How strict is LO's "schedule"?

MrsPinkPeony

DD JUST started falling into a nap routine - she starts showing signals of sleepiness after about 2 hrs of wake time.  We also just transitioned her from the RnP to her crib, so she now naps and sleeps at night in her crib (YAY!).

However, she wakes up at a different time every morning- between 6:30 and 8:30.  She is not STTN, but only wakes once or twice to nurse. 

Since she wakes up at different times, her 1st feeding and 1st nap of the day are always at different times.  Does that make sense? 

I'm so happy that she is finally getting some quality sleep!  She's been a pretty fussy baby and she seems to be more content now  

Do you set LO's schedule at certain times, or is it dependent on their wake time and cues?

GlinkaGirl

Not strict at all. My baby will be 4 months next week. I watch her cues. Some days it's close to schedule and pretty consistent. Other days she's a totally different baby and I roll with it.  

cmsdouglas

Bed time is always consistent, but everything else is "go with the flow". She'll be getting a more consistent wake up time in a couple of weeks when I go back to school because I'll have to drop her off at the babysitter's.

KatelynEA90

Our LO's schedule is dependent on her wake time and cues. Her wake-up time usually only varies by 30 minutes though. Sometimes her cues vary by an hour though. Usually she'll stay awake for 2 hours but every now and again she'll start having a meltdown after and hour and fall right to sleep if I make it nap time. 

meggiepoo87

Bedtime is semi-strict. The goal is always sleeping by 10. The rest of the day, he really sets the schedule.

Zimger

It's not strict at all. For the most part I follow his cues and that has been working well for us. The only time I have to absolutely be strict about time is our mornings during the week. I do need to get him up to get bathed, dressed, fed, and out the door by a certain time. However, he usually wakes up around this time and is ready to eat anyway. So no real conflict there...yet.

bhdoucette

My DD's rhythm sounds very similar to yours, except that she does STTN. The time that she wakes up varies from day to day (usually within a predictable range), but the amount of time she can be awake before needing a nap stays the same. At this point, I don't try to keep things rigid so that our days are scheduled. Maybe when she's older and can stay awake longer/needs fewer naps.

 ETA: It also doesn't really matter if her naps are super predictable beyond wake time, because I stay home with her and she's our first baby. I would probably feel differently if I were working outside the home or if we had other children. 

Lesleyjking

Our Lo wakes between 6-7 and sttn. She is up for 1.45 then down for 1.45 when she wakes she eats and is up for 1.45 then down again for 1.45 etc. her last nap of day is btw 5-6 and 40 min long