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When to start routine?

Faye is 4 wks today and I was just wondering when did you all start putting a routine into place? I'm bf on demand and no 2 days are the same as I go entirely on her lead.... At the moment she is up with us till we go to bed around 11 and we take her up then.

I'm not sure I'm ready to have her out of sight tho, monitors or not :\? Am I expecting too much from us both at this stage, she is still very much a newborn isn't she?

Replies

  • Hi,
    Congratualtions! It took us the first few months to get a routine going and then like you say eash day changes and to some extent you have to be flexible and go with flow every so often! I think once you feel comfy with her being in another room might be the time to start doing the same thing at the same time everyday. Maybe start with a bedtime routine first? x
    Shoudl say our lo is 21 weeks tomorrow and our routine works ok now but it took a while!!
  • Yes you are expecting too much image A routine will fall into place naturally, I had a great routine going with Gabe from 2 months - 5 months but going on holiday when he was 5 months knocked it out completely (he's 7 months now) as he wanted very regular feeds as he was hot & he napped loads & went to bed late. Now I kind of realise that before, I was stressing way too much about feed times and bed times - and I feed him milk on demand and he goes to bed when he is tired! I much prefer it this way xx
  • We didnt start with a proper routine for Ollie until he was about 6 months, before that the only consistent thing was bath feed bed, regardless of the time. He'd often stay up till 11pm with us just gurgling, or cluster feeding, and it didnt have any bad effects on him.
    He settled into his routine within days once we started and there was no hassle with trying, he just seemed to accept that was the way it would be.... (until he hit 8-9 months and started night waking for feeds he didnt need)

    I'd suggest maybe a repetitive routine for bed but it doesnt matter what time at the moment, just go with the flow and let her sleep when she wants to.

    There are people I know who have implemented quite a strict (in my opinion) routine from a very early age but have struggled to keep baby in it, especially as any little thing can upset it.

    Even now we're having to put Ollie back into a routine, but it's changed from the one he had before so were working out what is best at the moment - they constantly change their routines as they grow and their needs develop and change.

    xxxx
  • Yes, she is still very tiny and you do not have to leave her on her own until you want to.

    We started establishing a bedtime routine from 8 weeks, we'd have dinner, then bath feed lo and we'd watch tv in bed with her sleeping in her cot. At about 12 weeks we started leaving her in her room once we knew she was asleep and now we leave her to settle by herself. During the day, we have a general routine but I breastfeed her on demand and no 2 days are the same!
    Louise is 5 months old tomorrow btw!
  • when jayden was born 6 months ago i was desperate to get him into a routine from the minite he was home, trust me DONT lol i fretted all the time and was worried whe things dident go to plan it got me down so much, hes 6 months now and in a routine only just,.. and still wakes for 2 night feeds! givin time things will just go into a routine xxx congrats on ur lo xxx
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