i NEED a routine!!

[charlotte_]

for some reason, zach has completely flipped his sleeping pattern around.
it started last saturday when we went to my dads for tea, we were there for most of the afternoon/evening, and then we got home about 9. gave him his bath, bedtime feed and all went to bed. five minutes later, he's up again crying. my OH went downstairs with him because i was knackered, and in the morning he told me zach hadn't gone to bed until 5am. he'd been awake well over 5 hours, which he can never manage! OH said he was obviously tired and so frustrated he was hitting himself in the face.
ever since bedtime has become somewhere inbetween 3-5, and it's wearing me out. last night, i cuddled him to sleep, and as i stood up to put him in his moses basket, he woke up, but i'd had enough, so i just put him down & left him & he dropped off! for the first time on his own, without being held!

does this mean i might start being able to put him upstairs to bed, on his own before we go up? or is he still to little?
what's your routine? i need some advice!

 

[ninjawomble]

What we do with Isla is:
-6.30pm take her upstairs, top and tail her, fresh nappy and bedclothes
-Then take her into bedroom (dimly lit) for a bedtime feed
-Then put her in her moses basket, put mobile on
-Go downstairs and pray she goes to sleep!

No talking, all quiet and low lights.

She sometimes drops off within a few minutes (by 7.30), sometimes we have to go back in when she cries to put dummy in, sshh her etc.

She then wakes around 10pm for her next feed.

 

[Naterjack]

Hello hun
I know its hard without a routine and so over the past few days weve started the following with Josh:

3-4 naps during the day but also some stimulation with toys / playmat, etc - then he's tired enough to sleep - we found that when we go out in the evening and he sleeps in his car seat, the nights sleep is terrible !

8:30pm - Bath and change for bed
9pm - Feed and cuddle
9:30pm - put down to bed in his cot in his own room

We put Josh in his cot for the first time on Monday and this week we had 2 fantastic nights sleep this week (9:30pm - 1:30am, then 2am - 6am, then 6:30am - 9am) - i'm sure it wont last but it was well overdue sleep !
We have the angelcare monitor which only transmits the baby noise when it gets past a certain noise level, and so we don't hear his gurgles and whinges (and he does then get himself back off to sleep), he also isn't distubed by daddy's snoring which i'm sure helps !!

 

[charlotte_]

i've heard that babies sleep better in their own room, because they aren't getting disturbed, but i just don't feel he's (or maybe, i'm not) ready for it!
how much do you play with your LO's during the day? what can you really do with them at this stage? he has a baby gym should i try him in that to try & tire him out? he also has a few toys but he has no hand eye co-ordination & i'm worried he'll just bash himself in the face!

 

[Naterjack]

we have a mat / gym thing which he hates but the dangley things do keep him occupied (he only looks at them though)
I also have an activity cot bumper, a black and white one with animal faces on it and it plays tunes, he will lie for hours watching that

 

[caz2008]

my son was same but he now has hungry milk n hes much happier

his routine is
9:30pm wake up stay awake
10:30 bath or we just change his nappy n take our time
110 milk usually 6 oz
11:15 i take him upstairs all lights r out wen he has his milk n goes to bed
lay him on our bed get his sleeping bag on the give dummy kiss goodnight
and lay him in cot, he doesnt cry he just falls asleep within 10 mins
11:30pm asleep
9:30pm awake

 

[charlotte_]

well, i breastfeed and wouldn't give it up for anything, not even a bit of sleep.

 

[tinkerbell*]

i was desperate for a routine and after talking tomy SIL who has 2 "gina Ford" babies. I thought well i'll go for it..
we were never strict with it, but its nice to read her book and she gives you a routine to try and follow and adjust as your babies gets older. she works on a 7-7 routine (so its nice to gets some "me" time in the evening with ya OH).
we used control crying with theo. i know some dont agree with it, but i never left him to scream and get upset, we put him down in his bed (for times gina ford says).. and he windged and cried a little for 5mins (but never hysterical upset). and just fell alseep... we woke him up when she says to wake him up, ect ect we done this for 3 days and after 3 days he had it, now he is like clockwork he does exactly the same (sleep and feeding pattern)everyday.
he is a very very happy baby, im sure it is becuase he knows exactly whats gonna happen ect.

now we put him in to bed and he lays there quietly untill he falls alseep, its lovely

our Routine at the moment is:
7am - Wake up
7:30 Milk
8am - Breakfast
9am - Naptime
10am - Wake Up
11:30 Lunch + Milk
12:15 - Nap Time
1:30 - Wake up
2pm-Milk
4pm - Nap Time
4:45- Wake up
5pm - Dinner
6:45 - Milk
7ish -Bath
7:30 -Bed

When we first started the routine it was from the gina ford book. and although she gives a routine to follow from 1month - 3years. we have chopped and changed it, it was just nice to have a starting point

 

[lea m]

I cant really answer as Lola-Mae isnt BF but from what I have read and heard, BF babies dont settle into routines so easy and you really just have to go with the flow hun! I may be wrong but Im just going off what I have read on this forum!!

 

[kerrymac]

i was desperate for a routine and after talking tomy SIL who has 2 "gina Ford" babies. I thought well i'll go for it..
we were never strict with it, but its nice to read her book and she gives you a routine to try and follow and adjust as your babies gets older. she works on a 7-7 routine (so its nice to gets some "me" time in the evening with ya OH).
we used control crying with theo. i know some dont agree with it, but i never left him to scream and get upset, we put him down in his bed (for times gina ford says).. and he windged and cried a little for 5mins (but never hysterical upset). and just fell alseep... we woke him up when she says to wake him up, ect ect we done this for 3 days and after 3 days he had it, now he is like clockwork he does exactly the same (sleep and feeding pattern)everyday.
he is a very very happy baby, im sure it is becuase he knows exactly whats gonna happen ect.

now we put him in to bed and he lays there quietly untill he falls alseep, its lovely

our Routine at the moment is:
7am - Wake up
7:30 Milk
8am - Breakfast
9am - Naptime
10am - Wake Up
11:30 Lunch + Milk
12:15 - Nap Time
1:30 - Wake up
2pm-Milk
4pm - Nap Time
4:45- Wake up
5pm - Dinner
6:45 - Milk
7ish -Bath
7:30 -Bed

When we first started the routine it was from the gina ford book. and although she gives a routine to follow from 1month - 3years. we have chopped and changed it, it was just nice to have a starting point

Leo does nearly exactly the same as Theo, and we have followed the Gina ford routines but not as strict as the book. The only difference from Theo is that we have to bath Leo at 5.45pm ande then bottle and bed by 6.30pm, otherwise he gets past it and falls asleep on his bottle and will wake up an hour later hungry!! I dont know how i coped without this routine with my daughter

 

[xmcnickyx]

We're only bothering with a nightime routine for now as during the day, Molly doesn't seem to have a preference to when she naps or eats. We've started just making sure she's fed and in bed by 8 and the rest is down to her. If she wakes up to be fed, we fed her, if she doesn't we leave her. She'll sort her own routine out eventually.

I only started putting her upstairs last night though and she slept from 8 till about 4:30 so it must have worked for her