Newborn sleep routines, when to start?

[Beatnik]

:wave: Hi Everyone, I am after some advice on how to get my 2 week old baby into some sort of routine for sleeping at night. I know its early days but is it too early to start a routine? There is so much information out there I am getting confused on what to do! I am breast feeding on demand at the moment, some nights he sleeps for 2-4 hours and other nights (like last night) he wakes every hour to hour and a half for a feed! He likes to fall asleep feeding then I put him in his cot, sometimes he sleeps and sometimes he wakes up and I have to get him up and feed him again. Any advice on what advice to follow would be greatly appreciated!

[Mrs E]

I'm subscribing to this, I'm in the same boat :)

[Aaliyahsmummy]

Personally, I think it's too early for a routine.At that age (up till 6 months) I very much followed dd's lead and gave her whatever she wanted/needed. After a couple of months I did kind of work out rough times she wanted things. Like now that she's one I know she likes her morning nap exactly 3.5 hours after waking, so I always wind up our activities around that time in anticipation she will get tired and cranky soon! Putting them on to a routine can also affect your milk supply while Brest feeding.

[Purple Lily]

Personally, I think it's too early for a routine.At that age (up till 6 months) I very much followed dd's lead and gave her whatever she wanted/needed. After a couple of months I did kind of work out rough times she wanted things. Like now that she's one I know she likes her morning nap exactly 3.5 hours after waking, so I always wind up our activities around that time in anticipation she will get tired and cranky soon! Putting them on to a routine can also affect your milk supply while Brest feeding.

I agree, I didnt Breast feed but he was ff on demand so we just went with his lead he was constantly changing his routines...we're talking like 4 times a week lol Hes almost 6 months and has a bed time routine and usually wants certain things around the same time each day.

Every baby is different and some thrive on routines and some dont, I think 2 weeks is a little bit too early to tell since his feeds are different all the time. It looks like youre doing an awesome job already :)

ETA Sorry I didnt realise this was in people with 0 to 2 month old bubbas...sorry for crashing :)
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[cindye]

My third baby is now 3 months old and has settled into a "routine" of sorts all by himself. He generally feeds every 3-4hrs and has started to skip a feed at night so can go 5-8 hrs between feeds.
In my experience, trying to get a newborn into a routine is futile. The early days are so important for establishing your supply if you are breastfeeding and babies will eventually find their own rhythm. Just take each day as it comes and enjoy having a little person who completely relies on you!

[AM]

Tiny babies have tiny tummies, and they physically need to feed very often to optimise growth, so your bub sounds very normal in that department, it is so intensive to begin with, but frequent feeding is the best thing for your bub to grow to full potential. Babies know what they need, we just have to listen to them.

You will find with time feeds begin to space naturally as bub grows a bigger tummy and gets physically stronger, and more efficient at draining the breast.

Take care, you are doing a great job :)

[trishalishous]

our dds natural routine was pretty easy to follow, so we just went with the flow.

[Beatnik]

Thanks everyone, I think the most thing I was most worried about was trying to get him to self settle. I guess I need to learn to go with the flow and not be so worried about routines yet, I didn't realise I was such a routine orientated person!!

[Purple Lily]

Thanks everyone, I think the most thing I was most worried about was trying to get him to self settle. I guess I need to learn to go with the flow and not be so worried about routines yet, I didn't realise I was such a routine orientated person!!

DS never self settled and needed to be held 24/7 he now self settles and sleeps in his own cot all night and naps in his swing all day...obviously this isnt every baby but just thought I would share my story. Bubs is still so young so he will want to always feel you close by and its a lovely feeling to have somebody who relies on you at all times and just loves you and your hugs :)

Oh and Its really hard to let go of routines and go with the flow Im exactly the same, after a few days I realised I wasnt doing myself any favours by stressing about routine and what he "should" be doing according to all the books :)

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[Bexta]

Tiny babies have tiny tummies, and they physically need to feed very often to optimise growth, so your bub sounds very normal in that department, it is so intensive to begin with, but frequent feeding is the best thing for your bub to grow to full potential. Babies know what they need, we just have to listen to them.

You will find with time feeds begin to space naturally as bub grows a bigger tummy and gets physically stronger, and more efficient at draining the breast.

Take care, you are doing a great job :)
:iagree: Very well put AM :yes:


I shouldn't be in this section either as my youngest is 4 months, but he has sort of put himself into a routine now :) He has by far been my hardest baby out of 5! :eek::laughing: It does get easier :yes:

[ilovehats]

Hi, sorry am crashing this thread, but couldn't help replying.

The best advice I got when my DS was a newborn, was to feed them until they are full everytime, because the more they eat the longer they will then go before the next feed. I aimed for at least 20 minutes, up to 40 minutes feeding time as he got a bit older. I kept him awake during a feed very gently with a few rubs on the back or foot, and a nappy change mid feed. At 2 weeks my DS was feeding pretty consistently every 4 hours.

I know this is really hard to do in the middle of the night, but a 3-4 hour sleep will make such a difference to you.

I also started a bedtime routine at 3 weeks with a feed, bath, feed and then put down to bed at 7pm. I know 3 weeks seems early, but I have done this consistently since then and now DS know exactly what to expect every night and falls asleep on his own pretty much as soon as he is put down. (well most nights anyway!)

Good Luck, it does get much easier and the weeks pass really quickly so enjoy it as much as you can.

[lemonpancakes]

Congratulations on your new baby!!!

Starting a bedtime routine is a great idea and worked well for us - 6pm bath then feed then bed by 7pm. And putting them to bed in a dark room for their night sleep, and light for the day sleeps helps them learn day and night.

I found this book really helpful and it's not as strict as the other routine books. It says to feed on demand til 8 weeks, then slowly start to distract baby in 15 minute increments to stretch out the feeds and sleeps. No controlled crying. Our bub slept through from 9 weeks. We bottlefed so am not sure if it works with BFing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0525949593

[becclesm]

Hi, sorry am crashing this thread, but couldn't help replying.

The best advice I got when my DS was a newborn, was to feed them until they are full everytime, because the more they eat the longer they will then go before the next feed. I aimed for at least 20 minutes, up to 40 minutes feeding time as he got a bit older. I kept him awake during a feed very gently with a few rubs on the back or foot, and a nappy change mid feed. At 2 weeks my DS was feeding pretty consistently every 4 hours.

I know this is really hard to do in the middle of the night, but a 3-4 hour sleep will make such a difference to you.

I also started a bedtime routine at 3 weeks with a feed, bath, feed and then put down to bed at 7pm. I know 3 weeks seems early, but I have done this consistently since then and now DS know exactly what to expect every night and falls asleep on his own pretty much as soon as he is put down. (well most nights anyway!)

Good Luck, it does get much easier and the weeks pass really quickly so enjoy it as much as you can.

I'm starting to do this. My DS is 2 weeks old and keeps falling asleep mid feed so I rouse him by changing his nappy or burbing etc so he gets a full tummy, he would wake when I put him down and act like he wants more milk but I tried a dummy and he went straight back to sleep, turns out he just wants to suck for comfort. We're getting from 9-2am some nights (he's a big boy was almost 10 pound at birth and he was 2 weeks early!). during the day he feeds around every 2-3 hours.
I'm starting to introduce a bedtime routine, i give him a bath at 8 then a relaxing massage with some bedtime lotion then a feed then bed seems to be working.
Also making sure he has some awake /play time late in the arvo and morning helps too. :)

[Super Nanny Services]

Hi, if your baby has had a decent feed they should be able to go three hours without feeding again. If they wake after 1-2 hours they may just need to be helped back to sleep. Before you pick them up, try gently patting them. Dont forget to swaddle them so they dont startle and whack their hands around. Try gently burping or rub their backs.
I guess i wanted to say that everytime they wake doesnt mean their hungry, especially if they were only fed an hour or so ago.
Special care nurseries only feed the babies every 3 hours and they can be very tiny.

[avenew05]

Thanks everyone, I think the most thing I was most worried about was trying to get him to self settle. I guess I need to learn to go with the flow and not be so worried about routines yet, I didn't realise I was such a routine orientated person!!

Don't worry, I am a very routine orientated person too and found it so hard in the beginning but now DS is 10 weeks and over the last few weeks he has settled into his own routine and will also drift off to sleep in his cot at night if we put him down and he's still awake. He sleeps in the lounge room in his bouncer or on his playmat during the day so he's exposed to noise and light and doesn't sleep in his cot so at night he associates sleep with his cot, a quiet room and a heartbeat sound we play on his mobile. Everyone told me it'd get better and that babies form their own routine and I just couldn't believe it, but it did end up happening. Good luck to you! ;)

[Manny]

I am very routine based & started routine as soon as we brought her home. She was FF and we did 4 hrly feeds as encouraged by midwives in Hosp. We also had her day sleeps out in living area so that she coyld he be used to noise. All the best & congratulations!

[BBB]

I really like "the baby whisperer" book by Tracey Hogg. She talks about having a routine of eat, activity, sleep, with the feeds 2.5-3 hours apart for newborns. I have been doing this since we got home from hospital and found it works pretty well, and I am breastfeeding. I will wake my baby during the day if she has slept for 2 hours but leave her to go as long as she can sleep overnight.

We have been very lucky that our DD started sleeping through the night (8-9 hours) a week ago at 4 weeks. This coincided with me giving her cluster feeds every 2 hours before bed (eg around 4, 6 and 8pm). She goes to bed around 9pm and wakes somewhere between 5 and 7am.

We are still progressing with the self settling - seems to be 2 steps forward 1 step back!

Good luck :)

[ilovehats]

[QUOTE=BBB;6420680]I really like "the baby whisperer" book by Tracey Hogg. She talks about having a routine of eat, activity, sleep,

Yes, I have read that too, and really liked it. We have followed the basic pattern as suggested in the book since DS was born. I still refer back to it when things feel a bit out of control!

[KatieMarie]

I may be a little late coming into this discussion, but as my advice is a little different to all the others I thought I'd post it anyway.

I am a very (OTT) organised person and so after a rough start with our little one a friend recommended Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall, more for my own sake than FJs. From 2wks my husband and I folloed Tizzie's ideas for sleep routines with one difference, we FF our baby whenever he was hungry and let him sleep when he was tired... but still did the routines as well. This way he got used to sleep and food at certain times, but was never left going hungry or tired.

Now he's 10wks old and he definately knows his routine... in fact, his sleep routine helped him survive and adjust on our recent trip to NZ to visit family.

I honestly think you need to consider your personality type and the way your family works AND the best thing for the baby. If you need a routine (like I did), because as routine will help you feel organised a little bit more in control, then this is a good thing for your bubs as well as they pick up on how you're feeling. If you are able and happy to just go with the flow and be led by bubs then they'll thrive on that too. Don't try to do anything just because you've read it somewhere - YOU have to be relatively confident (seriously, who's 100% confident with a baby?!?!!) and comfortable with whatever choice you make... because no matter what you do there'll be some who agree and some who disagree!!!

I hope that's a little bit helpful for you? Always remember you have the best interests of your bubs in mind, so how can you go wrong?!

KT :-)

[mummy2Luca]

i follow a very loose routine, which is more of a sleep cue on my mind. My ds2 is 9 weeks old. Before bed i feed him before his bath (his grumbly so takes it always) than i bath him, dress him, put him in his sleepy wrap which he only gets at night time than turn lights off in bedroom and feed him, burp him and bat his bum until his alseep than i pop him into hammock, sometimes he isnt asleep enough when i put him in (i know his within 30 seconds because i can see him wriggling around) and i have to get him again and usually i try feeding him again (because the fuller he is the longer he will go until waking!) and than i pat his bum until he asleep again. At night the minute he starts wriggling around and grizzling (im a light sleeper so alays wakes me up) i get up and feed him again, usually its a 5 minute feed and his back down again. This happens probably 4 times a night :)

[nelle7250]

Subscribing as I have an almost 1 week old and I'm interested in different points of view.

[missbloggsy]

Subscribing too, my little girl is almost 1 week old and was wondering about when to start thinking about routines. Great thread!

[Rose&Aurelia]

I have a 5wk old and I agree with the first couple of posters that's it's too early to have a set as in timed schedule ie tizzie IF you want to breastfeed successfully.

You can have a routine otherwise. We have had the same bed routine since in the hospy. Boob, bath, massage, nappy, swaddle, boob, bed.

Whenever you see tired signs nappy change, swaddle, boob, sleep. All day sleeps in pram or car capsule as then you don't gave to worry bout waking up if you are going out. Only night sleeps in cot. Night changes in the dark and day changes in bright light to sort out days/nights.

Babies love pattern of events. Do the same pattern and they work out what's next. But please please feed on demand.

My newbie has days of 2-3hrly feeds and others of 3-4hrly.

[2cheekyC's]

I don't think two weeks is too early to start a routine (or attempt to)
I read tozzie hall and as much as I'm a routine freak I just followed the night routine bed by 7pm
Ebm bath boob in bed awake let self settle

[Jay87]

DS is 10weeks old and he's in a loose routine since two weeks old. By loose i mean there are things ill do at a set time everyday to help him learn what will be expected later on. But not enforcing techniques as he is young and is demand fed still and needs me that's expected so young.

A day is like this;
8am Feed and play every morning to signal breakfast.
1pm a stroll to our park(if its not raining) or I play with him around lunch time along with a feed.
Night time is a bath at 8pm every night then a massage with cream, swaddling, feed while I eat dinner then I lay him down in his moses basket.

If he cries I pick him up and comfort when needed but I personally feel by indicating times for him when it comes time to enforce bedtime I'm hoping it will be easier.

I do admit DS is an easy baby so it is already working in my favour but it wont work for everyone.

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