When you decide to schedule your baby, you’re going to need a way to keep your new life organized and our scheduling logs will really make all the difference for you. Don’t think of yourselves just as parents, but as teachers too — you’re just running a classroom of one! You need to stay on top of the goings-on of your favorite student’s days and nights and you will not be able to rely on your memory to get you through.

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Here are the reasons you should start using our scheduling logs ASAP:

1. You’ll have to get organized when you’re experiencing “Baby Brain.”

Not only is the whole experience overwhelming emotionally and physically, but there’s going to be a LOT going on in general when your baby joins your family — it’s a time full of change. You’d have a tough enough time remembering it all — and what’s supposed to happen when — even if you weren’t in the midst of hormone overload. So, never underestimate the effects of “baby brain” (a.k.a. “mommy brain”). You’ll find that you’ll be asking yourself: “did my baby ever poop today?” and because the days and nights run together in the beginning, you honestly won’t know the answer off the top of your head!

So, print out the logs for both day and night…print LOTS of pages…and put them on a clipboard or hole-punch them and put them in a binder. Keep them in the nursery and either attach a pen or pencil to it or keep one nearby. Then, circle the times that you’re using each day/night in advance. For example, if you’re using our PPB Schedule: Birth-3 Weeks, for option A circle these times: 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10, 1, 4 or for option B, circle: 7, 9:30, 11:30, 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30, 12, 2:30, 4:45. This way you won’t have to think too hard about it once the baby’s here and you both have limited brain function. Mark those suckers up too! Initial, leave notes to each other, edit times, make smiley faces, and comment on everything! And we think after about 6 months, you’ll find you won’t really need to log anymore.

2. You’ll have a record for yourselves and your pediatrician.

With the logs, your family doesn’t just have a plan — you have a tangible plan you can examine! You’ll be able to quickly tell when something’s up, like if your baby isn’t regularly eliminating or if his ounces have dropped off and this kind of information, written down consistently, is priceless in identifying game changers. And when we say game changers, we mean a growth spurt, illness, failure to thrive, gas, or acid reflux. Your logs will mean the difference between you being able to guesstimate what might be going on versus having no clue. And when you are asked a ton of questions on the many, many visits you make to the pediatrician (like what he’s eating, when, how much, what his schedule is, how many eliminations/day, etc.), you’ll be able to straight up answer with confidence because you have the ultimate resource in hand. Who’s slaying this parenting thing? Um, you are!

3. It’ll help you enormously if you ever bring home another baby.

Should your family plan include having another baby, you will be so (SO!) grateful to have these logs in your box of baby resources. You can’t imagine now how quickly you’ll forget the intricacies of taking care of a newborn, then. But you will forget. So keep that in mind as you’re filling out the logs each day and night. Know that you’re writing notes to your future selves as well.  Can you even imagine how glad you’ll be that you did that?

4. It’ll become a treasured keepsake.

Looking back you won’t believe how you survived it all so well.  You’ll smile when you see your parents’ initials when they did a feeding. Or when you see your comments about the many firsts your baby experienced. So go ahead and treat it as if it’s as special as the baby album or scrapbook because in many ways, you’ll treasure it just as much.  And remember, you’re a teacher now, so you’re allowed to use a red pen and adorn those logs with tons of stickers and gold stars (you know, if you’re feeling the part).

So don’t dilly dally!  Print them out and start logging away!

Related posts: PPB Scheduling Logs, PPB Schedule: Birth-3 Weeks, PPB Parent Plan: 1st 3 Weeks, Why Use PPB Schedules, How to Become a Practical Parent, Growth Spurts, Overstimulated Baby, Overtired Baby