To my friends who have newborns or just remember when they did:
Henry is 3 weeks old now and I want to start getting him on a schedule. I am wondering if I'm late in the game already. Blakely wasn't on a predictable schedule until she was 7-8 months old so I know I don't know what I'm doing!
Did you do anything this early to get them on a schedule?
Did they have a set bedtime/wake time?
Where did they nap/sleep?
Did you put them to sleep or let them fall asleep on their own?
Did they use a pacifier?
Did you wake them for feelings?
Did they spit up? (my kids spit up a TON)
And anything else you might be able to tell me about an almost one month old!
1. Yes at about this time I started getting them on a rough feeding schedule, although they're still a little unpredictable this young.
ReplyDelete2. They both had an approximate bed time (for Landon I didn't put him in his bed until about 10 p.m., although he was usually napping before then and I'd just wake him up & feed him to put him to bed. Layla has decided she likes going to bed more around 8 or 8:30). I haven't had a wakeup time though, I just let them sleep as late as they will unless we have somewhere to go.
3. From night one both of them have slept in their crib at night. However Landon didn't nap in his crib until he was like 5 or 6 months old, and Layla doesn't nap in her crib either. For now she naps in the bouncy seat or swing which Landon did, and then he eventually napped in the travel bed until I transitioned him to his crib. I may try and transition Layla to napping in the crib earlier than that.
4. I let them fall asleep on their own at night. They were sleepy when I would put them in bed after feeding and sometimes I would go back to give them their pacifier back but I never rocked them to sleep or anything before laying them down.
5. Yes they both use pacifiers.
6. Yes I think the big key to scheduling is waking them up for feedings during the day (not at night!) The first month or two I would wake them up to feed them every 3 hours during the day, now sometimes I let Layla stretch to 3.5 or 4 if I need her to. Or sometimes she gets hungry and wants to eat after only 2.5 hours.
7. Landon spit up more than Layla does, but I wouldn't say either of them spit up a LOT.
My kids' basic schedule during the day was eat, be awake, and then sleep on a 3 hour cycle. At one month Layla still usually wouldn't stay awake longer than an hour before she wanted to sleep but hypothetically Baby Wise says they're supposed to stay awake for 1.5 hours and then sleep for 1.5 hours.
It's really good and really helpful to get your baby on a schedule but you also have to be a little bit flexible because no baby is going to stick to a schedule perfectly!
That was like a novel...
I use the Babywise method also, and I literally echo everything Tracy just said. But I do have a waketime every morning...usually between 7-8 depending on when the last feeding was (which, once they're sleeping through the night, should be the same time every night). Babywise says it's important to set a consistent start to the day, and I've experienced the benefits of this.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...good luck! Keeping a baby on a schedule isn't easy, and waking them up to eat isn't always fun when you'd rather let them sleep so you can get something done. But it's so worth it once they are in a consistent routine and sleeping through the night. Every night. You don't have to wonder what your day will look like. Within reason, of course. There are always variables with a baby. :)
Laine was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, and Ellie just slept from 11-5:30 last night at 7 weeks. It's not easy, but it's worth it!