Advice for baby with no routine? (11 months)

Re: Advice for baby with no routine? (11 months)

• jshf member

  January 2012

  I think DS may be trying to drop a nap.  Plus at 11 months, he is probably teething and may be getting ready to walk.  There's a lot of change so that may be why his routine is all over the place.  What I used to do is to try to keep DS1 awake long enough in the am and let him take a short morning nap.  Then let him take late second nap.  I actually wore him or drove him around so that he would fall asleep at around the same time each day.  After a while, he started to adopt that schedule.  He really needed 2 naps, so that's how I came up with that routine. 

  Elizabeth Pantley has a good book on naps you may want to read.  GL! 

  

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• KCKappa member

  January 2012

  We're in a similar situation and what has helped for us has been waking DD up at a consistent time each day (between 6:30 and 7) and going from there. Otherwise, some days she's up by 6:30 but others she'll sleep in until 8, so of course the rest of her day gets out of whack. Right now we're working on getting the morning nap in around 9:30/10 and afternoon around 1/1:30. If she doesn't nurse/rock to sleep for the morning nap, we end up just snuggling in the glider, reading a few books, etc., then staying up until afternoon nap time. That way I know she'll at least sleep in the afternoon, so her bedtime stays pretty consistent between 6:45/7:15. I'm assuming around her first bday she'll drop down to just the afternoon nap, so I'm not too worried about her missing morning naps right now.

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• JoannaJes member

  January 2012

  Right around this age is when I started getting more serious about a schedule. Meal times, nap times, bed times all started to happen around the same time every day. It's helpful for older babies/toddlers to know what comes next. 

  I really can't imagine that it would be healthy for a child the age of yours to have such a varying schedule. I know it can be hard when you are so used to just following their cues, but your kid isn't a newborn anymore.  

  
  

  
  

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• pixieprincss member

  January 2012

  Some kids do better with a routine, some are going to do better with you going by their cues and allowing their own bodies to settle into something when the time is right. It is only in the last month (he is 1) that LO has settled into a rythym of two daytime naps (times still vary, but we are at two rather than 1-5 naps) and nighttime sleep from about 8pm-6:30am (with overnight nursing happening), and if we are out at 8 pm, no sweat. He falls asleep when we drive home from whenever and stays down for the tranfer in the house. Before that, every day was different. I didn't see that as a problem because LO has a delightful demeanor, is healthy, thriving, etc. For him (and me), his body's cues were better than the clock.

  Now, I don't say any of that to disuade you from following other advice or seeking a routine--you've got to do what works for you. But, I did want to speak up because having a routine is not a rule that you MUST follow. If it works for your family, great. If it doesn't that is ok, too. Children can certainly thrive with different models, if it is a fit for your child's nature and your parenting style/lifestyle.

  

  
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• JoannaJes member

  January 2012

  pixieprincss:

  Some kids do better with a routine, some are going to do better with you going by their cues and allowing their own bodies to settle into something when the time is right. It is only in the last month (he is 1) that LO has settled into a rythym of two daytime naps (times still vary, but we are at two rather than 1-5 naps) and nighttime sleep from about 8pm-6:30am (with overnight nursing happening), and if we are out at 8 pm, no sweat. He falls asleep when we drive home from whenever and stays down for the tranfer in the house. Before that, every day was different. I didn't see that as a problem because LO has a delightful demeanor, is healthy, thriving, etc. For him (and me), his body's cues were better than the clock.

  Now, I don't say any of that to disuade you from following other advice or seeking a routine--you've got to do what works for you. But, I did want to speak up because having a routine is not a rule that you MUST follow. If it works for your family, great. If it doesn't that is ok, too. Children can certainly thrive with different models, if it is a fit for your child's nature and your parenting style/lifestyle.

  I'm sorry, but I disagree. There comes a point in which every child needs to start having meals and sleeping times at somewhat regular intervals. A child's bedtime should not be varying by three hours every night. 

  I think a lot of it just part of the transition of having a baby versus having a toddler. This isn't about imposing strict schedules on unwilling children.

  
  

  
  

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