Routines?
Is anyones baby in any sort of routine yet? Everyone keeps telling me it gets better when baby is in a routine but Millie isn't in any sort of routine yet, shes 5 weeks old tomorrow. I know shes still very little but the lack of sleep and not being able to plan to do anything is starting to get to me now. I'm breastfeeding too so some days feel like all i do is change nappies and feed her, i have no time to do anything for myself like eat or shower as she screams if i put her down. So who knows how to get on one of these magic routines? lol Whats everyone elses days go like?
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I know what you mean though, I feel like a milk machine, LO went the first week of needing feeds every 2-3 hours now its every 1.5 hours! I just can't get anything else done or catch up on sleep!
Today was the first day that hubby went back to work and it was awful! LO was awake from 9am-3pm and would not let me put him down, even when I was holding him he kept crying so I spent all day rocking him or feeding and doing his nappy....I could have cried by the time hubby got home!
I asked my MW when she thought things would settle down and she said not until 6 weeks, so hopefully for you Millie will find a nice routine soon!
Good luck! xxx
I feel really silly for whinging about my bubs now. You all sound knackered.
Evie is kinda on a routine on a three hour-ish cycle. I can recommend reading the Baby Whisperer book by Tracy Hogg. I've just taken out the bits that I think are relevant and it seems to have worked. It just means that I can plan my day to a point as I know that she will be asleep roughly an hour after her feed and when she will need her next feed.
I have to admit that I found it much more difficult when I was breastfeeding, but unfortunately I wasn't producing enough so changed to a bottle.
Have any of you thought of topping up with a bottle to give yourselves a break? Obviously, you have to do what you feel is right, but personally after the initial guilt of not being able to breastfeed, me and Evie are both much happier on the bottle.
I hope that has help. You all sound like to are doing really really well. Keep perservering. Apparantly it does get easier!!
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In the evening when she wakes sometime between 7- 8.30 I give her a little feed from one side before her bath, bathe her then dim the lights and feed her as much as possible in the bedroom before putting her down awake. I then feed her again as much as possible (you will get full!) when she wakes again which is probably 10.30-11pm (although sometimes feed her inbetween as well if she's really unsettled) and then find that this is the longest stint of sleep she has (between 4-5 1/2 hours) I think we're on the right track.
I think it's still early to have a definite routine in place but could maybe do a few things to encourage one. They say babies will fall into their own routine which I think is true of some. Nina seems to be going that way. But my son never found his routine and at 4 months had to firmly put him in one for my own sanity!
Beth, have you tried putting Millie down awake and giving her some time to settle herself? Make sure she's not up for too long and getting overtired and stimulated and she will find it harder to settle.
Good luck.x
Natalie- dont feel guilty for putting lo down awake, will get use to settling themselves, and will give you a bit of a rest.
dont worry they will all get there. I havent read the baby whisper book, but did read contented baby when my 2yr old was a baby, and found it quite helpful although very strict, But i just took elements of it, to help me.
Tanroe, do you wake Laila for her evening feed or just let her do it naturally? I can never decide whether I should wake nina for a 10pm feed before we go to bed if she's not awake or leave her to do her own thing, If I don't I find it so much harder to wake up to feed her an hour later! Adore her name btw.x
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In terms of a routine, we are trying to work with the baby whisperer. I would recommend the book. She is a bit condesending at times, and you have to take some of it with a pinch of salt, but there is some good advice. And although it doesn't really feel much like a routine during the day, following her advice (roughly) in the evening has been good for getting a slightly more settled sleeping pattern (except when she has bad wind). During the day there is something roughly like a routine, but it is very rough.
Ally x
Last night we tried putting her moses basket upstairs and putting her to bed around 7.30pm but she just laid there awake, then started screaming for food constantly from 8.30pm. Each time we fed her we put her back in the basket but then she'd be sreaming for food again an hour later !
After her last feed which is usually between 11pm and midnight she will usually sleep until 3am-4am (a couple of nights she has woken earlier but its rare) then wakes again somewhere between 6am-8am. I must say though the broken sleep is really starting to affect me, what I would give for a solid 7 hour stretch !!
Im bfing so he's going every 2-3hours still, can't wait until he lasts abit longer although he's 4 weeks now so im starting to think he'll always be like this!! Thankfully, he usually falls asleep on the boob so i just slip him back into his bed after each feed with not too much fuss!
He usually wakes up at 6ish and has a few hours awake in the morning and again in the afternoon-about 20mins of this is 'happy time', the rest is spent being really grizzly and me constantly trying to stop him crying!!