Forum home Archived Birth Clubs My baby was born in May 09
🚨 Advance warning 🚨 This forum will be closing on 1st May – please see our pinned thread for more information.

Routines...

Has anyone started trying to settle their LO into a routine, or are you all waiting???

xx

I want to think about starting one but am a bit lost!

Replies

  • Hmm, Jaxson seems to have developed his own night time routine, last feed around 11pm another feed at 3am and awake for Daddy coming off the night shift at 7.30am. He usually sticks to this give or take an hour.

    The day time has no routine at all! Sleeps when he wants, eats when he wants but it seems to work. He's a good baby and I htink he's doing ok for being under 4 weeks!

    Have you got a routine yet? I might try and establish a day time one soon.xx
  • Not at all - its as he goes - though last night we did him a bath at about 730 as I want him to have a bath every night so he had one with Daddy - Then he had some cuddles and I 'massaged him' - not been to any classes so more stroked!

    He then fussed a whole lot and didnt go to sleep between 6 and 1130 - but then he slept through to 0430 and is back asleep now after a feed - though he is grizzling alot so think he is going to wake properly soon!

    Normally he has a 2 am feed- heres hoping he drops it for good Mummy would like that alot!

    Next week we're going to try and start doing stuff in an order so he gets used to it or try to ... we'll see how well it goes!
  • Yeah Jaxson likes 'massage' after bath time. After posting about his routine, he slept last night from 11.45 until 6.30 am! I paniced this morning thinking I'd slept through him waking! He did take 7 oz before bed though....!! Greedy guts!

    I felt tonnes better this morning for sure!
  • WOW!!! Can't believe Jaxson went through the night - wonder baby - let us know if he does it again!

    We were trying to get Quinn into a routine but we were demented - we would put him in his crib and then be up and down the stairs for hours and not end up eating - his dummy was out, he needed more winding, he wanted attention...

    So... this week we've had a bath at 7.15 with Daddy then put jammies on and had a quiet chatter about the day (he's gooing and gaaing so v cute!). I'm going to try 'massage' tonight! Bottle is either before or after bath depending on how the day has been.

    Then we're bringing him downstairs for quiet time - curtains shut, tv off. He'll drift out and then we'll have tea and watch telly v v quietly with subtitles!!

    Then we try a dreamfeed about 10.30 and we take him up with us.

    I know having him downstairs isn't probably what we should do but we're much calmer and crying less so I reckon that happy parents = happy baby! And then when he gets bit older (1 month today) we can start a proper bedtime where we leave him alone in his room.

    What are you guys doing for putting your babies to sleep - are they upstairs with monitor on or downstairs with you...?

    I'm going to try and tank Quinn up tonight and try to get 7oz in him - I'll try anything to get more than 3hours sleep in a go!
  • See Dex stays with us and we take him up when we go to bed... though we haven't got a proper routine yet - just trying to start one now - but he is only 4 weeks today.

    and I don't really see the harm in having him downstairs with us when his this little! x

    Last night he slept from 10 til 430 then took an oz and slept through to 7 .... I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come!

    We're bathing every night around 6 - 8 depending on when his feed is, then some lotion and a rub after being dried. then hes dressed for bed, has either some quiet cuddles or tummy time, then his next feed, and we put him down after winding,

    Between 8 - 11 is his colicky time so sometimes it is continuous winding through that time to settle him!

  • Ha ha, wonder baby! He's done it twice, I paniced the first time thinking I'd slept through him crying! He's generally a good baby anyway.

    We live in a flat, he stays in the living room with us until we go to bed. Although I have put him through in the crib once and left the doors open, we have the monitiors with the sensor mats anyway the the alarrm is pretty loud.

    I'm going to try a proper routine tomorrow and fill him with milk before bed, fingers crossed he'll sleep through soon!xx
  • We tend to keep Oliver with us because of the cats being around the house, and i'm not brave enough yet to leave him with the door shut (only 16 days old)

    He does seem to have his own fairly regular night time routine. We'll give him a bath around 7-8pm ish, then he'll have a sleep, feed about 10ish, sleep through to 12am - 2am - 4/5am - 7/8ish...so still quite alot. I can't wait for him to drop a couple night feeds as its exhausting. I'm breast feeding though so it's difficult to know how much he's eaten.

  • double post

    [Modified by: smiling_fairie on June 08, 2009 09:24 AM]

  • triple post

    [Modified by: smiling_fairie on June 08, 2009 09:23 AM]

  • Smiling Fairie - Quinn is feeding pretty much the same as your LO and it is exhausting!

    He's got thrush at the mo and his wee mouth is v sore; so he's feeing little and often and it's taking about 1 & half hours to feed him and he feeds every 3 hours. So in the middle of the night I feel like I'm up all the time!

    He's just starting medicine today so hopefully once that kicks in he might start going a wee bit longer on a night like the wonder babies Dex and Jaxson!!

    HV said this morning to try just an oz or two during his 2am feed, rather than perservere for an hour to get full 4/5oz in him - she said he might not be that hungry and his cwind might be cos he's too tired to burp well.

    But at the mo with the thrush he won't take his dummy; so rock and a hard place at the mo....

    It's all fun! And boy am I am so happy that you guys have your LOs downstairs with you too.

    M
    xx
  • ....I spoke too soon Dexter had 1/2 sleep ;ast night..... fingers crossed for tonight!
  • Is it just me then? My baby has no routine at all! He is 3 weeks and 2 days old today. Joseph will sometimes sleep all morning and be awake all afternoon, sometimes he is awake all morning and sleeps all afternoon. He wants food every 2-4 hours and will take 2-4 oz (we have switched to formula as breastfeeding didn't work out -he was permanently hungry and unsatisfied by me). And as for nights...don't ask!!! It doesn't really bother me having no routine, but I do worry whether he is getting the right amount of food (although he's putting weight on well now) and whether I will make life difficult for us later on. What do you think? Should I just relax and go with the flow for now? I was hoping as he took more oz each feed, he would go for longer in between and a routine would naturally develop. Or should I try and get him into some kind of routine now? M x
  • Is it just me then? My baby has no routine at all! He is 3 weeks and 2 days old today. Joseph will sometimes sleep all morning and be awake all afternoon, sometimes he is awake all morning and sleeps all afternoon. He wants food every 2-4 hours and will take 2-4 oz (we have switched to formula as breastfeeding didn't work out -he was permanently hungry and unsatisfied by me). And as for nights...don't ask!!! It doesn't really bother me having no routine, but I do worry whether he is getting the right amount of food (although he's putting weight on well now) and whether I will make life difficult for us later on. What do you think? Should I just relax and go with the flow for now? I was hoping as he took more oz each feed, he would go for longer in between and a routine would naturally develop. Or should I try and get him into some kind of routine now? M x

    It is not just you. Michael does not have a routine either and to be honest I don't think he is ready for a routine yet. He is 5 weeks. He sleeps between most feeds, his awake time can vary between morning or afternoon or even early evening. He feeds on demand. (breastfed) I am not a huge fan of a bath every day, not very good for their skin in my opinion. So some days he has a bath before bed, other times he does not. He goes into his moses basket when we go to bed. Till that time he is downstairs and asleep in the carrycot of the travelsystem. When he goes into his cot in his room we probably start to have a bedtime for him, but for the moment it is just easier for all of us if he is asleep downstairs.

    I hope to start a course of baby massage at 9 weeks (first available time) and hope to implement that before bedtime. But for the moment it is his last food, a cuddle with dad and me and than to bed. He is awake when we put him in his moses basket, barely but he is awake, and falls asleep himself. The same for the day.

    We will start a routine when he is ready for it. We do notice he is going longer between feeds in the night and shorter during the day and we are happy with that progress. We do try to encourage him to sleep longer during the night and slowly that is working. (yesterday he let us sleep for 5 hours, last night it was 4 hours and during the day it is no longer than 3 hours) But for us he does not need to have a routine yet, we follow him. Some children do need a routine more than others, but as long as it works for you and your lo I do not see the need to change yet.
  • Just wondered how everyone was going with routines... we're not, keep meaning to but not quite managed to follow one night wiith anything similar!
  • Michael seems to have found his own sleeping pattern and now we try to work around that. He is awake for 2 to 3 hours in the morning (in which he wants cuddles and attention, he hates amusing himself on a playmat) than he goes back to sleep and only wakes up for feeds. He has some other awake time at around 6-9 depending on the day. Than he goes back to sleep inbetween feeds. His bedtime bottle is normally somewhere between 10 and 11, when we go to bed. But before the bottle he gets changed, put into his pj's and than dad gives him his bottle. After that he settles for around 4-5 hours. All the other feeds during the evening and night are every 2 hours apart, so we try to give him his long sleep around the time we go to bed, so we get some nice sleep as well.

    We are not really strict. In some situations, like next friday when we have a wedding to attend, we are not that bothered, allthough the next day we regret it. Because he than moves his awake time to the night, just after his big long sleep. Very nice to have an awake baby at 2 in the morning, if you know it is your own fault.
  • We've started developing our routine a bit more. We have a bath/wash get dressed for bed at 7:30pm, then feed at 8pm, cuddles and bed when he falls asleep. I've started putting him upstairs so that he gets some proper sleep without the tv and other noise keeping him awake. He then wakes up to feed at 11pm, 3am-ish, where he tends to sleep with us untill 5amish, has another feed, goes back in his basket or fusses till about 7am, when daddy takes him to have a play and let mummy get some sleep. We get dressed about 9am when i wake up, and then feed/sleep every 2 hours ish.

    Lol, it sounds a lot more structured than it is, and it's not too strict depending on whether we are going out or having visitors or whatever.

    How are your lo's getting on?
  • we don't have a set timed routine s such but we do her last feed upstairs in the quiet of the bedroom, then bath (tried doing bath before feed but she hated that as was very distracted abut when food was coming!!) then change and then bed. She seems to be settling really well and then usually does a 7 hour stretch until she wakes for another feed. Only thing is we start this routine when she is due a feed so 6/7 or 8 dependant on how the day has gone (no daytime routine yet!!!) - do you think i should be setting a specific time? Ava is upstairs with monitor for sleep x
  • You all sound very organised. I have had alot of problems with my little ones feeding and I have had to change my milk several times. My LO is 7 weeks today. He feeds between 3-4hrs during the day til 4pm then he cluster feeds til about 8pm I usually bath or top and tail in between and he usually settles around 9 after awakee time he then has his last bottle between 11-12 then goes til 3-4 but then he only sleeps til 5 or 6 and wants fed again and then again at 8 but then he goes back to every 4 hours during the day. He stays down stairs with us at night at the moment as he feeds so much but we are going to get him to hopefully settle better over the next few weeks . I think at this age its to soon for routines just go with the flow and gradually adjust feeds so they suit your lifestyle
Sign In or Register to comment.