For those Feb mums with a routine...

[megaminz]

what is it? how did you get into it? did you start it or was it baby led?

I have to say during the day I am hopeless I have no routine and am struggling to get anything done as Milan doesn't sleep well during the day and I spend most of it on the couch with him as thats the only way I can get him to sleep.

I am wondering if i got a routine together that it would help him.

But how do you do it? Do you feed only at certain times? What do you do if they are hungry in the meantime?

Do you put them down regularly? What do they don't sleep and just scream when down??

How do you do it cause I need help!

[Lateralus]

I can't help MM as we're routine-less here too. Zoe usually has sorta predictable patterns overnight (in saying that - she's been all out of whack the last 3 nights)... But certainly no established pattern. Will be interested to see other peoples ideas :yes:

[megaminz]

i know, Milan is fine at night, predictable but during the day he is murder

i bathe him at 7ish at night before his big feed, he goes down around 8-8.30ish, sleeps til 12.30ish, then til 3-4am, then til 6-7am. then the fun begins

i have tried playing, cuddling to relax him, going for walks everything

i can get him to calm down and sleep but the moment i put him in his cot he wakes and cries

and i have sat over him for over an hour one day patting him in his cot, calming him to sleep, walking two steps away, BANG he is awake and crying

arrrrggghhhh

[megaminz]

I can't help MM as we're routine-less here too. Zoe usually has sorta predictable patterns overnight (in saying that - she's been all out of whack the last 3 nights)... But certainly no established pattern. Will be interested to see other peoples ideas :yes:
does Zoe let you put her down during the day??

if i could leave him to chill in his cot or rocker it would be fine, but even in the rocker now he sits for 5mins and then starts with the temper tantrum screaming til he sweats

[Lateralus]

she will have a few sleeps during the day... i find that if i let her got too tired she won't sleep though... so at the very first sign of tiredness (any jerky movements, clenched fists, avoiding eye contact, yawning, arching her back) I will wrap her and put her somewhere to sleep - she doesn't like sleeping in her bassinet during the day, so it's usually the rocker or on her play mat. Sometimes if I miss the boat & she is overtired, she'll need a walk in the sling or the pram to put her to sleep. But her sleeps during the day are not at regular times and are only short (40 mins or so).

[megaminz]

am wondering if i am just not seeing his tired signs soon enough then.

not tomorrow as am doing a wedding trial, but on tuesday will start timing his awake times, trying to put him down more regularly and be tougher putting him down and will try rocker as alternative sleeping place

[gizmoduckus]

We have a routine which is the same as I had with DS1. I honestly need a routine otherwise I find I don't cope especially now with two children.

Our routine at the moment is:
7am wake up and feed
8:30am put him to sleep
11am wake up and feed
12:30pm put him to sleep
3pm wake up and feed
4:30pm put him to sleep
5:30pm wake up
6:30pm bath, feed and bed
11pm feed and bed
Then we don't wake him during the night but he wakes between 3am-4am for another feed

A lot of times during the day he wakes every 30mins or so after putting him down to sleep but I just go in and re-settle him. I find that if I get him up instead he is tired and crabby all day.

I don't strickly stick to this routine because sometimes he gets hungry earlier but it gives be a base to work on.

[megaminz]

thanks Giz, I might write myself a routine up like that and put it on my wall...just as a reminder

I think he has responded well to a wee routine this morning but if I structure it and write it down it will make it easier for dh to follow it if I have to go out like this arvo

[dhdmum]

Hi I am in the same boat my 8 week old daughter will sleep well at night going down about 5.30 and then waking about 12 and then again about 4, but during the day will only really sleep well if she is out or in arms. I put her in her bed at home and she will sleep for 1/2 hour at the most. So any advice is most welcome.

Kerry
dh 34
dd1 7
dd2 5
dd3 8 weeks

[Jender]

My routine is like Gizmo - obviously you need a bit of flexibility but having a basic idea of what they will do is helpful. Are you wrapping him? Using a dummy? Both can settle a bub for sleep during the day but it is certainly a trick to get them down EARLIER rather than later.

[Jender]

Also, if you keep to a feed, play sleep routine you will find they feed more efficiently (less snacking) and settle better and not wake up after 20 minutes hungry.

[megaminz]

thanks Jender I am going to persist with following that kind of pattern cause yesterday morning he went down fror 2.5hrs nap without much effort
today I had to sit with him and keep putting dummy in or patting him
so mornings are obviously getting easier as normally I would have had to have hm on my lap for that sleep but I put him on a blanket on the couch which seemed to do the trick

When he wakes now (from yesterday) i feed him, bit of a cuddle and talk, down on his activity mat for a play, bit of tummy time, more little cuddle then down

For some reason it doesnt work in the arvo though so have tried rocker instead of mat but he doesnt stay in it for long. My GOODNess has he recently found a more dramatic scream lately

but now what I need to get him into is from noon-7ish

he fusses and struggles the whole arvo til I finally get him down around 7pm.

NOrmally I might get him out for a walk but its been raining the last 5 days so haven't been able to try that in the arvos.

Last night also he had a dreadful sleep. Usually he would sleep 8-12ish 12.30-3.30ish 4-6.30ish, but yesterday it was 730-1030, up again ever few hours after that. I hope it wasn't an aftereffect of the morning nap!!

I have been able to stretch his feeds out now after his big morning nap the last two days so thats been much easier. Tonight though he wouldn't take much boob or even a bottle so I don't know if he is just feeding well in the day so by 7 is full??

[LivingINhope]

Sorry to crash the thread I am not a February Mum but a March mummy, alot of what you are experiencing I experienced with DS1.

It started out as reflux problem and ended up being feeding and sleeping problems, I ended up at tressillian it was so bad. The best thing you can do is hold your baby out for feeds even if it means using a dummy for a little while to ensure when he feeds he has enough to have a good sleep. Sleeping and setteling is also a learned behaviour for lots of babies so using the controlled crying method works also (your bubba is still young though). The feed, play, sleep routine is also a must if you do these things you will see an improvement within the first few days I was amazed at how much it worked with DS1.

:hugs:I wish you all the best I remember how hard it was and how tired I was through that time, it does get better. Really i wouldn't be to strict with routine at this stage other than ensuring your baby eats enough and has good awake time, I use the Tressiliian guidelines at the mo DS2 feeds 2 1/2-5 hourly (never made it to 5h) and is awake 1-1 1/2 hours.

[Jender]

THey do become more efficient feeders and it is better to keep them to the usual bed time. As they grow, they will get better at hanging out in their rockers and paypens but its very usual for bubs to have a"feral" time - often in the afternoons and you just have to try and keep them amused (hard I know) and stick to your usual routine. You sound like you are on the right track! Good days help their nights

[megaminz]

gawd he was difficult to get to bed last night
we tried putting him down at 7 again and between DH and I tag teamng it took til after 9pm til he was actually asleep in his cot, then it was 2hrly after that. I want my 3-4hrly sleeps at night back!!!

[OneCheekyMonkey]

I haven't worked out a routine, but I am barely home during the day, so I guess it really wouldn't work. I do try to make sure I am somewhere so that bub can have a big afternoon sleep, if I am out and about he refuses to sleep.

Anyone elses bub get unsettled if they don't go out during the day? Mine likes being out, whether for a walk, or to his cousins, just a change of scenery I think?

I figure a routine is important.... soon? lol.