routines

i must say i just go with the flow! i try and keep a rountine but it doesnt always work.

I was still demand feeding at 1 month, but Natalie tended to set her own 3-hourly pattern. We are still 3 hourly now. I do a feed-change-play-top-up feed-sleep routine, which works well for us. Generally she is up for an hour (or just over), then we have 'wind-down' time before her sleep (starting after I notice her tired signs, like uncontrolled leg/arm movement, clenched fists etc). During the wind-down time, I sit quiety with her, read a book to her (never too young!), then swaddle, and take her into her room, where I rock her (with a blanket over both of our heads, so she can't see anything), start the white noise CD, until she's calm and still, and her eyes are starting to close. Then I put her down into her bassinet gently, so she's still actually awake but really dopey. After a bit more rocking in the bassinet, she goes to sleep for at least 45 mins (then the fun starts for us - have to do it all again to get another sleep cycle out of her! but that's another story lol). If (when!) she wakes up early, I try to re-settle her to sleep for maybe 20-30 mins, but if she's wide awake, I keep her up doing something not too stimulating (maybe just sitting in her rocker or on my knee) until the next feed is due. Then I make the next feed-change-play-top up feed cycle much shorter (maybe 30mins), and put her to sleep then, as she's normally exhausted by then.

Sometimes we get a 2-hour sleep out of her, other times just 45mins. the cntrolled crying thing doesn't work for us (at least at the moment), because she just gets more and more worked up, and overheats, so I try and 'catch' her before she gets too unsettled - going into the room and rocking her before/while she wakes up after 45mins can actually pre-empt the waking for us, and help her sleep longer.

A lot depends on the baby - I know she couldn't go further than 3 1/2 hourly for feeds (infact in the evenings, it's 2-hourly), but she's sleeping for up to 10-11 hours at night in one go, so needs more calories during the day to make up for no feeding during the night.

The best thing about the routine is that it has helped me to know what she's crying about - i.e. is she due for a feed, or tired etc. I would say do whatever works for you - there is no right or wrong way!

(sorry for the novel!)

Forgot to say - if she is making hungry cries after her shorter sleep, then I will feed her, but I try to space it out at least 2 hourly, as otherwise she just spends the whole day snacking and cat-napping.

Edited by blondy