Sleep Routine??

foodaholic

Just wondering what other people do. I'm breastfeeding my 3 wk old and as of yet we have no set routine

What time should I be putting her to bed at?
What works for you ?

How Strange

foodaholic I wouldn't even think of routines until 10-12 weeks. Breastfeeding works best when it's on cue so feed when your baby wants to feed. There are a lot of baby trainers out there who say babies should be put into a routine as soon as possible and they even say you should breastfeed to a routine but that way of thinking is quite detrimental to successful breastfeeding.

I remember my son getting very cranky during the day around 11 weeks and I realised he needed a nap so I followed his cues and started putting him down for a nap twice a day. Similarly around 10 weeks when his wind etc settled down he became very cranky around 8pm and we used to move his Moses basket to our room and put him down for the night. That was a routine he set though and because he wanted it we rarely had any problems with nap times and bed time.

jingler

Congratulations on your new baby:D. I'd agree with how strange. It may seem like all the other babies are having winding down time, bath and off to sleep at 7pm but at 3 weeks, it's early days yet. You'll know when is the right time to start a sleep routine- it's different for every baby.

foodaholic

She seems to go for a nap around 17.30 or 18.00. I'm was just worried that this was too late In the evening for a nap?

It's just that we have been all go for the last 2 weeks - usually out with her till late so I have no sense of her cues yet

jingler

How long is that nap?
I would give my littlest one a feed at 10 and off to bed with us in the early days. That feed was always done after nappy change and in my bed so I suppose that was a little routine in itself.
New babes sleep a lot so I don't think a late nap at 3 weeks would worry me.

How Strange

foodaholic I wouldn't even consider them naps at the moment. Newborns just sleep when they want to and you'll notice over the next few weeks that she'll be awake more and more.

I'd say enjoy the lack of routine because right now you can go anywhere at any time. Once you start bedtimes then you'll have to be at home every evening. I love that my son goes to bed at 7pm but it can be a pain if we're out and have to rush off home.

liliq

my little man only started falling into his own routine at around 4 months... he started showing signs of getting tired at around 9pm so we started settling him then.
He doesn't sleep very much at the moment- lucky to get a half hour nap during the day, and a couple of 3/4 hour streches at night. But sure that's what we get maternity leave for :rolleyes:
It's hard, and feels like a "routine" will never happen, but it will eventually

foodaholic

She napped for 2.5hrs the other night. And then was wide awake for hrs afterwards. I was thinkIng I should have woken her but then everyone says don't wake a sleeping baby !!

I suppose I just have to follow her!

annamcmahon

I used to try to wake my daughter when she was that age to get her to feed for longer and to be honest it wasn't worth the hassle as it took ages and then she was cranky. I totally agree with the others, babies just sleep when they are tired at that age and there's nothing you can do about it. It usually settles down around 6wks for a bit anyway.

Hannibal Smith

I feel your pain Foodaholic...our little one had his whole day and night mixed up in the beginning, would sleep like a log in the day, but was awake most of the night. He just got out of it himself. We've only started getting him into a night routine in the last few weeks, he's 4 months now.

I don't know if it's different for breastfeeding mothers (ours were both bottle fed) but you kind of have to follow their lead for the first while.

NextSteps

There's no point worrying yourself about a routine, just relax and follow the baby, and take plenty of naps yourself!

foodaholic

I guess I'm just afraid she'll sleep too long during the day and not at night.
Thanks for all your responses.

wmpdd3

Hi Foodaholic, I have a 3 week old too, congrats. Its my second. On my first I had no routine at all, I just did what she wanted. Around 3 months she put herself into a routine. I think she used to sleep 1 am to 6am then feed then back to sleep.

I always found the more sleep she got during the day the more she slept during the night, its still the same now,(17 months), if she misses a nap during the day she sleeps less at night.

I never left her lying down if she didnt want to sleep, I never let her cry in her bed and now she asks for 'bobby-bed' when she wants a nap and sleeps from 7pm to 9am and a 1 hour nap.

My son is breastfed and I find I am permanently attached to him, feeding him, but I really do think he will just do what he needs.

Best advice I can say, is just sit under them and look at them in awe, they'll be big babies before you know it and you'll wonder how they managed to get so big.