"moms on call" update, review and thoughts!

hi friends! if you follow me on instagram stories, you’re probably already aware that we did a “moms on call” with Shiloh. Moms on Call is a super helpful book that gives you tons of tips, advice, and a schedule to help sleep train your baby! i highly recommend this book to anyone who is expecting, or with a baby! i’ve gotten SO many questions on instagram about Shiloh’s schedule so I thought I’d do a little blog post on our experience with the Moms on Call method so far and what we are currently doing!

Moms on Call Schedule at 11 Weeks

so, we followed Moms on Call almost to a T! (I’d say about 90%). Shiloh slept SO well. we typically fed her around 7pm, put her down for bed at 730pm, and she made it till 6am (at 11 weeks old!!)! *insert praise hands emoji*. SO, Moms on Call has honestly worked really well for us, since she slept so well at night. she also took 3-4 naps a day, for at least an hour each time (usually closer to two hours).

Moms On Call is all about getting your baby on a schedule, and they give you ‘typical days’ in the book, which will share what your routine should look like each day. again, we followed this pretty closely! (the book also gives advice on naptime, bedtime routine, and so much more. so if you’re curious about those things, definitely buy the book). this method has not only allowed Shiloh to sleep really well at night, but it brought a little bit of structure back to MY life. for example, I fed her at 7am, put her down for a nap around 8:30am, and then I worked out while she was napping, until the 10am feeding. we usually tried to shoot a few looks during the afternoon nap. having Shiloh on a schedule has allowed me/Michael to still work + structure our days around her feedings and nap times.

Our Challenges with Moms on Call

structure, routine, sleeping baby…sounds like a dream right?! here’s the hard truth though: this took a lot of hard work and the sleeping baby thing did not happen overnight. i felt like i was following moms on call to a T for a week straight and she still wasn’t sleeping…and I remember just sobbing because I was so tired and so frustrated. “i’m following all the rules! why isn’t my baby sleeping?!” for us (and EVERY baby is different), it took about 2-3 weeks of consistency before i started seeing significant improvement with Shiloh’s sleep. So, know that going into this, if you are considering this method.

the other thing i want to throw out there that was hard for me with Moms On Call: i tend to be an all or nothing type of person. when I do something, i do it 100%, which is both a strength/weakness. in the scenario with MOC…if we were home 100% of the time, never travel, and never have social plans…following the schedule is easy peasy. but, the second you have social plans at night or you’re traveling…following these rules exactly is super challenging slash caused me a lot of anxiety TBH. Shiloh is just now sleeping so well! i’m terrified to get her out of her routine! i had to get used to that REAL quick though with all of the travel we had been doing at the time …and Shiloh honestly did GREAT with the slight change in her “norm”.

so if you are like me, also an all or nothing type of personality, just know that going into MOC. you might experience some stress/anxiety when you have to get baby out of her routine, but i promise, you can do it! and your baby will probably surprise you with how well she/he does! i am still learning this more and more everyday.

the last thing i’ll say that was challenging for me with MOC was just my focus. i realized shortly after my focus was starting to shift towards following all of the rules exactly, instead of just loving and nurturing Shiloh to the best of my ability. so, yes, we continued to follow MOC and it really worked for us. but, there were days where we had to get off the schedule or change things up…as long as i’m doing my best to take care of my baby girl and lover her well, then we were good! the schedule should be SECONDARY to that!

like i said, if you are curious about sleep training or getting your baby into a routine, i highly recommend you buy the MOC book! but, for those of you who are curious about what our routine looked like, i’ll give you a quick recap of it below!

Our Current Moms on Call Schedule

7am: wake up and feed!
730-830am: awake time
8:30am: naptime
10am: feed
1030-11:30: awake time
11:30: naptime
1:00pm: feed
1:30-2:30: awake time
2:30: naptime
4:00pm: feed
between 4:30pm and 6:30 was a total crapshoot lol. sometimes she napped, sometimes she just hung out
6:30pm: bathtime followed by ‘tender time’…i rocked her, read to her, prayed for her, etc. (sweetest time of day)
7pm: bedtime feeding
7:30pm: lay Shiloh down for bed!

i’ve been hesitant to share our schedule with y’all because seriously…every baby is SO different and i am by no means saying this will work for every baby! but, just wanted to share this for those who have asked, and to give you an idea of what a typical day could potentially look like! (but, not every single day followed this exactly!)

for anyone out there who doesn’t have a baby or hasn’t attempted “sleep training” this post probably sounds completely BOGUS (do people still say bogus?). but, just wanted to be real with you guys and let you know where we’re at – the good, the bad and the ugly! we’ve had a great experience so far with MOC but it definitely hasn’t been easy and has also caused me anxiety at times.

okay, now I want to hear from YOU! have you done Moms on Call? did it work for you? what are your thoughts?! seriously give me ALL your feedback below!