Daytime/bedtime/feeding routines

Belinda - posted on 12/16/2008

Hi first of all you are deffinatly not doing anything wrong some babbies are fussy and other are not... my daughter is 5mnths and 4 weeks old and she sleeep any where from 12 to 14 hours a night.. all i did was a solid dinner the a warm bath, i let her play and splash for a our or so then it was bottle and bed all done by 6 7 at the latest.. i also found that the earlier you put them to bed the better they sleep during the day, and there for better they sleep during the day... i also found that if my daughter does not have at least 4 naps durring they day, she doesnt sleep as well during the night...

i hope this helps you out... good luck

Dana - posted on 12/16/2008

Check out the book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child / Your Fussy Baby by Marc Weissbluth. It's wonderful!! My son is on a routine and it's like clockwork most days. He's up at 6am down at 8am for 1 1/2 hours back down by noon and then up till 3:30 and off to a bath at 6:30 and asleep at 7pm with milk and food sprinkled in between. I feed him solids before is first am nap and before bed around 6pm. If I have to run errands I go after his morning nap. Sometimes I run late and he falls asleep before his noon nap. If he falls asleep in the car or on the way to lunch with friends I'll leave him in his car seat at the restaurant or take the car seat up to his room and let him sleep in it. Good Luck.

Camy - posted on 12/16/2008

I definitely noticed a difference in my 6 mo old when I started a schedule. Try to get in an hour nap every 2-3 hours during the day...you won't regret it! They act better, sleep better and generally everybody is that much happier! I still nurse back to sleep at night bc he won't go down any other way after he has been asleep. He gets breakfast of fruits & oatmeal cereal and dinner of meats and veggies. Going to try to put lunch in there too but find he doesn't want to eat much in the afternoon. I was always a non believer in routines/schedules but I have been completly turned around!! Now if he misses a nap or goes to bed late...we notice a HUGE difference for days after. Amazing.

Cheryl - posted on 12/16/2008

My son has always had trouble sleeping until i started to get him into a routine of eating solids and having day sleeps. He now wakes up about 7.30 has a bottle..then about 9 has breakfast ( normally fruit or custard)...then goes down for a sleep..(30 mins)..then has his next bottle at 11.30..lunch ( warm vegies ect) at about 1..then down for another nap ( 30 mins again)..then another bottle about 4..then dinner at 6.30 (more warm vegies)..then a bath and his final bottle at 7.30/8pm..he then sleeps til 3 or 4am..then until 7.30am. Giving him 3 meals as day, like we eat, really helped get him into a routine..also because we have a 3 year old aswell..its good for him to be eating his meals with the family so he feels included when we sit at the table to eat. Hope this helps !

Louisa - posted on 12/15/2008

excuse the spelling mistakes (forgot to edit)...LOL

Louisa - posted on 12/15/2008

Hi!
I'm the opposite form you...i had a routine set by 3 months....its a lifesaver!
I wake my daughter up at 7 she has a bottle of milk. she has a small nap afterwards. At 10 she has her fruit (apple,pear babana mixed with orange juice). we usually go ouyt at this point. At 1 she has her lunch veggies (potato carrot etc). A small nap again. At 4 she has her baby cream ( farin lacte). At 6 its bath, bottle of milk and bed till the morning.
I find that if she eats well in the day she sleeps well in the night. that is why she is not allowed to sleep for long in the morning, so that she has enough time in the day to get 5 meals.
Hope this helps
xxLouisa