Babies: 0 - 3 Months

Is anyone's baby NOT on a schedule?

I've seen a lot of posts lately talking about people having their newborns on a schedule for sleeping or eating. We just take cues from DD, as in, if she's awake we play, if she's hungry I feed her, and when she gets tired she falls asleep. She's generally a happier baby when we "follow her lead" like this, so I have no real desire to schedule her, but I can't be the only one who does this, right??
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Re: Is anyone's baby NOT on a schedule?

  • We are DEFINITELY NOT on a schedule. We just follow DS. I am taking some crap from friends and family about it, but we are doing what works for us. Honestly I think that's all that matters. What I tell people is "If that worked for you great, but this is what works for us."
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  • I fully believe in on-demand parenting and DH, myself, and our families enjoy not having a schedule. We both work FT and have had no issue. Yes, I believe babies are happier this way as well. 
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  • In the past month, we've been able to get a nighttime routine from around 8:30 to 10:00 (when he goes down for the night). The rest of they day varies wildly.
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  • We are not on a schedule. Sure we do the same general things in the morning and at night but not at the same time and not always in the same order. For our older DD we do have more of a set schedule but not the baby. Like pp's we just follow her lead....she knows when she is hungry, tired, wet.
  • We are not on a schedule and DD will be 3 months old next week. We do whatever she wants/needs at the time. I do see her setting a little bit of a schedule for herself (meaning she's eating around the same times, going to bed around the same times, ect.) but it's not set at all.
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  • Yes

    we call it an eraseable outline since it always changes.  I try to an extent but know that it is a rough outline. 

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  • **raises hand**

    Nothing set....DS gets up around 7:00 each day and goes to bed between 10-11 each night (with one feeding between 2 and 4), but that's about it.  Feeding is whenever he's hungry and napping when he starts acting tired.  I try to get  him down for a morning, afternoon and early evening nap, but there is no set time.  I know from DS#1 that the schedule will come so I am trying not to stress about it. 

  • We have a little bit of a routine for morning and evening, which mostly is just for DH and I to benefit from. We follow DS's lead as to when he is hungry, tired, wet, etc. I don't understand how you can have a baby on a schedule. I do not wake him up unless I have to. I do not try to put him to bed or down for naps unless he is showing signs he is tired. I do watch carefully though, because he can get overtired and end up fussy if there is too much activity or he has been awake too long. I don't try to keep him up during the day, and he sleeps pretty well at night for his age.
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  • vanfoxvanfox member
    We're not. DS has an incredible internal clock, though, so sometimes I feel like we're on a schedule when I look up and see that exactly 2 hours has passed since his last feeding, etc. He's scheduling us more than us scheduling him. :)
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  • imageg00dg0llymsm0lly:
    I've seen a lot of posts lately talking about people having their newborns on a schedule for sleeping or eating. We just take cues from DD, as in, if she's awake we play, if she's hungry I feed her, and when she gets tired she falls asleep. She's generally a happier baby when we "follow her lead" like this, so I have no real desire to schedule her, but I can't be the only one who does this, right??

    I do the same exact thing as you.  By following her cues she technically put herself on a schedule.  On average she feeds every 3.5 - 4 hours, her long naptimes are from 11am - 1pm & 4pm - 6pm.  By 9pm she is down for the night.  It has worked for us & now that she is STTN - I have no complaints!

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  • We pretty much do exactly what you are doing. It works for us :)  
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  • no schedule here

    DS has been falling asleep for 8-ish so at 7 I put him in a new diaper and jammies, but that's the extent of schedule for us. 

  • No schedule here. She' much too mixed up for a schedule, not to mention reflux/colic issues making things a bit more difficult.
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  • Not even close to a schedule. We never can remember the last time he slept and barely keep track of the last time he ate. If a pattern is developing, we haven't noticed it. Then again, we never had a very scheduled life pre-baby either, so it hasn't bothered us.
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  • We follow the same basic daily routines, but it's definitely not a schedule. I do just follow his lead, and it's just happened to fall into kind of a routine.

    He almost always starts fussing to eat every 2 or 2.5 hours during the day, and he's fallen into a routine of eating more frequently before bed, then sleeps at 10 or 11, wakes at 2 or 3 and then 6 or 7, then back to sleep. We tend to sleep in til 9 or 10, then he's back to every 2 hours again. Once I get closer to going back to work, I might try to push back this routine to getting in bed by 8 or 9, then getting up earlier, but I'll still mostly follow his cues.

    During the day, he sleeps after some feedings, is awake after some feedings, and I just let him do whatever his little body wants to do. Sometimes he will be awake for more hours than usual and starts to get overtired and fussy, at which point, I try to put him down.

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  • We don't have a set schedule either. DS has sort of set himself on a very, very loose schedule for bedtime. He generally wants to eat at 10, then 11 and then's he's down until about 3-3:30, eats and then sleeps until 6ish. That is all his doing though and I haven't pushed it on him. As far as daytime, I just watch for hunger and sleep cues and play with him when he's alert and active.
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  • When I mention a schedule, it's based on what DS wants/does.  lol.  If he wakes up and wants to eat, great.  He usually falls back to sleep after I change his diaper.  My little guy loves to sleep so we still don't have much time for play yet. 
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  • I think most moms are actually not on a set schedule. We just don't need to talk about it because it's a pretty normal way of living. I feed my baby when he's hungry, put him to sleep when he's tired, change him when he needs it, and if there's some time in between, entertain him a bit. It seems a lot easier than fretting about whether I'm feeding him too often, why my milk supply is suffering (oh, you mean those are connected?), why he won't behave like a baby in a book.
  • imageaugust06mom:
    In the past month, we've been able to get a nighttime routine from around 8:30 to 10:00 (when he goes down for the night). The rest of they day varies wildly.

    this. during the day we do whatever he wants to do.  

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  • Nope, not a schedule.  Like PP I follow LO's lead.  When I tried to have her on a schedule, we were both pretty cranky.  Now that I'm following her lead, we're a much happier duo.
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