Apr 7, 2006
How to get a baby into a schedule?
I need to get my boy into a schedule so I will be able to have my own time to do some house work/online/cook. Currently, my boy didn't have a schedule. We feed him when he is hungry or cry for milk. What do you do if your baby cries but is not time for his/her feeding? He sleeps when he feels tired. I know that some mothers are able to get their infant babies on a schedule, even though they are still young. Care to share your experience?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
i just made sure that i feed her at the same time everyday....if i delayed her first feed then it would have a domino effect for the rest of the day. however ashley doesn't have a fixed time for her naps...so i basically went along with the groove..i know what you mean when you need time to do your own stuff around the house. what i did was to wake up earlier than ashley in the mornings, rush through my chores and then ensure that her stuff is ready by the time she wakes up. in her first 2 months, she slept alot..so during her naps, i'd make sure that all that needs to be done are carried out...no such thing as sleeping when baby is sleeping unless you have a maid or hired help..then that's a diff story....it's tough at first..but you'll get the hang of it..do you feel like a super mom now? ;)
Hi again,
Yes, having some sort of routine is good for both mum and baby.
There are 2 main books here in the UK which people tend to use. The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg and The Contented Baby by Gina Ford. Gina Ford has a very strict routine and I felt that it was too restrictive. I liked Tracy Hogg's book and followed her E.A.S.Y routine ..... it stands for Eat, Activity (nappy change +/- playtime - depending on age of baby), then Sleep and Y is for 'you' time - relax, housework ... She is a midwife from the UK but spent a lot of her career in the US and worked with a few Hollywood stars.
I didn't have to work very hard at getting my little one into a routine as she seemed to like it. We should have started earlier but couldn't as we had family over from Malaysia staying with us who didn't believe in routines and I was not allowed to bath my baby in the evening. So we had a baby who was over-tired most days and cried so much in the evenings that we thought that she had colic.
Anyway, when we did start to get her into a routine, we started off with the evening routine of bath followed by massage, then feed, then bedtime. I made sure that her last feed was in the nursery and that the lights were dim and it was calm and relaxing .... after a few days of this, there was no more crying in the evenings and she slept much better at night and slowly we saw a day time routine taking shape too.
Anyway, all the best with getting Brandon into a routine and hope all goes well with his appointment with the doctor regarding his neck.
Malaysian mum in the UK
P/s - Saw that you posted my comment on Brandon & Ethan's blog!!
mom2ashley: usually my baby only wants to eat earlier than supposed feeding time. he gets hungry very quickly. also napping time is hard to predict as he didn't want to sleep by himself, often needs to be carried to sleep. hopefully, he will develop a schedule so i will be able to do some houseworks and cooking too.
anonymous: yup, i posted your comment on the other blog, hopef you don't mind.
i love to have a routine for me and my baby. some said is not good to have a routine as we should follow when the baby needs to eat at his own time. but i prefer otherwise. i order a book from amazon.com regarding this and can't wait to try it.
whoisbaby : BM digests faster that's why baby gets ungry very quickly - like every 2-3 hours....it's tough getting into a schedule during the earlier months...anyhow....good luck!!!!
Getting a baby into a routine this early will be tough.
But this was what I did.. I timed her feed.. (3 hrly). When it's time, and she wanted her feed, I tried to distract her.. play with her, bring her for a walk, talk to her.. etc etc.. Sometimes she can be distracted enough to want to go with my timing, but other times she just cried and didn't want anything except until I stuffed my breast into her mouth. So I give in on those times..
During this time, I slept, ate, showered when she slept. I was lucky I had a maid to do the housework, I only have to take care of myself.
I think Zara established a routine sometime at the end of her 2nd month.. But even then, occasionally, she'll still ask for a feed earlier.. which we'll just oblidge.
Post a Comment