Should I be trying a routine by now..?

[1588]

LO will be 8 weeks on Saturday and her feeding and sleeping patterns are starting to change by themselves. However, no two nights are the same so...

Should I be putting her upstairs in her basket at a certain time, making her go longer between feeds, and try to keep her awake more in the day???

As a first timer I've not got a clue really

 

[Sherlock]

Feeding wise I'd never try to make baby go longer between feeds personally. I don't see the need. If baby is hungry, they need to feed. Formula of course is heavier and takes longer to digest so often babies fed on this do go for longer between feeds. My LO is breastfed and until a few weeks ago was still feeding every 90 minutes to 2 hours during the day. Now he'll go longer but not much. I let him guide me.

I'd let her sleep as and when also in the day. If she is sleeping ok at night and she needs sleep in the day why try to keep her awake and have a grumpy baby? Unless its an hour to bedtime or some such and then I'd maybe go an early bath and bed but otherwise why worry.

You could start putting her upstairs at bedtime around now if you wanted. Chances are she may not go for it and you'll need to try again in a few weeks if it doesn't work.

Personally I take the laid back what will be will be approach. I only did 'routine' in some areas from about 12 weeks onwards. For the most part my son has decided for himself everything and its worked for us.

I do like to know what is what and it has infuriated me on occasion having to let it go and not fret about it, but end of the day I'd rather a laid back baby and Mummy than us both being grumpy and on edge trying to do things that one or both of us are not happy about.

 

[Charlie:-)]

It was around 8 weeks when I started a bedtime routine, for the rest of the day though, like Sherlock, I just followed Maia's lead for feeding/sleeping/playing.

Bedtime routine consists of bath (not every night), and dress her for bed in her room with lullaby cd playing, if no bath then read a story (I dont get chance to read a story when she has a bath cause she's way too tired usually and just cries for boobies cause she knows its bedtime), then feed in her room dimly lit just enough light coming in from the hall way, then I put her down in her cot away, put her mobile on and leave the room.

In the early days when I first started she would cry if I just put her down so I used to rock her to sleep and when she was just dropping off then I would put her down. Sometimes it would work sometimes she would cry again and I would have to start the rocking again. This went on for about a couple of weeks then she got used to it and started to go to bed quite easily and settle herself to sleep.

 

[lauramumof2]

I dont think its ever too early to start a routine. Its worked very well for me with both babies.
Its more about the order in which things happen than what time.. Night time for me was the big one, I would always bath, bottle, bed. Sometimes this would happen earlier, sometimes later but always in that order.

Things just fall into place. If a routine doesnt work for you then so be it but being used to a routine before baby, it helped us both to be in one once they were born.