Schedule?

Larissa - posted on 06/17/2010

Hi, my daughter is 11 weeks old and we started her on the Tizzie Hall - Save our Sleep routine when she was 4 weeks old. I get alot of other mothers telling me that it is wrong to force my child into a routine and to schedule feed but i have found that it has worked for us and she is a happy healthy child. She sleeps through the night and has done so since starting this routine, she has 2 2hour sleeps and a 45 minute nap goes to bed at 7pm and i have to wake her at 7am. The book also has techniques on how to teach your child to self settle (NOT CONTROLLED CRYING) and also about getting rid of the dummy, other sleep problems starting solids and the routine changes as per the age. I LOVE IT.

Dawna - posted on 04/18/2010

Babywise is a great book to read if you are wanting something of a schedule. I, for the most part, follow their advice and my baby sleeps 5-6 hrs a night. This is the max my pediatrician said to let her sleep since I am breastfeedng. Very rarely is she fussy. During the day she eats approximately every 3hrs and has about 15-30min of wake time and then she is down for 1.5-2.5hrs for a nap. Since I began this when she was born she is very consistant. It also is a great way to expect what she needs and I can plan to do things knowing about when she is going to want to feed etc. It also helps knowing when I get to take naps. :-)



Another useful guide is a DVD, Happiest Baby on the Block. Sometimes new babies get overstimulated and this is a great "off switch" When Sarai is very fussy and is overtired I simply follow the guide on the DVD and she is off to slumberland.



I personally use both of these guides in a mixer. No one "guide" can help you because our baby is unique. However, I would start here and find out as a parent what is best for your baby. Good luck!!

Sheila - posted on 04/16/2010

I have also heard that don't worry about any kind of schedule until baby is 3 months old. My little guy seems to get up every morning at the same time, but everything else tends to vary. Nap times and lengths, what time he goes down for the night; when, how often, and how much he eats. For me the only schedule I have is getting my 5 year old ready for school, taking her, and picking her up. Everything else is when "my boss" tells me he needs something.

Melodie - posted on 04/15/2010

I have heard to let them sleep when they want, (Healthy sleep habits, happy baby) if you try to keep them up you are depriving them of sleep messing up their natural cycle and creating a nightmare of over tired baby. I try to help my baby sleep as much as possible whenever she wants, even if she naps at 8pm for an hour. I wont wake her ever. My little girl sleeps well at night however, she just came like that I think..

Its hard everyone has to tell new moms their opinion and its not always right! Makes things hard for us. Good luck to all of us!



I threw the routine idea out the window for now-maybe when she is older.. maybe not who knows!

Autumn - posted on 04/15/2010

I think the most annoyed I have gotten about this whole scheduling issue is when someone, who has no children, tried to tell me that if I want my month old daughter to sleep through the night, I should keep her up during the day. Now, I'm sorry, but obviously this person has never tried to argue with a newborn as to if they are going to nap or not. Isn't sleep deprivation considered a form of torture? I have no illusions that it could be several more months - even years - before we all get a full night of sleep again, but this is just part of being a parent.

Jennifer - posted on 04/15/2010

Hi. My son just turned 6 weeks and although there is no schedule during the day, at night he is pretty consistent at waking me at 3am and then at 6am...I try and keep things very calm at night so he goes right back to bed. And his feeding before bedtime is at 11pm so at least I am getting 3-4 hrs of sleep. But otherwise...I feed on demand and let him sleep when he needs to.

Melodie - posted on 04/15/2010

I also heard a lot about schedules and read the book BabyWise and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child that everyone referred me to. However, we are on no schedule whatsoever. I started out planning to schedule her feedings but I feel she is too young still.Supposedly they are supposed to start getting into their own routine and then you can adjust it from there. I am actually annoyed at the person pushing me to schedule my baby as a 1st time mom w/a new baby it was vary confusing. I am waiting to see if she gets on her own schedule. Sometimes all these help books etc make things too stressful for 1st time moms. Good Luck!



ps-everyone says babywise tactics help your child sleep through the night however a lot of parents I talk to say their child did that on their own..when they were ready..

Emma - posted on 04/15/2010

Schedules at this age are not important as they will change when they are older aswell, as long as they feed and sleep regular then it's fine. However, a pattern of sleep and feed times will be noticable in the next couple of weeks. Also babies do NOT have to feed every 4 hours even though it's what the midwives advise. Each to their own I say (baby wise lol) good luck

Autumn - posted on 04/15/2010

our pediatrician advised us that at around 3 months we should be able to start getting more on schedule. right now, even though our babies are obviously geniuses, their brains are not developed for habit forming behaviour, up to and including a routine.

Leah - posted on 04/15/2010

Hey there, my son is 5 weeks old and I was wondering the same thing. Everyone says how you should stick to a routine but we really have none... i mean we have kept track of every nap & feed but there is no pattern at all and when we try to put him down at a certain time he cracks it and ends up making it worse. So glad we're not the only ones without a routine!!

I even had an experience with my mum the other day when she was watching him for me, she asked what time he was "due" for his feed, I told her just to feed him when he wakes up. She insisted on me telling her when he last fed then she added 4 hours to it and said right, so I will feed him at 4.30. I was SO mad!!! Some people just dont get it. Im hoping that he gets into some sort of schedule soon though!!

Michelle - posted on 04/14/2010

Hi Kirstie, try not to get to worried about a set routine. Your daughter will establish her own routine when she is ready and even then, as she goes through milestone periods her routine will shift again, and again and again. Simply follow your instincts, learn what she is trying to tell you through her various cries i.e. hungry, tired, nappy change etc. I highly recommend two books "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering" by Sarah Buckley and "Sleeping like a baby" by Pinky McKay. Take care and congrats on your baby girl :)

Elisabeth - posted on 04/14/2010

http://www.babycenter.com/0_sample-baby-...

Ok, I found this on my quest to get an idea. I hope it is helpful!

Elisabeth - posted on 04/14/2010

Good question! I was thinking this yesterday as i noticed we have no schedule at all. My son is 5 weeks and he does eat consistently every 3 hours but the hour various. Everyone says to me "just stick to a schedule" , but that is easier said than done.
Hopefully some will respond with some info.!

Erin - posted on 04/14/2010

I was going to ask the same question!! My little boy is 6 weeks old and we aren't on a schedule. Some days he takes 1 -2 really long naps and others he just takes TONS of 20 - 30 minute naps. I have no clue if this is good for him or not.

Kirstie - posted on 04/14/2010

hey my daughter is 6 weeks, we have no schedule, she sleeps and feeds when she needs too, i never had a routine with my other daughter this young either, theyl grow into their own routines when their old enough xx