who made/makes the schedule?

tlxh7

Sorry for another schedule post, but seeing them all has me envious of those of you who have a consistent schedule.  So who made/makes your schedule?  Baby, or you?  Our days are still really inconsistent.  Around 2 months, I started feeding Lila right before I went to bed (around 10pm), just so she would sleep longer while I slept.  That's still her only consistent feeding time.  Sometimes she falls asleep before the 10pm feeding, sometimes during.

She feeds again anywhere between 4 and 8am.  She's usually awake for the day anytime between 7 and 9am, though sometimes she's awake in her crib for 60-90 minutes before wanting out.  She goes anywhere from 2-4 hours between feedings.  Naps anywhere from 4-6 hours total, 1/2 hour to 2 1/2 hour increments.  I just never know what the day will bring.

I wish I could write out a schedule, but it just totally depends.  Any tips or thoughts?

 

alliejoe

He was pretty consistent, but not anymore. The last week or so he's been sleeping less during the day and STTN a little more frequently.

He's up for the day b/t 7-8am and gets a feeding right before I go to bed also... that's the only constant now.

 

tokenhoser

The most consistent thing for us is that he'll go down for the night around 8 pm. That's just when he's tired. He's back to sleeping 4-6 hours at the point.

I sort of control feedings - I just offer to feed him when it's convenient to me and it's been a while. I would say I tend to offer every couple hours, or before we're going to drive somewhere, or before I want to go for a run or out for a bit. There isn't a schedule, but that doesn't matter because I can just make it fit what I need to get done. He rarely cries or fusses to be fed - and obviously if he does, I feed him then too.

Naps are also getting easier to predict - at least the first one is around 10. Then somewhere around 12 or 1, and late afternoon. Occasionally there's 4 naps.

I guess I don't envy the scheduled babies because my days are not all the same and it's fine with me if he's flexible. I do envy the babies that sleep more at night, but I don't really think a schedule would change Owen. I think he'll sleep when he's ready, physically and neurologically.

yaelandhal

Because we never know what the day will bring either, we don't use any sort of schedule. Day care wanted us to type out slotted times to follow, so I tried, and they tried to follow it, and when my husband called to check on her and heard her hungry crying in the background, he asked them to please scrap the schedule on the spot.

Even before I went back to work, some days she'd nap a lot, some days barely at all. Her feeding times changed from day to day. I just tried to be prepared with the next bottle so when she started mouthing, it would be ready to go.

I find that we have more freedom this way and that baby never cries from hunger or fatigue.

I hope this helps!

Temp38995750004016

When she was born, I fed her every three hours on the clock (and obviously more often if she was showing hunger cues).  I think this really got her eating enough during the day to STTN plus it kind of put her on her own little schedule.  Now she wakes, eats, naps and goes to bed on a consistent schedule.

Obviously, if I need to go somewhere or have an appointment or DH and I want to lave her with a sitter, I will feed before her next meal per the "routine".  I do just always try my hardest to not let her get over tired or over stimulated during the day.  The times she has, she hasn't napped well and didn't sleep as well at night.

Now she eats every 3 hours in the morning and 3-4 in afternoons.  Is awake for a little over an hour after every nap (3-4 per day).

My days aren't all the same as far as what I need to get done, leaveing the house, etc...but for me it is nice to know that I can predict when she needs to eat and when we need to get a nap in (whether that is crib, carseat, someone elses house, or stroller).

Temp38995750004016

Some of my friends who wanted to start a schedule just simply wrote out all of the feedings, nap and awake times for a few days.  Then they realized the baby was on a schedule when they looked at all the days....

I think a pretty consistent wake time to start the day helps.  For example if LO always wakes for the first feeding at 8:30, then the rest of the day runs pretty much the same as the one before.

mzsparklepdx

I let/convince DD to sleep as long as she possibly will and then the day's schedule follows from whatever time she gets up.  Nap 2 hours after getting up, feed and play until another 2 hours passes.  Repeat through the day.  She starts getting cranky right at 2 hours so it makes sense.  I have been trying for bedtime routine at about 7:30 and bed by 8:30 but since I did that, she wakes up at 1-2am instead of 3-4am, so I don't know if it really helps at all.