Daily routine

Dave&Mems

My baby girl is almost 11 weeks. I'm just curious to hear what your daily routine is like, especially in regards to naps. Mine is breastfeeding every 2 hours and then she has about an hour of awake time and then naps for 30min-1hr. Will this change soon - from many, short naps to longer, more regular/scheduled naps? She does really well at night, thankfully

cali1710

I'm curious about this too. Mines 11 weeks as well, formula fed. Eats about every 3 hours (longer if were out and shes asleep in her carrier) shes usually up for about 1.5-2 hours (two hours is rare though) then she will nap but her naps range from 20min to 2 hours. She sleeps in the 20-45 min range in her crib and a long time if being held. I cant wait to get a routine but I'm not sure how to start one when her naps vary so much. 

nackie

Ours is similar.  He used to nap for longer, but we're working on transitioning to the crib, so his naps are averaging 30-45 minutes.  We'll eat as soon as he wakes up (takes about 45 min with the nursing and bottle supplement routine we have), then have an hour of activity time and then eat again before his next nap.  

teachmegs817

Naps should change over from shorter, more frequent naps, to longer, not as many throughout the day naps.  However, with every baby it's different.  I too, waited with baited breath for this point to happen.  LO is 16w and it's still hit or miss.  Some days he'll take 3-4 naps and 2-3 of those are 1 1/2-2 hours, with 1-2 being a 30-45 minute length.  Other days though, he still will get in the 3-4, but all of them range from 25 minutes to sometimes just over an hour long.  When those days occur though, We are usually pretty much guaranteed to get him down earlier, because he winds up exhausted by 5:30-6:00 p.m.

Here is how I started looking at sleep in general.  I use the Baby Tracker App.  LO averages about 14-16 hours of sleep per day.  Sometimes less, sometimes a little more. On a weekday, I'll look at what he's slept all day when I get home from work around 4:30.  Even if his naps are short and sporadic, if he's within 10-11 hours by that time, we are in pretty good shape.  It may not have been ideal for my mom (who watches him), but she'd rather him sleep at night for us, rather than all day with her and be up all night. If we're beyond the 11 hours we can count on LO probably going down to sleep for us around 8:00-9:00 p.m. because chances are, he'll only get 2-3 more hours of sleep that day before kicking over into the next day.  If we're less than the 10-11, we often get a sleepy baby around 6 p.m., but somedays LO ends up with only about 12-13 hours of sleep. 

Sorry for the long post about this.  When I tried asking my Pediatrician about sleep, she said it varies and I am not even sure if DS is considered to be a baby who doesn't like sleep or gets just the right amount.  14-16 hours at 4 months seems decent to me.  My mom still thinks he should be in the minimum 16-18 hr. range.

teachmegs817

I will add that by looking at his overall sleep schedule, it helped me not stress out so much on those days where he just didn't seem to sleep for me WHAT SO EVER! I could breath and tell myself; "Okay, Megan, he's already at _____ hours, which isn't that far off from where he should/usually is, so just pour a glass and relax!"  

klbh

I've read that regular daytime naps start at 4-5 months by the earliest--before then it's all up in the air day to day.  

cali1710

klbh said:

I've read that regular daytime naps start at 4-5 months by the earliest--before then it's all up in the air day to day.  

That makes me feel better! I always read 3 months to start so 4-5 would be better! I feel shes just not ready for routine yet

klbh

Yeah, I heard that regular nighttime sleep can begin around 3 months but naps come later. I'm a FTM with a 9 week old, though, so who knows!

Sahara26

That's good to know! My 3 month old has been having regular night time sleep. But naps during the day are always different. Sometimes she will take long 2 hour naps and then other days it's short 30-45 minute naps all day long. 

ambercakes92

My daughter leads the way for the most part of our daily routine. We typically wake up around 7-8 and I change her diaper. We go downstairs and the lays on her kick mat for a bit while I have coffee. When she starts to get tired of her mat, I nurse her and she usually has a morning nap sometime before 11. I nurse on demand, and she naps as often as she pleases during the day (usually every hour). She spends some time in her swing throughout the day, but is mainly held. She likes when we make faces at her , and she also likes to watch tv. I've been trying to get her more into holding things, like a rattle or teething toy. I also try to practice mimicking sounds and faces, and of course some tummy time. I get her into a nighttime diaper around 8 and try to be laying down nursing by 8:30 bedtime. 

Cricket99

Glad I'm not the only one with really irregular naps during the day. LO sleeps pretty well and night now, but naps change times and length every day. Sometimes he doesn't get a nap from the time he wakes up at 7 until 11 and he will sleep for 3 hours... Other times he will sleep for 30-45 minutes 4 or 5 times during the day. I can't wait for it to be a regular time! 

Dave&Mems

Thank, ladies. This makes me feel better. Her nighttime routine is getting more stable, although she's a bit of a night owl like her parents going to bed around 10 or 11 and then waking up for the day around 9 or 10... been trying to push this a bit earlier for when I go back to work but sofar no luck. We'll get there though, I hope and thanks teachmegs817, taking a look at total hours slept is a good way to not stress about her sleep (as is pouring a glass). I dont knowhow people survived before apps - baby tracker is the only way I can remember/track anything!

jodiedrich18

Naps are all over the place for my LO too. She is pretty regular at night though, which makes me not stress too much about her varied nap habits. I've read babies at her 3 month stage should be in the 15-18 hour range, but I don't think she has ever got anything close to 18! She goes to sleep anywhere between 7 and 8:30, depending on her tired cues. She wakes once or twice to nurse at night and we wake her up to get out to work by 7:15, so I figure she is getting usually 9.5-11 hours at night depending on the day. She usually only takes short naps unless she goes on errands with us in her car seat and stroller. So maybe roughly around 12ish- 15 hours total seems to be her range. She seems to take more total small naps at daycare though than when she's home on weekends or before I went back to work...she must get worn out watching all the goings on!