I would like to get my 2 month old on a schedule!

Gemma - posted on 03/28/2010

hi i bought a book called the baby whisperer, although i do not stick to everything she says, it has some wonderful ideas that really helped me out x

Allison - posted on 03/26/2010

Hi Michele, Yeah, that's different with in-laws, but I forgot to mention that we didn't have our guy on any schedule (with care giver or otherwise) until he was over 1 year old. He was pretty well self-regulated by then, so at 1 year old, the only thing on schedule was naptime. If it were me, especially since he's at the in-laws, I would just ask them to feed him and let him sleep on demand, as well, I'm not sure there is any other way with a young babe! Did you do have your older child on a schedule at this young? I can't really fathom it :) Some people aren't as good at figuring out baby cues, but maybe you can work with them a little to teach them at first? Our nanny was very intuitive, but we had to put some slight limits on feeding, like he could occasionally have an extra bottle of breastmilk, but usually should wait at least 2 hours between bottles. (Otherwise he just wanted breast or bottle literally EVERY 30 minutes, which was fine ocassionally - but he was a really big baby, and happy to do that every day, to the point I couldn't really work, lol.) That was all the more schedule he needed at 3 months, and adjusted great to it. And she just let him sleep when tired.

As far as sleeping through the night, you are lucky if he already does!!! I nursed my son a few times a night til he was 1, and I was definitely sleep deprived, but I valued the extra bonding time during the night :) He was (and is) a very light sleeper - he would often wake EVERY single hour all night until he was more than 1 year old! After we stopped night nursing, he did sleep better - so in retrospect, I think cutting down to 1 night nursing (or less) at age 6-7 months would have resulted in more sleep! And remember that for babes < 6 months sleeping through the night means just 5-6 hours in a row, although the LUCKY few do sleep longer!!! Hope that's a little helpful!

Minnie - posted on 03/26/2010

Why does he need to be on an enforced schedule? Many babies eventually fall into a routine that is quite predictable. However many mothers cannot maintain adequate milk production if their babies are not allowed to nurse on demand.

About your concern regarding your baby sleeping through the night- while some babies can sleep through the night consistently at a very young age, most do not. Your baby is barely out of the newborn period. Sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone and will happen when your baby is ready for that. Since you're going back to work, you might use his not sleeping through the night yet as a way to keep your prolactin levels up (and a good supply) by nursing him when he wakes at night.

Michele - posted on 03/26/2010

I would love for someone else to put him on a schedule, but my in-laws watch my boys. So it's not the same as a daycare!

Allison - posted on 03/25/2010

I also nursed on demand, and went back to work when my son was 3 months old. We always just waited for the care provider to set the schedule, and then we would follow it when he was with us. You could ask ahead of time, and maybe start getting him on their schedule early, but it might not be necessary - our son transitioned to their schedule within the first couple days with them.



He first had a nanny, and she just fed him a bottle when he was hungry- which was ~every 2-3 hours, like your guy. After about a week I knew how often I needed to pump to have sufficient milk for him during the day (every 2 hours, phew!). Then a year later he went to daycare, and he transitioned to their schedule with no trouble after he started there. The nanny and daycare were WAY better at teaching him to nap on schedule than us! Our life was also better when we would stick to their schedule on weekends, etc.

Jennifer - posted on 03/25/2010

With my eldest, I fed on demand, same thing, 2-3 hour gaps, and she slept right through most nights. When she was about 3 months old she began to sleep throughout the night! Which was wonderful. But she eventually fell into one on her own and I kinda just went with that. Another idea you could look into is try start your little one on a routine that the daycare will have with him. Atleast then it won't be such a big change in his lifestyle when you do go back to work. Best of luck.