Veronika turns three months old tomorrow, which means her “fourth trimester” is at an end. I love the idea that in the first three months, a baby is like a fetus… but outside the womb. Indeed, I found this concept enormously helpful with both my children. It helped me to understand their needs, their lack of a schedule, their reliance on comfort, and so much more.

But by three months of age, it’s normal to see a routine developing. Sussing out that routine now can be super beneficial in the months to come. It might seem like your baby is still all over the place, but I would suggest that if you track feeding and sleeping cycles for about three or four days, you’ll notice patterns.

I’ve always been a spreadsheet person, tracking numbers and collecting hard data.

But for an interesting experiment, I decided to try a more visual approach to Veronika’s schedule on the eve of her three month birthday.

I don’t do bullet journaling (or “bujo” for short), but loved this exercise. For four days, I tracked her wake and sleep intervals in bright bold colors. T

Turns out, she reliably does four short naps, interspersed with wake intervals, and the naps are roughly at the same time of day – more so than I would have thought!

Your baby’s schedule might look similar (especially if he or she is also being dragged along according to an older sibling’s schedule), or it might look nothing like this at all. What counts is tracking down the patterns in your child’s day.

Seeing these patterns can help you decide what your baby needs when, and can also help you organize your day as an adult – you’ll know roughly when to schedule appointments, meetings, or other “grown-up” things that need to get done.

Just don’t forget: babies have a habit of changing things on you, as soon as you think you have it figured out! In which case, pull out the bujo and jot down a few more days to suss out what’s new.