BABY WHISPERER: E.A.S.Y- What's your opinion?

[opeeny]

Hi Ladies!

So I was just wondering what everyone's take was on schedules in general...that is...at an early age...I am reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" and finding it pretty good in terms of communicating with your baby. My little girl is 3.5 months old. She is generally pretty good with napping and sleeping...but not on any set schedule. The main reason is because she basically had so many feeding issues from the very beginning that I schedule her around her feedings, and that means getting every ounce into her that I can get. She is ok...10lbs at this age, but is at the 5th percentile and basically is finicky with food. Anyway! The author suggests that from an early age...newborn...you can try and place this schedule into your babies life...so feeding on demand is out the window..

What do you guys think...I am torn about it at this stage...I like having a flow of the day, but currently am finally enjoying being out and about with my LO, shopping, taking walks, and going to baby classes. If I imposed a schedule, even a flexible one like "EASY", I'm afraid it would confine me and just make me anxious...we do wake up everyday at 7am and generally go to bed around 7...but nothing fixed with the evening...I know that eventually I will want a pretty set schedule, but right now I'm not sure. She does follow the EASY pattern in some ways...just not to the TEE...

And honestly if she is screaming for a bottle 1 hour after she just ate...I am giving it to her! Especially since she only gulps down 2 ounces at a time

But some of her ideas are pretty cool...anyway just wondering what you guys thought about her in general...reviews...and your own experiences and schedules and ideas!

First time Momma!!!!!! trying to find my way!

 

[ChristinaG]

i LOVED the easy routine! Doesn't work with everyone, but I found it took the guess work out of why LO was crying - I fed him his bottle when he woke up, then he played for awhile, then he would go to bed, then repeat. It got to the point where he would be awake for the exact same amount of time everyday and I could plan out my day accordingly - although he would nap for different lengths. I never really worried about times, per se (like, bottle at 6:00am am, must be down for a nap at 8:00am etc) just more the pattern than anything.

I would definitely recommend it.

Its not difficult to implement, but it does take a few days till it really gets into their system: I'm a lazy mom, and I know some mums think a routine is "too much work" but this one made life SOOOOOO much easier! I knew that if he was crying while he was up, it wasn't because he was hungry or tired, so you eliminate some factors right there!

Good luck with everything

 

[opeeny]

i LOVED the easy routine! Doesn't work with everyone, but I found it took the guess work out of why LO was crying - I fed him his bottle when he woke up, then he played for awhile, then he would go to bed, then repeat. It got to the point where he would be awake for the exact same amount of time everyday and I could plan out my day accordingly - although he would nap for different lengths. I never really worried about times, per se (like, bottle at 6:00am am, must be down for a nap at 8:00am etc) just more the pattern than anything.

I would definitely recommend it.

Its not difficult to implement, but it does take a few days till it really gets into their system: I'm a lazy mom, and I know some mums think a routine is "too much work" but this one made life SOOOOOO much easier! I knew that if he was crying while he was up, it wasn't because he was hungry or tired, so you eliminate some factors right there!

Good luck with everything

See I like how you do it...nice and flexible but lets take what just happened to me...woke and fed at 7am and she went down at around 830...good timing...napped for 45 min...got up and didn't seem hungry yet...and she won't eat if I give it to her...I have to wait till she is hungry...so now she is getting there...i'm about to feed her and yes it has been about 3 hours in between...but now its not "EASY"..its gonna be sort of AEASY...

so its sort of not quite there...if she was a good eater and ate when you gave her bottle...I would totally be able to follow this and would love love to...in the flexible way you just wrote about...but she will now take 2 ounces and then almost 45 min later want the last ounce...she just doesnt take more than 2 ounces at a time and I cant force her but then the schedule is crazy! see what i mean!

I really do like how you have implemented it...very loose...and that is how I have been sort of doing it!Sort of!

 

[lhancock90]

Honestly? I hated it.
I try not to be too strict with their routines. I don't sleep and wake at the same time every day so my babies won't want to either.

 

[opeeny]

Honestly? I hated it.
I try not to be too strict with their routines. I don't sleep and wake at the same time every day so my babies won't want to either.

is it hard to plan things in that way? Or easier?

 

[lhancock90]

Honestly? I hated it.
I try not to be too strict with their routines. I don't sleep and wake at the same time every day so my babies won't want to either.

is it hard to plan things in that way? Or easier?

They both fell into their own routines, flexible by about and hour or so.
So Ivy naps between 12-2 most days.
Its still fairly easy to adapt around.

 

[staralfur]

We have no routine though she generally goes to bed within the same hour every night and wakes within the same hour every morning, and has 2 naps during the day. I'm not strict at all with nap times (though one is in the morning and one mid-afternoon) or feeding times (still BF on demand, offer solids throughout the day). I just follow her lead. If she wants to be fed I feed her, if she seems tired I put her down for a nap/bed. I find that it gives us lots of flexibility in our daily activities.

I think some babies do respond better to a routine but if she's fine just doing her own thing I wouldn't try to change it.

 

[stephie_corin]

I think EASY is good when they are young but your LO is fast approaching the age where they nap too few times for this to work (you don't want to drop to four feeds and soon your little one will probably only be taking three or so naps.) I think the closer they get to six months the less it works. I honestly wouldn't bother at this stage. Keep doing what you are doing and let her find her own rhythm with feeds and naps. Good luck x

 

[MaisyMay]

I've never read the entire "Baby whisperer" but I researched the easy routine ad adjusted it to us. It helped me recognised his cries. Where as in the early days I would think when he got grizzly again he was hungry again and I'd feed him to sleep, when all he wanted was to comfort suck for a nap. I've always fed on demand, I just used the idea of feeding him as soon as he woke, then we played and had cuddles, then I would put him for his nap (awake) within a good window of time, so he wasn't overtired and would just settle nicely to sleep. This eventually got us into a great routine, we still go out a lot but I plan things around his naps, if we're out he'll nap in his pram or the car, but sometimes not as long, he'll generally make up for it the next day though x

 

[josephine3]

I did this routine ffrom birth because that was her pattern anyway, and found it works great we still do it now. Just dont forget the 'you' part once they're down for a nap!

 

[aimee-lou]

I think it's good to have a guidance, especially when you're a first time mum and you can look at where you are in the schedule and feel in control. With experience, comes the ability to set your own schedule a lot easier.

I used an adapted EASY (SEAY lol) for Earl from being 6 weeks - up until that point I fed on demand and it got very stressful lol. With Eddy, I fed him at 'convenient' points in the day - getting up, snack time, before meals, before bed - and his schedule just fitted in with ours.

 

[mandimoo]

I like the idea of the EASY, but Im a bit like you - Baby is Boss! What she says goes.

Its only in the last couple of weeks (shes 23 weeks now), that we have got any sort of real pattern to the days. Take heart though, because it did start with a regular getting up time. The bedtime fell in shortly after. Everything in between was still pretty random, and for a long time it was ES(Y)A in our house. For some weeks she was (bottle) feeding every 2 hours.

Bit by bit, LO has tweaked her own routine and now we do have EASY. She's up for the day at 8.30am. Fed 6am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm. Naps 11am, 2pm, 5pm and bed 8pm.

Have to say that the above times you can give or take up to half an hour each side, but going from up all night, feeding at least every 2 hours day and night this feels like a holiday.

I never read the whole book either, just kinda dipped into the bits I wanted advice on, and did a lot of internet reading. From what I can gather, most babies get themselves there sooner or later and we just have to try and nudge what they do along the way.

 

[superfrizbee]

That kind of thing wouldnt work for my DD as she was a short napper. at that age their routine can change so much there didn't seem much point so I just went with what she wanted. When she dropped to two naps and three meals she got herself into her oen routine, and now naps MUCH better when she eats before she sleeps. I guess it's just one.of those things where it depends on the individual baby - it'll work for some but not others.

 

[Bunanie]

I agree with pp, the routine makes it easy to recognize your baby's cries..

HOWEVER, like ur LO, my DD is a catnapper (30mins) and a snacker (won't take the full feed in one go) so not EASY for us... Because you can't make her drink more after such a short nap, she wants to play instead...

I just accepted it and go with the flow...

 

[readytotry]

I agree with pp, the routine makes it easy to recognize your baby's cries..

HOWEVER, like ur LO, my DD is a catnapper (30mins) and a snacker (won't take the full feed in one go) so not EASY for us... Because you can't make her drink more after such a short nap, she wants to play instead...

I just accepted it and go with the flow...

I think this is my "problem" with EASY is that it assumes that eating and sleeping schedules will coordinate. For some babie they do and then EASY is great but for many they don't. My baby got tired every 90mins but wanted to eat every 3hrs in the morning and every 1.5/2hrs in the evening. They just didn't match up so Easy was very stressful.

I think there is some truth in the fact that feeding to sleep creates a sleep association which can cause frequent waking (we definitely experienced this). So the general message of the book is sound even if I don't agree with detail.
But personally I would rather feed to sleep when they are little and then get rid of the association when they are older than faff around with shush-pat on a newborn.