Does anyone have their babies on a schedule?
LO slept well till he was 8 weeks. He was colic so up until about a week and a half ago it was whatever to stay sane. My pediatrician suggested putting him on a schedule. Eat every 3 hours. Nap an hour and a half after eating. He has never been much of a napper, but dang! It takes 2 hours to get him to sleep for 30 minutes.... And usually he just won't. He'll either play and be happy till he eats or will cry until it's time to eat and then fall asleep at the breast and then the schedule is off.
I'm so at a loss.
Re: Schedule anyone?
At 4 months, we FINALLY have LO on some sort of schedule-that she set herself. She wakes up between 630-7, goes for her first nap between 830-900, goes down for her second nap between 12-1, goes down for her third between 430-500. Her first two naps are 1.5-2 hours and her last nap is 45 minutes. She goes down for the night between 730/800.
She is definitely more distracted during feeds today, so she'll only eat like 3-4 oz while awake, then another 2-4 oz when she's falling asleep, so she's not quite down to 4-5 feeds; more like 6. But she still STTN so as long as she's getting all her calories in....
but this didn't happen until 4 months. Prior to that her naps were only 45 minutes, if even, and she was all over the place. She wasn't getting tired enough so she couldn't sleep through that 45 minute period. Now she's up 2-2.5 hours at a time and sleeps right on through it.
That's our "schedule" but we feed on demand so sometimes he constantly wants to eat other times he barely wants to eat. The main things that are always the same is bed time and working on the afternoon nap.
He usually wakes up between 6 and 7 for the day. He takes a short nap about an hour and a half of two hours later. Short, 30 minutes max most of the time.
Then he goes down around 12 [this is the only time I'm pretty rigid but I have to have DS2 down in order to get DS1 down]. We are working on him sleeping longer stretches in the crib but its usually 30 minute max [today we made 35 minutes!] once he wakes up I pick him up and he usually falls right back asleep and I will hold him for the rest of the nap, usually another 2 hours. Bad habit? Sure, but both boys are asleep and I get two hours to sit down and watch TV. I'm not too worried because I did the same thing with DS1 and he's a great nap taker now. Anyways, both boys are up around 3 usually and then he will take one more nap usually around 5 30. Bed time is around 8ish.
I'm no expert but in my experience, babies do a great job putting themselves on a schedule. I think it was around 6 months with DS1 that his naps were very very consistent in times [i think probably when he dropped to two a day].
Wake up between 89am
We feed him every 23 hours and 4560 minutes later he is ready for his nap. He sleeps in his swing, and loves it. He will sleep 3040 minutes.
He wakes up and eats 30 minutes later. This goes on all day.
We start his bedtime routine at 8pm, and he's in bed no later than 9pm.
He usually wakes up at 6am to eat, then sleeps until 9am. He has reflux, so we can't lay him down right after he eats. He usually lays in his bouncer. Once he wakes up from his nap, I get our play time in before its time to eat.
spending two hours trying to get a baby to go to sleep? no way. why put yourself through all of that?
If having a schedule makes things easier for you then go for it, but if it causes you more stress then just forget about it.
We have no schedule at all. When LO cries I feed her, and when she is tired she sleeps. I think there is some kind to pattern to it, but I'm not watching the clock so I couldn't tell you what it is.
Why did your doctor suggest trying scheduled feeding and sleeping? Just standard advice or to address a particular issue you are having?
To help him sleep more. He's just overtired. Babies are supposed to sleep like 15 hours and he sleeps about 8 or 9. I know he gets cranky now because he won't fall asleep. He rubs hus eyes, yawns and gets fussy but just won't fall asleep. He suggested a feeding schedule to kind of help him to sleep just to try.
DS1 -6/25/11
DS2 -3/23/13
Missed MC D&C 8/26/14
DD - 8/26/15
LO#4 due 5/30/17
ok, so it sounds like this is more about helping him relax when he is overtired so he can get more sleep, and not so much about sticking to a schedule?
have you already tried the pilates ball? It's a life saver for me. When LO is overtired I hold her upright over my shoulder and bounce on the pilates physio ball. If you don't have one I would say it is worth the $20 to try it.
Last night we were in full-on overtired break down mode (pilates ball wasn't doing it for us this time) and I was attempting a diaper change. LO tried to flip over, got stuck on her side, and lay there screaming, when in a moment of despair/genius I thought "baby massage." I gently rubbed her back and sang softly to her as she lay there wailing. Over just a few minutes time she cried less and less and then was sound asleep.
It was a good reminder to me that I have to keep changing up methods for soothing her as what worked last month may not work today.
We have a loose schedule, but DS did it himself - trust me, nothing I did
Wake around 630/700 and nurse
Nap at 9
Nurse at wake up (around 10/1030)
Nurse around 1200
Nap around 1215/1230 until 3?
Nurse at 3
Nap at 5 (30 minutes)
Nurse around 530
Nurse before bed around 730/800
Everything is approximate depending on how long his naps last (his first nap is either 45 min or 1 1/2 hours depending on if he can go 2 sleep cycles) and bedtime depends on when he wakes from his last nap.
My little man at 0-1-2
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