I Know You Got Your Schedule & You're Keepin' it Tight- Honey, Can You Squeeze Me In

After reading about baby sleep struggles and talking with other mamas about their babies' sleep schedules, I've really begun wondering, "What exactly IS it that we're doing?"

I think first of all, with Lily being my second baby even though Andrew was born in 1999, I am wayyyyyyyyy more relaxed than I was the first time around.  I think that in itself allows for less stress about sleep. 

Lily's current schedule:
7:00am-7:30am:  Wake up, have bottle
7:45am-9:00am:  Playtime, tummy time, music, books, tv (fav morning show: Fresh Beat Band)--active
9:00am-9:15am: Go down for morning nap
11:00am: Wake up, have bottle
11:30am-1:00pm: Lunch (solids) Playtime, tummytime, music, books --active
1:00pm-1:15pm: Go down for afternoon nap
3:30pm-3:45pm: Wake up, have bottle
4:00pm-5:30pm: Playtime, tummytime, music, books--active
5:30pm: Supper (solids)
6:00pm-6:30pm: catnap
6:30pm: Playtime etc.--active
7:00pm: bathtime
7:30pm: bottle
7:45pm-8:00pm: bedtime

Granted this is her schedule roughly (I'm not a clock watching nazi), but I know for certain if she's getting fussy I can look at the clock and say, "Oop, yep, it's 1pm and she's ready for her nap."  
Flexibility is important, but this schedule is what her day typically looks like.  She also doesn't usually go any longer than 2 hours maximum awake time without any crankypants.

During her awake periods, she's happy, playful, active and interactive!

Andrew's schedule was very similiar as a baby, only at least Lily lets me sleep until 7:30am instead of 6:30am like Andrew did. :) 
I'm not a "This is what you should do," kinda mom, but rather, "If you're interested, this is what works for me."  That's it. 

I'm sure there are judgies about the fact that she only gets 4 bottles a day. She drinks 8 ounces for a grand total of 32 ounces per day.  This is what works for her and us.  supported by her pediatrician
I'd rather her be satisfied than to only give her half of that and double the amount of times she gets bottles in a day just because someone thinks I "should".   If it works and isn't broken, why change it?

Her sleep routine involves a sound machine playing ocean sounds, her seahorse and her mobile. Oh! And a dark room is key.  I've noticed on the few sunny days we've had, that it tends to wake her up because her window lets in the sun midday.  I'm on the hunt for something effective--a room darkening blind THAT WORKS. But don't think I won't simply resort to a dark blanket over the window during naptime.

When I lay her down, I turn on the seahorse, wind the mobile and on goes the ocean.  It's funny to watch her look at the seahorse, waiting for me to push its belly, then her eyes shift up to the mobile for me to wind it.  *This morning she turned the seahorse on herself. Such a big girl!

She falls asleep with a paci, a bunny and an afghan. 
She didn't always have those. The bunny is one of those silky blanky thingies with a bunny head.  She tucks it in her right arm and eventually puts her fingers through the afghan holes on both hands. I do move the bunny out at night time since I will be sleeping and not able to look at the monitor as frequently as I do during the day.

So, I guess I started out talking about sleep, but really ended up talking about her schedule in its entirety because it's all connected to why sleep works for us. :)

Add teething, constipation, a cold, and any other variety of out-of-the-norm and all bets are off. As the 4 times up the stairs at midnight, 2am, 4am and 6am for re-paci'ing earlier this week reminded me.

What works for you???