introducing a routine.

[trixipaws]

following MW advice, i feed my 10-day-old baby on demand, and change her when shes wet or dirty, so i'm doing these things whenever rather than at specific times. also i let her sleep whenever she wants. when do i need to introduce any kind of routine, and how do i do it?

 

[budge]

no you don't have to introduce a routine of you don't want but you can try to if you want.

personally although routines are really good for some people they don't work for me. I hate them.
I prefer to let my babies eat when they are hungry sleep when they asre tired and paly when they want to play.

However i don't let rachael sleep after 4 pm if i can help it and try and get her to fit in with the older ones and go to bed at 7.30 - 8 pm.

Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

Don't let trying to get a routine going ruin the enjoyment of your baby. Relax and let her do the leading for a while. Theres no rush. Just enjoy the time with her.
you will no doubt find a naturla routine falls into place anyway.

 

[little*red]

i agree with budge, dont force yourself into a routine just yet, sometimes its so restricting with small babies.
I didnt start Evie on a routine until she was 4 or 5 weeks old as she took a while to get over her jaundice bout. However my routine is only that i feed her at set times of the day (but obviously dont make her wait if she get hungry 30min or so before) but she sleeps when she wants to sleep, i dont force her to go down at particular times.

 

[Hellokitty]

I've been told not even to try a routine until baby is at least 6 weeks.

 

[trixipaws]

thanx girls

 

[Fiona]

I started Grace on a bedtime routine about 6/7 weeks and she took to it really well - first night went to bed at 7 pm and has done that every night since.

apart from that we have no routine at all - I feed on demand and we just go about our day however it happens to pan out..........
each day is different and we both enjoy it

 

[Emmylou]

A bedtime routine is all we have, started it at 5 weeks. In the day Libby feeds when she wants & sleeps when she wants, I cannot stress to you enough to feed on demand atm hun, I did with Libby and she was very content & I think thats why....she'll get herself into a feeding routine when she's ready, Libby hasn't set herself into set times, but she generally feeds every 3-4 hours.

With bedtime, we introduced the routine & she took to it within the week, that was a 5 weeks. You could always try to wash her/ bath her at a set time, then keep the mood & lighting low so she begins to differentiate between day & night, but don't expect her to understand bedtime just yet.

 

[maybebaby]

I still haven't got a routine with Austin. He sleeps when he's tired & eats when he's hungry. I'm going to try to establish a proper bedtime routine when he gets to 3 months old but until then we're doing fine without one.

 

[Becky&Willow]

i introduced willow to a rountine at 6 weeks old, i must say i do feed at certain times and willow seems very happy with what we are doing i feed her every 3 hours and then i top and tail her change her nappy and put her in her sleepsuit, feed her and put her to bed between 6:30 and 7 and she sleeps through til 5- 6 ish i feed her and put her back down til about 8 - 9, so far this roun tine is working very well. i would deffo advise getting into one at about 6 weeks.

 

[x-kirsty-x]

Sorry to drag this thread back up again but its pointless starting a new one.

Anyway, when Ryan is about 6-8 weeks Id like to start some sort of bedtime routine. At the minute he has a bottle every 3-4 hours and sleeps when he wants.

When we start a routine, for example if we bath him at around 7pm, what if his last bottle was only at 5pm or a bit later, would we give him another one at 7pm after his bath just to top him up and then let him wake during the night for his next one?

Im confused

 

[Emmylou]

When we start a routine, for example if we bath him at around 7pm, what if his last bottle was only at 5pm or a bit later, would we give him another one at 7pm after his bath just to top him up and then let him wake during the night for his next one?

Im confused

Hi hun,
With Libby, even if she has fed say an hour before bedtime, we still feed her after the bath to top her up, we find that now she has settled into her own feeding routine, so tends to have her last feed before bathtime around 5.30 then her last feed before sleep at about 8.15.
She then wakes up when/ if she's hungry in the night, you'll notice that Ryan will start to drop his night feeds over the next few weeks.....will prob only then wake once in the night, and will take more in the last feed. He may even cluster feed in the early evening in preparation for the sleepful night ahead.
Hope that helps (btw...he is such a cutie!! You have 2 gorgeous sons!!)