Routines/Scheduled naps/eating times etc

[Lulu_Laroo]

We started a bedtime routine when Poppy was 3 weeks old, and stuck with it until recently when she's suddenly started being very clingy at bedtime and so we can't actually put her in her cot until she's already asleep otherwise she cries. Everything else is pretty much led by Poppy - her naps for example, she naps when she wants. I never put her down for a nap myself, she'll just fall asleep on her playmat when she wants to, or if she's in her bouncer or anywhere else and she starts rubbing her eyes, I lay her down and let her fall asleep (although again, just recently, she's been fighting sleep more and more during the day). I give her milk when she wants it, and only have rough mealtimes (breakfast can be anytime from 8.30 - 10.30, Lunch from around 12.00 - 2.00 etc etc).

This works for us fine, and Poppy is generally a laid-back, happy baby.

I'm interested to know, those of you who have strict daytime routines, why is that? I've always liked the idea of letting the baby decide and it's always made sense to me, but I keep reading about how routines are good for children etc and it made me wonder if I should start being a little more organised and set routines during the day, especially now she's started being a little bit more fussy with naptimes and bedtimes. What do you think?

 

[LaurenMM]

I'm a bit like you, I have a bedtime routine which I started properly when Angel was about 10-12 weeks old. Literally just bath, bottle, bed between 6pm-7pm. Her feeds are every 3.5-4 hours, she kind of set this herself when I started FF. As for naps, I just let her nap as and when. I did try and do a relaxed kind of routine where I put her down for naps around the same time everyday.... then her teething started so that went out of the window almost immediately lol. I always wonder if I should start setting a more organised routine for her naps but I just don't see the point to be honest lol. She usually gets tired 1.5-2 hours after waking so I know when to put her down and I try not to let her nap after 5pm because she goes to bed around 6/7pm ish. I've only just started weaning her and I wanted to do breakfast around 8am ish but we're still trying to get to that at the moment x

 

[Piglet's Mama]

I'm like you love, I have always been led by Brooke. But I do put her down for naps etc as I can see when she's tired and if she gets overtired, I can't do anything with her. I couldn't always do this mind, she used to have ALL her naps on me which I loved, but as she got bigger and heavier etc it was killing my back/shoulders etc. So since I've had my new buggy I have been putting her in there when it's laid flat as a pram. Initially I had to rock her for a few mins, but now more often then not she goes off on her own.

She's normally up between 6-7am so she has her first bottle then. Around 8am she has breakfast and about 8.30am I put her down for a nap and she can sleep anywhere between 30-70 mins - I'm not precious about how long she sleeps and am guided by her. I offer her more milk at 10.30am (or when she wakes from the nap depending on how long she's slept), lunch at 12.00pm and nap at 12.30pm-1.00pm - again I let her sleep for as long as she wants (anywhere between 40-90 mins normally). More milk around 2.00/2.30pm, dinner at 4.00pm, bath 6.30pm, bottle then bed at 7.00pm. If she has a short lunch time nap, I sometimes put her down again around 3.30-4pm - I like her to have at least 2 hours sleep a day so sometimes she has three 40 min naps and some days this suits her.

At bedtime though we do put her down awake. I couldn't really do this when she was small but when she got to about 17 weeks I thought I'd just try and let her self-settle and see how we got on. I could never do controlled crying and if I ever think she is upset we pick her up and rock/cuddle her to sleep. But 9/10 times she goes in and plays with her toys/light show and goes off on her own within 15-20 mins xx

 

[Piglet's Mama]

And just on that bit about routines - I do think that babies can really benefit with some form of routine. Personally, I don't think it matters if things are off by an hour or so each day, but I think feed times and nap times should be pretty consistent but like I say, this just suits me and Brooke. Also, we have never pushed our baby into a routine, I think it's just the way we are that has helped guide her into it. I love having some time out in the evening so for me I couldn't have my baby up until 10pm or else I'd have a breakdown. But by no stretch have I enforced a routine on her. It has all just happened naturally based on our lifestyle if that makes sense x

 

[LaurenMM]

And just on that bit about routines - I do think that babies can really benefit with some form of routine. Personally, I don't think it matters if things are off by an hour or so each day, but I think feed times and nap times should be pretty consistent but like I say, this just suits me and Brooke. Also, we have never pushed our baby into a routine, I think it's just the way we are that has helped guide her into it. I love having some time out in the evening so for me I couldn't have my baby up until 10pm or else I'd have a breakdown. But by no stretch have I enforced a routine on her. It has all just happened naturally based on our lifestyle if that makes sense x

^^I agree and I'm the same. I think some form of a routine is good for them, especially if you go to go out one day or night and leave with parents or whoever, its just good to be able to say "oh they usually have a bath at x time, due a feed at x time etc" it makes me feel more at ease knowing they know when to expect her to be hungry etc rather than guessing. Plus when I put Angel to bed she goes straight down, on her own with a minimum of fuss and I'm almost certain its because weve had this bath, bottle, bed routine which has helped her establish her bedtime, and she sleeps right through 98% of the time. From 6/7pm till 6am. xx.

 

[Belfast girl]

We do have a routine, we didn't force it on her, she fell into it herself but I think she would be quite narky without it. It started with naps as she is just impossible to get down for a nap if she gets over tired and fights sleep during the day with 2 fists!!

She is up at 7 ish, bottle at 7.30ish, brekkie an hour later, nap at 9.30, bottle at 11.30, lunch an hour later, nap at 1.30, bottle at 3.30, dinner an hour later then bottle and bed at 7.

I think she likes having a routine, I can't remember the last time she cried, might be a couple of weeks?

I like it as when others look after her who can't 'read' her as well as I do, and when she goes to nursery, knows what to do and when.

 

[LaurenMM]

I think she likes having a routine, I can't remember the last time she cried, might be a couple of weeks?


Angel is the same; I think as a result of her routine she is a very contented baby. She has been whingy today but thats because of her teething poor thing but normally she never cries xx

 

[Piglet's Mama]

I think she likes having a routine, I can't remember the last time she cried, might be a couple of weeks?


Angel is the same; I think as a result of her routine she is a very contented baby. She has been whingy today but thats because of her teething poor thing but normally she never cries xx

Ditto - I don't have a cryer either. She whinges if she's hungry, tired, in a dirty nappy etc but she never cries x

 

[Lulu_Laroo]

Thanks girls. Poppy rarely cries - only really if we try to put her to bed whilst she's still awake. She used to self settle perfectly, so I'm not sure what went wrong!

I popped her in her pushchair (reclined postion) when I noticed her getting tired today and she was out like a light, so thanks for that tip Jen! I've never really thought of putting her in there before, probably because our house is so small that I can't wait to collapse the pushchair and shove it in the cupboard the second we get home, so it's always out of sight!

 

[LaurenMM]

Can I just say Poppy is absolutely adorable!!! x

 

[Piglet's Mama]

Thanks girls. Poppy rarely cries - only really if we try to put her to bed whilst she's still awake. She used to self settle perfectly, so I'm not sure what went wrong!

I popped her in her pushchair (reclined postion) when I noticed her getting tired today and she was out like a light, so thanks for that tip Jen! I've never really thought of putting her in there before (probably because our house is so small that I can't wait to collapse the pushchair and shove it in the cupboard the second we get home, so it's always out of sight!)

Yay! Fab news. It's great isn't it? Brooke was asleep for an hour in 10 in there this arvo. I would put her in her cot but she just won't settle in there in the day. So weird. But the buggy is a sure bet

 

[clairebear22]

Jack led his own routine up until he was 6 months old because i wanted to enjoy him in a relaxed manner rather than worrying about times etc. At 6 months we decided to try and implement some kind of day time routine because he started thinking midnight was a reasonable bedtime lol

It took us another 2 months for him (with a little help from us) to fall into a 'proper' routine whic is:

Wakes at 7am and has breakfast straight away (he's usually starving)
Nap at 8.30 usually for about an hour
Milk at 10am (he's never been a big drinker and never drinks more than 3-4oz)
Lunch at 12.30
Nap at 1 for anywhere between 1-2hrs
Milk at 3
Snack at 4 (usually a piece of fruit to nibble on)
Nap at 5 - usually 45mins to 1hr
Dinner at 6
Bath at 7
Story at 8.45
Milk at bed at 9

He's done this routine for the last 2 weeks and it's really working at the moment. I'm sure it'll change pretty often as he grows and we're also hoping to bring bed time foward to 8 in the next month or so but we'll see.

I think having him in a routine is important because he'll eventually know 'what comes next' and be a content and happy child.

Jack is also a super laid back happy baby. I literally cannot remember the last time he cried!! And I don't remember him ever 'screaming' as a newborn?! x

 

[Hayley1608]

Savannah has a routine, She always has from day one really. We didn't start a proper napping routine until she was about 4 months or so because she used to sleep when she wanted when she was younger... Also we used to keep her up until 10pm so that she would sleep through but when we started trying to put her down earlier the only way we could do it was to try rough napping and eating times.

Her routine now...
7-7.30 Wakes for milk
8-8.30 Has Breakfast
9-10 Nap Time - Can be anything from 10 mins to 45.
11.30-12.00 Lunch
14.00 Bottle then a nap - Again can be anything from 10-45 mins
16.00-17.00 Dinner
18.30-19.00 Bath and bottle
19.00-19.30 Bed

We've only just got her to self settle... Yay! Using a projector mobile, It was the second one we bought as the first one was really loud and kept her awake!

I think having her in a routine does help her because she seems to know when her next meal/ bottle/ nap is coming and then is more relaxed