When to get baby in a routine?

[Starlight32]

For those who have a daily 'routine/schedule' for your baby, how old were they when you started it? And what is the normal routine?

 

[donnarobinson]

I like routine it keeps me sane Probally about 6 weeks when I properly crack on with trying to get routine but pretty much from birth we did the same things every day
Now he's 5.5 months old X
He doesn't have set naps yet but we do bath bottle bed every night and he sleeps really well X

 

[Left wonderin]

I find that they actually fall into a routine around 8-12 weeks old . Both mine began going to sleep around the same times generally each day .. My 14 week old now sleeps roughly at the same times every day .. Her doing not mine .
So a day for us looks like this

Get up time 7-7.30
Feed
Play ( on her mat ) in her chair

Go sleep in her pram from about 9am to 10.30ish
Feed
Get dressed / washed
Play

Go sleep 12.30-2ish
Feed
Play
Usually go out somewhere

Her real awake time is from between 4to about 7 .. Then she goes asleep for the night between 7-8
I wake her for a feed when I'm going to bed around 11/12
She has started sleeping through then till around 6am

From next week I will probably put her to bed in her room at night aka from 7 . Right now she still sleeps in her pram in the living room until I'm going to bed and she comes with me then. But she seems fairly established in her evening sleep pattern now .

 

[ruby83]

I agree that babies naturally get in a loose routine around 3 months. Ours looks roughly like this:

wake up 7-7.30ish feed (depending on when last feed was), change nappy, go upstairs for play on may

First nap in cot around 8 45am (I feed to sleep ), my son sleeps for about an hour

9 45am play upstairs, tummy time, books etc.

11am feed and nap (I nap with him too as my DS1 is also sleeping at this time)

12.30-1ish wake up. Play downstairs while DS1 and I have lunch

2pm feed and sleep (about an hour)

3pm play

4 feed -4 30pm catnap in baby bjorn while I am doing jobs

6 30pm bath

7pm bottle and sleep (at the moment he is sleeping on me on the couch and we go to bed at 9 30pm co sleeping. Hoping to change this is the next week or so as he is becoming to alert and aware to have a good sleep on me so will try to get him in the cot).

 

[Crosby]

I agree. 3 months is when my lo started developing some sort of a routine. It changes slightly depending on what we are doing during the day (eg if we go out she may sleep longer and take her feed later or have 4 feeds instead of 5, or opposite she may stake away for longer, as she will be looking around, then be fussy/tired, take frequent feeds etc - this is out of the norm).

More or less norm for us is to wake up at or around 6am, eat play fall back asleep at 8 and sleep 2-3 hours. If she doesnt get this then the whole days routine goes down the pan. So i try to plan any outings in the second part of the day

 

[Cupcake9596]

We established a bedtime routine when DD was very young, but as for a daytime routine, I believe she was around 10-12 weeks. It changes slightly some days, just depending on what we have to do that day. But generally it looks like:

6am - Wake, bottle and dressed for the day
7.10 - Take OH to work so she usually sleeps for around 45 mins
9am - Bottle
9.30am - Down for a nap
12pm - Wake and bottle
3pm - Bottle
3.30pm - Down for nap
5pm - Wake
7pm - Half bedtime bottle
7.30pm - Bath
8pm - Rest of bottle and bed

Time between naps and bottles are spent playing.

She sometimes wakes during the night for another bottle, but usually this is her until 6am the next morning

 

[gingajewel]

I started getting my seven week old into a routine last week for the night times. we do bottle, put pyjamas on and get her down in her cot. We are very led by lo though and I dont have a specific time but it is generally between six and seven. I'm pretty easy going in the day and at the moment she feeds and has naps whenever she wants!

 

[dani_tinks]

We've had a routine from quite early on, with having an older child the baby's had to just slot into our lives anyway. So it goes a bit like

7:30 - Wake, change, dress, bottle

8 - Play time on mat (while we get ready!)

8:30 - School run

9 - Bottle, more play, tummy time etc

10:30 - Nap

12 ish - Bottle

12:30 - Play time

1 - Nap

2 - Bottle

3 - School run

4 - Bottle and nap

5-6 - Mix of play time, cuddles with brother/dad and bottle

7 - Bath, Bottle, Bed.

 

[gingajewel]

Dani how long does it take e to fall asleep? We have been at this a week and after her bottle etc I would say it takes her about an hour to drop to sleep with us stroking her head, putting her dummy in etc - does this sound normal?!

 

[dani_tinks]

It's probably normal for Isla yes . With E it depends how tired she is, how over stimulated she is, how alert she is, so many factors. It can take between 1 min to 1 hour. She's fighting it tonight, is currently shouting at her teddy because she can't reach it

 

[gingajewel]

Haha thanks Dani 😄 Isla spits her dummy out, whacks her sheep that plays white noise and gives you massive smiles! I think I expect things far too quickly, I forget she isn't even eight weeks yet! Thanks again for your advice 😄

 

[Starlight32]

Thanks for the replies! I hope I can get my baby on a routine as soon as time allows. She's only three weeks so I guess it's a bit early but I feel like life is so chaotic without routine. She's fairly consistent in the mornings (wake about 6:30am, change, bottle, play; nap about 8:30am; change and bottle 10:00am; play/cuddles; nap sometimes around 12:00pm), but then she's very inconsistent. She usually takes an afternoon nap but the time varies and so does her mood. Evening seems to be the biggest fussy time. And bed time stresses me out. I would eventually like to do a bed time routine, like 6/7pm bath, bottle, bed like what some of you ladies mentioned.

 

[gingajewel]

Starlight I felt exactly the same when Isla was three weeks old, I just wanted a bedtime routine. I feel like I can cope better in the day if I no lo has a bedtime. We started it a week ago and it is going ok and at least I no what time she is going to bed even if I spend a while getting her to sleep.
Oh just to add, a bath doesn't work in Islas routine, it makes her hyper, it doesn't calm her down!

 

[Starlight32]

Hannah's cord is still falling off so we haven't done a real bath yet since we can't get it wet. So I'm not sure how she will take to baths lol.

Today's events were all mixed up. She will probably be up all night. She napped at 5pm which ran straight into bedtime. Bottle at 7pm then straight to crib. Doing 11pm feeding mow and hoping she sleeps more after!

 

[lau86]

I'm still struggling with routine at 7 months. But I haven't made too much effort I must admit. Starting solids helps as meals tend to be the same time each day. For the last few months my dd has had a morning nap, afternoons are still hit and miss and she's getting better with bedtime. But she has had to work around my other two so she's done quite well