No schedule?

Knottie65841689

So is any of you simply going with the flow during the day and night? As far as just not worrying about when baby sleeps and eats and just letting them guide you through what they need. Something like feeding on demand and them sleeping whenever they want? Just wondering as I am mostly just reading all the posts about naps and schedules and I dont have one. I just let my baby do her thing. If she is hungry I feed and she sleeps wherever whenever *__* and I guess her bedtime is mine as we bedshare. Just looking for different experiences

shantelwilson1988

Trust me you are not alone. We do not run on a schedule. If she's hungry she eats if she tired she sleeps! My daughter is 8 weeks old. Im sure she is to young to put on a sleep schedule right now. I figured we will start that in the coming months 

parkerhouse

Same here! 8 weeks and although we try for bedtime around the same time each night (in his own room) that is the only thing that is attempted at the same time each day. He eats/naps/wakes all at his will. 

KRH6829

I only care about DD sleeping though the night...I need my sleep!  During the day, we do not have anything close to a schedule. She eats and naps as she pleases. Once she is a bit older, I will try to get her on more of a schedule during the day. 

Catherine1021

DD is 11 weeks and we don't really have a schedule, but she seems to want to eat and sleep at about the same times every day more now than even just a couple of weeks ago. I do have older kids that do have a schedule- school, meals, bedtime, etc.- so I guess there is a schedule at our house- but not really a set schedule for the baby yet. 

dec15mum

I'm the same! he makes his own schedule, it works better for me personally 

LaceyH13

We are at 12 weeks and don't really have a schedule, though he is starting to form his own natural schedule based on when he goes to bed at night. We aim for a 9 or 9:30 bedtime, which leads to a natural waking time between 6:30 and 7:30, and the day goes from there. Since he still eats pretty consistently every 2 hours, we are starting to get a little more predictable.

We started trying to establish a bedtime routine right around 8 weeks, so if you want a schedule, now would probably be a good time to start that part of it. My LO sleeps in his crib in his room, though, which probably makes a difference.

ksrkim

We don't really have a schedule either. I still am feeding on demand because he leaves me no choice lol. His schedule is basically eat every two hours. The only consistent thing is when he goes to bed, at around 10 or 11, he will usually sleep for 3-4 hours.

rzaremba

No real schedule here for LO, 10 weeks. He usually takes 2-3 several hour naps per day, but I've started waking him up around 5pm so he will sleep by 9, he sleeps in a rnp in our room. My goal is to transition him to his crib in his room by 12 weeks, so maybe at that point he will have more of a schedule.

chillmama1518

9 weeks and no schedule here. How does one even try for scheduled feedings if they are EBF? I just couldn't see feeding him if he wasn't hungry or NOT feeding him if he was.. (beside the odd top-up if I know we're going to be somewhere inconvenient for BF)
As for bedtime schedule I suppose we're at the point where we could start that sometime soon. Our little guy is definitely a sleep begets sleep kind of dude so I let him nap whenever and wherever during the day. 

taysun

We don't have a schedule, it just happens that she is pretty predictable sleep wise

oregonmommy-2

I'm going back to work soon.. That is the only reason I have my little on a feed every 2 to 3 hours schedule for my husbands sake. He naps when he wants during the day. And he usually goes to sleep around 9 on his own. I don't think there is a huge need to schedule a baby.. Every day is a new day with activities we have going on. I'm not going to rush home so my little can nap.. He can nap where we are if he is sleepy. I'm pretty happy that he is so easy because we just went out of town for the first time and he was happy as can be.. He didn't even notice the difference. 

navyblueladybug

DD will be 14 weeks on Wednesday and our sleep schedule just sort of happened. It wasn't until about a week a go that I noticed her sleeping was starting to have a pattern. Her eating is still a bit all over the place, she likes to snack too which kills me because she wastes so much formula!!! I never know if she just wants a snack or a full bottle but I'm starting to learn that too. Your babies will get there. No way at 8 weeks was she even close to a schedule... I just went with the flow and followed cues back then. 

kdoak2015

We actually have a fairly consistent schedule at 13weeks but it's also flexible based on errands etc. 
Wakes 8-9 eats plays
naps 10:30/11 til 1ish sometimes later sometimes earlier. Eat and play.
naps 3 til 4ish. Eat and play and then another short nap after dinner except last night it was an hour and a half nap. 
Bed by 9/10ish. Again super flexible but she basically stays on this schedule.

cedixon2

My 12 week old twins do what they want. For a while they wanted to eat at the same time every time. Now, more often than not, I can feed one a boob before the other decides she is hungry. Then I can top them off with formula. They usually go back to sleep within 15 minutes of each other. The only schedule I keep is for me to be in bed by 830 and take over wee hour of the morning feedings after DH goes to bed.  Lately the twins have been sleeping through his shift. For the most part, it's every 3 hours before they want to eat again.

Knottie65841689

Thanks for sharing I personally eill not be putting my girl on a schedule because I am with her all the time so there is no need. But I thought maybe most people did. Its refreshing to hear that is not the case

Court11152325

Actually some kind of schedule and routine is good for babies. It doesn't have to be anything more than a usual bed time and 3 naps a day, but it helps them settle and can facilitate learning. A bed time routine with a consistent bed time is the most important.

sharonholck28

Mine is baby run but I notice she almost keeps to the same times everyday within an hour or so. But if she sleeps or eats more on any given day I let her. We just have a night routine of sometimes going for a walk, maybe having a snack then bath, long feeding and bed at bedtime. She is usually always up around 8/830 and nurses a lot between then and 11. Then goes down for a nap between 12/2 until 2/430. Long playtime and nurses again maybe around 5/530. Then we start winding down with a walk if weather is good around 6. I try making her wait til 730 for bath but sometimes she's really upset and we start earlier but she's usually in bed by 830 and will sleep til 3/5ambefore starting all over. 

teachmegs817

As much as we are trying to create a set routine, there are def. days when it gets hard to stick to it and we are trying to really get DS to start sleeping 5-6 hours during the night. He is getting there.  He is now starting to go 4-4 1/2 hours in between feedings during the night, but DH and I are usually getting up 1-2 times to soothe him in the RnP so that he'll go back to sleep.  

DS is 10w and will eat every 3 1/2 hours during the day. So if he is sleeping, we do wake him up. It only happens maybe 2x a week that we have to do that. He has usually been asleep for about 45 minutes to an hour at least, when we do have to wake him up to eat. At night, we let him wake on his own to eat. We are trying to establish a routine where he takes 2-3 naps during the day and starts to get used to day/night routines.  Bedtime is around 8-9:30 each night.  It just depends on when his dinner time feeding is at. 

2winterbabies

DD is a little over 8 1/2 weeks and she kind of has a schedule. It was really important for me to establish a routine early on. She usually has a waking period late in the morning. Around 9 am and will stay up until the afternoon (or at least try to). She'll take a short nap, wake up, eat and take another short nap. Around 6-7pm she will wake up again completely and I'll play with her and do tummy time. She stays awake for 2-3 hours and then will go down to sleep for the night. She only wakes up to 1 feeding. Last night we got 7 hours of sleep out of her. Questioning if that was too long for her to go but she seems okay.

jkloeppel

DD is 13 weeks and we don't really have a schedule. She typically gets tired at the same time each night (6:30pm) and sleeps 10-12 hours. Having no schedule works for us! 

redfallon

What's happened with both of my kids is that I follow their cues for hungry and sleep patterns. It will generally evolve into a schedule that you can follow. 

BrookeBrown2015

My lo is 10 weeks and we don't have a schedule and we don't have a schedule. I was so surprised to find out that some people are trying to make their babies take naps.

rmarie13

10 weeks, no schedule. I'm EBF on demand so that doesn't really leave room for a schedule. DD is pretty predictable about bedtime though. She'll usually go down around 11 and wake up just before 6. It all depends on what kind of day we've had though

Knottie65841689

Court11152325 said:

Actually some kind of schedule and routine is good for babies. It doesn't have to be anything more than a usual bed time and 3 naps a day, but it helps them settle and can facilitate learning. A bed time routine with a consistent bed time is the most important.

I disagree. I dont think all babies benefit from schedules. Babies just like us have different needs and personalities and some might love consistency while others dont thrive in set routines. My baby settles easily and is achieving her milestones without a schedule

groovylocks

We don't have a daytime schedule really. We DO have a strict bedtime one though. 7pm we have ceiling time (we stare at a mobile or projector on the ceiling) or we have Skype time with nanny and papa in Nova Scotia. Or we read or listen to music. 8pm is bath time. She soaks in warm water, every three days gets soaped down. After bath time we dress her in her jammies and halo and listen to more music, I nurse her. If she falls asleep, she goes to bed then. If not, I dance her around a bit and she guaranteed goes out like a light within 10 minutes. 

She is almost always in bed before 9:20 and more often than not, falls asleep around 9pm. It's  miraculous and i hope she's always this good a sleeper. 

Daytime? Kind of a crapshoot. I feed her when she's hungry (or whenever she'll eat since she's still on the slim side) and i try to put her down for a nap whenever she'll have one (which is rare) Now that the weather is better, we try to get outside a lot (we were outside all day today - it was beautiful out) and sometimes we take her to visit her grandparents at their restaurant. But it's very free and easy. No schedule during the day. We just try to stay alive.

groovylocks

rmarie13 said:

10 weeks, no schedule. I'm EBF on demand so that doesn't really leave room for a schedule. DD is pretty predictable about bedtime though. She'll usually go down around 11 and wake up just before 6. It all depends on what kind of day we've had though

I'm finding this too. Breastfeeding on demand however is only sort of accurate for us. She's been deemed very small for her age and i was told to feed her as constantly as i can and if she'll eat, let her eat. So whatever we do has to support that system. 

grkgdss00

Approaching 8w here and no schedule other than trying to go to bed around 8pm every night. I have such a hard time getting her to nap as it is, I take what I can get. She's EBF and feeds on demand.

ammnam14

DD is 10w and I don't have a schedule. We had a bedtime routine but threw it out the window. The best advice I received from the nurses when DD was born was to go with the flow.

ramfam2507

Nico is EBF so the only routine we have is that I nurse him at 8 every night and then he goes right to sleep. We've been doing it for about a month now and it's seems like around 7:45 he starts to get fussy because he knows it's time for bed. 

taysun

BrookeBrown2015 said:

My lo is 10 weeks and we don't have a schedule and we don't have a schedule. I was so surprised to find out that some people are trying to make their babies take naps.

I make DD nap but it's not like they're out of the blue or when I think it's convenient for her to sleep. She won't go to sleep on her own ever without the perfect situation and she doesn't tolerate being set down for any period of time that would lead to her falling asleep unless I've done our nap routine. So when I notice she's yawning or fussing when all needs are being met including all the different ways she's normally soothed (being held different ways, being entertained, walking around, singing) and I've checked for hair tourniquets, scratches, burped her etc I make the conditions good for her to nap. 
And that just means I swaddle her, rock her, give her a paci and then put her in the swing. If she's not having it then obviously I don't push but 9/10 times she passes right out. 

Knottie35278873

My son is 17 weeks now (lurking from N15!) and I literally just started attempting a schedule like for night time. Like I try to lay him down and wake him close to the same time each day. But naps are still at different times every day it seems like and they last anywhere from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours! So idk if you want to call that a schedule or just say my son has a particular bedtime lol. Getting babies on a schedule is hard work honestly. I've been trying but it's not happening really lol 

Mother0fDragons

Right now the only sleep pattern our daughter is consistent with is waking up and naps. She always sleeps until 9/9:30 and then needs a nap around 11, 1, and 5. 
Some nights she goes to bed around 7:30 and then there are nights when she doesn't go to sleep until midnight.  I find that she "usually" goes to bed around 10/10:30 if she gets adequate naps in (total of 3 hours) and she will sleep for longer stretches too.

NellieHarringtonCarter

My kid is 10 weeks and we really don't have a schedule. I nurse on demand and supplement with formula when my supply doesn't seem to cut it. We also co-sleep in the recliner. This has worked great for both of us getting some sleep, but I'm really worried now because I'm going out of town for two days and one night, and my mom is staying at my house to watch the kids. I have a feeling that bedtime will be a nightmare for everyone. oops

ColoradoHiker

DS is 14w and started his own relatively regular routine in the last two weeks.  It's a pattern, but not at exact times.  For example, he'll eat around 7-7:30am, then stay up for a little bit while I make my breakfast, but fall asleep for about an hr before I finish eating.  Sometimes it's later or earlier, but he always does that first thing in the morning.