How quickly can u get a newborn into a routine

[Belle23]

Any suggestions??? My baby boy is a week old and now I'm pretty much there with recovery barring stitches I want to start getting a routine in place. But don't know when to start or even how. Lo is bottle fed etc but has been waking in the night and staying awake for a while. Anyone got any advice would be great as this is my first baby xxxx

 

[aliciabubba]

I don't think you can get a newborn into a routine..it just way too hard and they are still getting used to their surroundings and it's usually feed on demand at that stage. I didn't get ralph into a rountine until 5 weeks old. At the start he was waking 3 or 4 times a night for a feed or just fussying about and now he wakes once for a feed and his 7 weeks today.

Have you tried to swaddle your LO? That can work as they feel secure and may drift off to sleep easy. It's good also as their arms are not waking them up or banging the side of the Moses basket.

It is hard at the start with the whole sleeping thing but it does get a lot easier!!

X

 

[VikkiR]

I started at 12 weeks, had diddly squat chance before then

 

[beckyboo1]

I'd say what the others have. At one week old your baby still has no idea about night and day and is still trying to figure out their surroundings!!
that's why baby will wake through the night. Also their stomach is still very small hence why they feed so often

Just relax and enjoy time with baby- there's plenty Of time to get a routine going

 

[hellywelly]

Erm, whenever they allow you to!! Lol. We started bath bottle bed at 4 weeks but think that was more for our benefit than hers. She has gradually evolved her own day time routine but even at 14 weeks this can be hit and miss depending on what we're doing.

 

[Mrs N]

We still dont have aroutine as such, you have to go with what your baby wants or you will just have a grizzly mess on your hands!! Lol!!
xxx

 

[Hope81]

I will probably sound bitchy but I am planning on having a routine from the first day that we are back home. Well ofc a reasonable one for a newborn lol not sth hardcore.
Anyway I have a book that describes you at every age for what routine you should aim and I am planning to use that.
I dont really have much of a choice as I will go back to work very soon and I must get the baby into a routine very very soon...
So starting from day one, fully aware that it will not always work out and fx it will happen sooner that later.

 

[BevG]

i found my lo evolved her own routine that changes as she gets older. at first the only thing i did for sure was to make sure that i made a distinct difference between night and day, daytimes are loud and noisy and bright with lots of chatting and play and she wears proper outfits, night times are quiet and dark and she wears sleepsuits, i dont talk to her or play if i can help it (obvs sometimes shes just not going to go to sleep and u cant not talk to them at all if that happens lol)

 

[Princess81]

I had all good intentions of a routine from day one but learned immediately that it wasn't going to happen, so I relaxed about it totally and went with the flow. My l/o first slept through the night (9 hours) at 7 weeks and started constantly sleeping through (10-12hrs) at 11 weeks - I think they have to learn how to do it in their own time - you can't force it upon them as it won't work iykwim x

 

[Pudds86]

You have just got to go with the flow for a few weeks. Would have.loved to have had the author of your book put try to put my LO into a routine. Its near impossible when a newborn Will sleep the majority of the day. There us nothing you can do to keep them awake!

He pretty much slipped into feeding every four hours on his own. X

Sent from my shit hot phone! Fo shizzle home girls.

 

[LoopyLouize]

We started a routine by 12 weeks old, although somedays I still followed babies demands due to growth spurts etc x

 

[BellaRiven]

Riven still isn't in a routine and he is 6 weeks, I can but dream about a routine.

If you do decide to go ahead with a routine I wish you much luck

Xxx

 

[BabyBrain]

I've totally let Albert lead the way and he settled down really quickly. Routine is very much an adult concept I think, babies don't see it as a routine at all cos they just settle into when they are hungry or tired. And they are little buggers for scuppering any plans and good intentions you may have, just as I strapped the car seat in the car yesterday Albert decided to clear 3 days of constipation all at once and we were already running late to see my mum.

You'll find it less stressful at this young age if you don't have any pre-conceived ideas hun xxxxxxxx

 

[Laura82]

This is just up my street. I'm a true believer in routine, my lo was admitted to hospital at 4 days old so I started it at 2 weeks but it was simple and has worked soooo well. I follow a 'well known ladies' routine and everyone comments on how contented he is. He slept through the night from 7 weeks, he is now 14 weeks and has never woken in the night since 7 weeks- he hardly crys cos I change him, feed him and settle him to sleep before he gets distressed- it's amazing and if you are quite an organised and structured person yourself, give it a go! My friends who are not routine followers are struggling and say how are you so relaxed and look so refreshed and I say, just read the book. Now my lo is teething but still not waking, he knows that you sleep at night and nothing else

 

[katie_lou]

The only routine I have is a bedtime one , in the daytime I just follow Ruby's lead xxx

 

[BevG]

This is just up my street. I'm a true believer in routine, my lo was admitted to hospital at 4 days old so I started it at 2 weeks but it was simple and has worked soooo well. I follow a 'well known ladies' routine and everyone comments on how contented he is. He slept through the night from 7 weeks, he is now 14 weeks and has never woken in the night since 7 weeks- he hardly crys cos I change him, feed him and settle him to sleep before he gets distressed- it's amazing and if you are quite an organised and structured person yourself, give it a go! My friends who are not routine followers are struggling and say how are you so relaxed and look so refreshed and I say, just read the book. Now my lo is teething but still not waking, he knows that you sleep at night and nothing else

i have to say my lo is pretty much the same as this, i had to wake her in hospital for feed when she was born, she would sleep 5 hrs at a time from birth easily. she slept thru the night from 6 or 8 weeks old, has only ever woken once in the night for feeds anyway and apart from the 4 month sleep regression which she is just getting over shes not woke in the night since then. we just had 3 weeks of regression where she woke once in the night again. 90% of the time she goes to sleep easily and contentedly, shes teething now and only cries a little, she naps regularly every 1hr and 30 mins for 30-60 mins and is a really smiley lil girl. i followed her lead completely and havent tried to implement a routine. she falls asleep between 8 and 9 every night and wakes between 6 and 7 and i wont get up before 7am but i will take her into our bed for a bit if she gets bored of babbling in her cot.

routine works for some ppl as it makes them feel safe if they have structure and most babies create their own routine anyway as they are creatures of habit once they do something it generally gets repeated but dont feel you have to instill a routine or that you have failed if your routine dosent work.

 

[littlemuffin]

I was just the same as you and I posted the same thing, but I got the advice of baby is so little just enjoy cuddles and wait a few weeks and they were right.

At your babies age they don't do anything but sleep, change nappy, eat and then sleep. In a few weeks when LO is bigger and will be awake after the feed that you should look at a routine.

 

[VikkiR]

"he hardly crys cos I change him, feed him and settle him to sleep before he gets distressed- it's amazing and if you are quite an organised and structured person yourself, give it a go! My friends who are not routine followers are struggling and say how are you so relaxed and look so refreshed and I say, just read the book. Now my lo is teething but still not waking, he knows that you sleep at night and nothing else "

I'm sorry but this made me wince. Babies are individuals and I think you just have one of those babies rather than following some book. I am guessing that many mums feed and change their babies before they are screaming their head off (which is what was inferred). There are many ladies on here doing their best and for whatever reason are struggling with sleep/feeding issues and I would hazard a guess that this has nothing to do with lack of routine, I think it's insulting to them to intimate as such and I certainly wouldn't want a new mum reading this and thinking they had failed somehow or that there was something wrong with their baby because their lo wasn't doing what some text book said they should. We all do what works, I'm glad it works for you.

 

[Loula]

id love to see this routine mentioned above...

just go with baby, at night im quite lucky n baby will wake for her feeds every 4 hrs but some nights thinks its play time... just go with baby xxx

 

[vickib_1984]

We established a 3-4 hr feeding routine but he led everything else we didn't establish any other routine until over 8 weeks babies are individuals not puppets to control you build a routine around what they need and want and personally at a week old they don't even know where they are and need cuddles and comfort not rigid days and nights they wake for food because they are hungry not any other reason.......


xxx