sanitizer

• Clothes (shirts, shorts, pants, socks)

• Hamper

• Changing pad

• Trash bags (for poopy diapers)

Kitchen

• Sippy cups

• Plates, forks, spoons

• Placemat

• Bib

• Wipes (for meal cleanup)

Living room

• Toys

Theo is a pretty happy baby most of the time. For the moments when he’s having a tough time, we try to remain calm, then connect and redirect. We get down to his level, make eye contact, name their emotion and validate it, and redirect them to try again or do something different.

• Example1: Theo is playing with his trains, they fall off the track, and he yells. Stand in front of Theo and say, “I know it’s frustrating when the train falls off the track. Sometimes that happens. Let’s put it back on and try again.”

• Example2: Theo is playing with his trains, they fall off the track (for the 10th time), Theo yells and throws the trains. Pick up the trains, stand in front of Theo and say, “I know it’s frustrating when the train falls off the track. We don’t throw when we’re upset. Let’s take a break from the trains and play the piano.”

When he’s being rough or dangerous or not listening…

• “Can you say please?” (Overemphasize the word - pleeeease) In return, he should say peas

• “Let’s take a break and go to the living room” (and physically remove him) - He typically starts climbing out of his kitchen tower with his leg over the top. When he comes back, he has reset.

• “We don’t throw. That could hurt someone.”

• “Let’s use nice hands. Can you show me your nice hands?” - Same idea as “gentle,” but he doesn’t respond to that, so we say “nice.”

For those moments when he is overstimulated or unable to self-soothe with his thumb, we find these two activities work very well (not intended to be done together).

• Go outside (front or backyard, or lanai) for a couple minutes. More often than not, he instantly mellows out in the fresh air.

• Play The Happy Song, by Imogen Heap. We recommend downloading/earmarking this in your preferred music service. Please use sparingly.

Share highlights of the day with Babcia and Papa at the end of each day.

• Meal and snack recap: What did he eat for each, did he eat it all / pick at it

• Major activities

• How well did he nap

• # poopy diapers

• Positive and rough/dangerous behaviors (used manners, threw toys)