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What are your feeding/sleeping routines?

Hi,
I have been trying to start a routine with lo where he eats, has playtime, then sleeps (as recommended by baby whisperer book!) but I have such a nightmare getting him to sleep and I find it helps to feed him just before his naps and bedtime. I'm worried he will have this need to feed to sleep if I do it this way and that he'll never learn to get himself to sleep.
Would love to hear what others are doing? xx

[Modified by: missymoo on 30 October 2007 10:33:56 ]

Replies

  • Hi

    I just about to post virtually the same question!

    My LO is 14 weeks (+ 4days) old and I'm starting a new routine this week. I'm trying to get him to nap in his cot during the day and to learn how to settle himself. Missymoo, I am exactly the same; I feed LO and he falls asleep so I pop him down and creep out or more often than not I'll let him nap on me during the day.

    This week I'm trying to pick up on his sleepy signals and give him a hug then pop him in his cot so he can drift off. Yeah Right!! The HV recommended leaving him in hos cot to cry for 15 mins and as I'm typing he's crying upstairs. I ended up in tears yesterday afternoon cos I couldn't take it anymore and felt like a failure.

    Its so hard. I'm going to be closely monitoring this thread to pick up any tips I can get.

    Good luck xx
  • Hi pixie woo, I know..it's soo hard. You're not a failure but I completely understand that feeling. Sounds like we're trying to do exactly the same thing at the moment. Wish you lot's of luck..let me know how you get on xx
  • Hey I had this problem with my daughter when she was small, started trying to get her into a routine at around 16 weeks and she wouldn't have any of it, she also liked being fed just before sleep. That was fine in itself but everytime I put her down awake she cried, I used to put her down and let her cry for about 15 mins, then go back in and I wouldn't talk to her or pick her up I'd just pat her gently for a while then leave the room again, I'd keep doing this until she drifted off, I know its horrendous leaving your baby to cry I hated every minute and in the end I had to sit outside my front door, but this technique does in general work and within 3 weeks she was settling herself to sleep, and once she got to six months or so she was sleeping through and has been ever since, she's 3 years old now and I think she's only ever woken at night about 7 times since she was 6 months old. Don't feel cruel or feel like your a failure for leaving your little one to cry, at the end of the day its not going to hurt them mentally or physically in any way atall. If you do find you can't just pat the baby in the cot then pick them up but don't talk to them or fuss, just rock them/pat them for a minute or two then lay them back down, they just want the security of knowing you're there, eventually they will get the idea that falling asleep on their own is ok, honest image Good luck and hope whatever you decide it works for you image

  • hi girls,

    ill just tell you what i do and then see if anything helps.
    During the day i always keep Macey downstairs on her chair to nap. Always keep the room light and with some noise (usually me on the computer lol). She has her bottles every 4 hrs or nearest to sometimes 3 depending on how much she has taken from the last feed. (she takes inbetween 4-5 oz every time) .This usually works out a feed at 6 or 7oclock. If so i will bath her if it is bath night first as se really enjoys her bath so if she is a little hungry she dosent mind if she is being bathed. After the bottle at 6 or 7 clock daddy usually comes in the door and she will sit babbling away to him for about half an hour. We then put her in her moses basket when i think she is getting tired. I then switch all the lights off and go downstairs. She has never cried when i put her in her moses basket so i dont have that problem. Below is my daytime routine and a few things i do with her during the day.

    7am first feed of the day - takes 5 oz and sits babbling to daddy before he goes to work then has a nap till next bottle for a couple of hrs

    10 or 11 oclock - Next bottle. This is when i usually get her dressed and up then i will play with her for a while and she will watch me doing my housework. I will then take her out for the day or in her pushchair so she gets plenty of fresh air.

    This then carrys on throughout the day as above until bath and bed. I dreamfeed her at 11pm when she is so naked from the day she cant be bothered to wake up and then she usually gets up about 6am - 7am.

    Since Macey has been born i have always made sure:

    1 - she gets plenty of fresh air( this seems to work wonders with sleeping at night)
    2 - always sleep downstairs on her chair during the day
    3 - always sits in her chair whilst i am doing housework so she is very comfortable now
    4 - try and make her bottles last 4 hrs, if she is alseep and it is feed time i will wake her for it during the day
    5 - try to keep her as active as possible during the day to wear her out!!.

    Good luck hope my long long essay works, but saying all this she has fallen into her own routine as i have never been that strict with her routines apart from the feeding intervals so eventually your babas will just set there own routine. And just to let you know macey is now 12 weeks old and is bottle fed so im not sure how this would work with bf babys.

    Hope it all works out in the end im sure it will xx
  • Hi again

    Just wanted to let you know that after 10 mins of crying and me forcing myself to keep bum-in-seat, Spencer went to sleep!

    FYI: He had his breastfeed at 8:30am, napped on me for about 5 mins, played in his gym for about 30mins, had a cuddle and then went into his cot at 10:20am, he must have dropped off to start cos it went very quiet and then he woke and stirred for a bit which built into crying for 10 mins. He finally slept at 10:50ish until 11:20am.
    He had his feed at 11:30am and is now in his bouncy chair watching Louie's World on BabyTV. We will go for a walk at about 1:20pm for an hour during which he should nap. Next feed is at 2:30pm and I'll probably put him down to nap at about 4pm, then feed at 5:30pm. After that there is no more naps until final feed at 8pm and then he goes to bed.

    I hope this helps

    It can be done. Be strong and stick to your guns x
  • Hi I had same problem as you and never got it sorted til 7 months so not sure I should offer advice. I combined Gina Ford's routines - the times - not really strictly sticking to anything else in books - and no-cry sleep solution, Elizabeth Pantley. Didn't really leave lo to cry but did stay in room and patted her or picked her up but no fussing.

    Was very difficult to sort as she was so used to sleeping on me and going to sleep while feeding. You are wise to sort it out now. I now put her down for two naps. Morning at half 9 til 10 and lunch time half 12 til bout half 1 or 2. It's meant to be 2 hours but she has never slept that long during the day. Just doesn't need it. Once she has set times for naps it made life and getting her to sleep much easier.

    Other thing is a bedtime routine. I do breastfeed and it is manageable. She now sleeps throuhg night as well. It really is just a matter of them learning to go to sleep by themselves. Hard work I know. Good luck. Let us know how things are going. x
  • Hi Missymoo,

    I'll tell you what i do to see if it helps.

    Ellis is 15 weeks. he wakes at 7:30am, has first bottle (8oz) at 8am, then we have a cuddle and play in bed for half an hour. Then we go downstairs and i'll put him on his playmat whilst i get breakfast for myself, he usually falls asleep on his mat from 9am ish till 10am. Then i give him some baby cereal and water.

    I'll get him washed and dressed then get myself ready, then we go out for a walk at about 11 - 11:30 ish. Normally walk around town for some fesh air then walk to my mums. I give him his next bottle at 12 midday then we play. He will normally have a nap in the afternoon for about an hour, whenever he feels tired. We leave my mums at about 3ish. His next bottle is at 4pm where i will wake him if he's asleep, after his bottle i give him some pureed veg and water, then we have a cuddle or i put him in his bouncing chair/play mat whilst i get dinner sorted or have a cup of tea. Sometimes he has another little nap from about 5 till 6, sometimes he doesnt have this nap though. Hubby comes home at 6ish so he plays/cuddles lo for a while then gives him his bath. He has his last bottle at 7:30pm and goes to bed at 8pm. I've always made sure i put him to bed still awake so that he could learn to settle himself. He's brilliant at doing this at night but he doesnt like to nap in his cot during the day so he tends to nap on his play mat or on me during the day.

    Ellis has been in this routine since 10 weeks and it works great for us. I'd definitely recommend going for a walk everyday, i think the fresh air does Ellis good, if he's ever grizzly i pop him in his buggy and he settles straight away.

    I've always done the bath, bottle then bed routine in the evening as this suits Ellis. He never falls asleep on his last bottle so i never put him down already asleep. I'm very lucky that he has never had a problem with going to sleep on his own in the evening.

    Good luck x
  • hi will pass on mine see if that helps too.
    as soon as he was born we got into the routing of bath at 7pm then bed in his crib in our room although he was bf and woke every 2 hours we persevered i would just go up and feed him then leave the room again (using monitor)
    then at 5 weeks i had to stop bf for different reasons and so he had formula sticking to same routing and he fed no less often tbh.
    at 7 weeks we put him in his own room and just bring him out for his night feeds rhen strait back down.
    he is now 6 months old on 3 meals a day and has been sleeping 12 hours at night since 12 weeks old. he goes to bath bottle and bed by 7pm and he is a horrible baby if he aint in bed by 7pm!
    i have never ever really rocked him to sleep at night except when tiny baby as he now hates it and goes down awake and falls asleep on his own. maybe i have a very sleep happy child and next time round i will have the baby from hell!
    hope this helps xxx
  • Hi, thanks so much everyone for sharing they're routines..it makes me feel a lot better! I'm going to persevere with trying to get him down awake so he can learn to sleep on his own as know it will pay off eventually. I'm a bit annoyed today as i think he was starting to get a little better the last couple of days but Ive had the (very loud) in laws round this morning and had a hell of a time getting Angelo down for his nap just now..oh well. Sometimes you feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall but I'm sure it will all fall into place. Pixie_woo, well done you! xx
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