Establishing schedule for 2 month old...

[scubagear]

Hi everybody! Being a new mom, I'm not sure if it's too early to try and get my 2 month old, breastfeeding baby on a schedule or not, but this is what I was thinking....

What I thought I was going to try (if it's not too early for a routine) was to nurse and change him around 10:00AM (in his bedroom) and then put him down in his crib for a nap. That way if he started to cry, I would know that he was not hungry or dirty. I would do the same thing in the afternoon and again at night. I still want to do the on-demand feeding so when he cried in the middle of the night I would nurse him and then put him immed. back into his crib.

I thought that if I got him in the habit of going into the crib twice a day for naps now, it would make it easier a little bit later. Also, for the rest of the hours in the day, I would feed on demand and then continue to put him in his bouncie chair, swing... and if his feel asleep so be it.

Experienced moms, does this sound reasonable or am I dreaming?

Also, what about trying to get him to sleep longer at night... Do I only attempt this once he is on someting other than breastmilk? So that he will be more full when I put him to bed?

Thanks for input!

[heidi_timms]

I nursed every three hours and that pretty much dictated our schedule. I felt that DD always got full meals instead of snacking all day long. Also, it helped me to feel less cow-like, but I want to stress that every baby is different. She did fine on the schedule thing. Also my baby napped one out of every three hours as well! She still is a pretty good sleeper. I think that a schedule definitely helped me figure out if she was hungry or sleepy.

At night, she woke up about every 3-4 hours, ate and went back to sleep. At 4 months, I fed her less and less at each night feeding until she stopped waking up at all and slept all the way through on a regular basis. Now occasionally she does wake up in the middle of the night because she is breaking some teeth. I do feed her to make her feel better, but for the most part, she sleeps through the night.

HTH!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[amp]

Just wanted to note that my DS is still (at 7.5 mths) still napping approx every 2 hours, so he generally gets about 3 naps per day. He wouldn't do well if I only planned on two naps. Also, I think it's fine to try and see if you can get into a routine, but your child may not cooperate! LOL! My son kind of fell into his own schedule recently around 5-6 mths. Until then, he ate and snacked all day long and varying times, and his napping was totally unpredictable. I knew he couldn't go more than about 2 hrs, but the nap length was so unpredictable that is really made it so I could *not* count on a specific nap time to put him down. It doesn't hurt to try, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't quite work yet.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

what if he is not sleepy at 10:00 AM? What would you do then?

Babies develop a routine on their own, just watch his cues and you'll soon start to see a pattern emerge and then you will know his routine.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[egoldber]

I don't think its too early for a routine, but maybe not a schedule per se. My DD was one of those who was not a well organized napper or sleeper (during the day), until she was 5-6 months. And then it was like overnight she fell into a very predicatable rhythm.

Also, be prepared for disruptions to any routine or schedule. There's typically a growth spurt around 3 months. And when approaching developmental milestones, a lot of babies become erratic.

You may me better off waiting until after the 3 month growth spurt and just go with the flow at least until then.

HTH,

[C99]

You're not dreaming; you are fantasizing about getting your baby into a groove so that you can get yourself back into one. It's totally normal, but also most likely not going to work. I remember when Nathaniel would nap and I would start planning things in my head: "if he naps at 2 and 4, then I can make dinner and..." -- but he had a mind of his own (still does) and that's about the only thing that remained constant for several months (other than sleeping, eating, crying and pooping!). I know it's hard and it seems interminable, but this too, shall pass. I know it sounds trite, but give it time, he'll start working himself into more or less of a routine.

[jennifer13]

You might have more success if you create a routine of activity that is not tied to the clock. I liked the baby whisperer's strategy of eat, activity and rest. At that age my DD was never awake for more than 2 hours. And I nursed about every 3. I would watch your dd for cues as to his sleepy states. A few yawns, rubbing the eyes, then put him down in his crib. My dd is almost 8 months and takes 3 naps. THe other helpful thing I did at 2 months was establish a bedtime routine- change into pajamas, nurse in her room, certain music etc- the cues that it is nightime.

It is great that you are starting to think of a routine- it helps you feel more in control of your life. Again, I would think about the order of things (e.g., before a nap we listen to a song) since babies also appreciate routine, but he is probably too young to go by a routine by the clock. Later- maybe 5 months old, that can start to develop. Good luck!

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03

[Melanie]

I found the "No cry sleep solution" to be rather helpful in equalizing infant sleep expectations with realities. It had a lot of good tips, too.

[Rachels]

This would never have worked with Abigail, and definitely not at that age. Babies will settle into a routine on their own. Your baby may cry when you put him down at ten, and that cry is worth responding to even if you know it isn't caused by hunger or wet diapers. It could mean that he isn't tired yet and, unlike adults, has absolutely no way to keep himself occupied. Or that he's lonely and needs to be held. Especially if he's hanging out a lot in his bouncy chair or swing, he might just need that contact.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Melanie]

...or scared... ;-(

[chlobo]

can anyone help me with this problem. My 10-week old will not nap during the day. Forget about a schedule. I'm lucky if I can coax her to sleep for one 2 hour period. I know she's tired b/c she's constantly yawning and is cranky. I've tried putting her down by the "third yawn" (like the baby whisperer recommends) but usually she just starts this downward spiral of crying. I pick her up and she won't stop crying and then I just don't know what to do. I'm sort of at my witts end. Anyone have any suggestions?

[TraciG]

Try the swing, that's the only place where Sydney sleeps in the day,it might not be good later on but for now it works !!!!!!!!!

[calebsmama03]

I concur with the swing idea. At that age, it was our ONLY nap source.

Sympathies from another mommy of a "no-napper" baby. At 6-7 weeks DS suddenly would NOT sleep except in the swing, and that was erratic. Hopefully yours will get into a better routine than mine did - at 10 months he JUST last month finally started napping more predictable but still not consistently. From 2 mos to 9 mos the most I could get was 30 min, maybe more if I held him the whole time or slept with him. Even now I still find I have to nurse him to sleep and pray for the best ;) I read the Baby Whisperer too and thought, "this seems easy enough" and could not figure out why it didn't work for me, "what am I doing wrong?" Then I realized that babies can't fit neatly into these little "how to" books. If they did parenting would be an easy job! It was NOT an easy thing and I definitely had (and still have!) more than my share of breakdowns but I had to go with the flow and come to terms with the fact that DS is just not a good napper. Despite having easily fallen into an every 3 hour nursing routine, he just could not/would not nap on a schedule. I suppose the positive trade off is that he has been a good night time sleeper and has slept at least 8 hours through the night since 3 mos despite being exclusively breastfed till almost 8 mos. My point is that you can certainly TRY but please don't beat yourself up over it if your baby doesn't fit neatly into a schedule or routine. It will cause you more stress and anxiety than it's worth!
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

[chlobo]

Lynne,

Thanks for the sympathy. When not napping, is your little guy relatively happy? I'm worried b/c little Izzy gets incredibly fussy.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Try a sling. That way she can nap on you and be happy, and you can still move around and do things.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[calebsmama03]

He gets pretty fussy, too :( It's not that he wasn't tired, he just really fights sleep. WHen he got a short nap in he would wake up raring to go!
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

[TraciG]

My baby fights sleep also & seems to be a fussy baby, mostly happy in her swing or at my breast, thank God for the swing, that's the ONLY time I get a break !!!!!!!!!!

[Melanie]

We used the swing or the car seat a lot in the early months, too. Ds never ended up with the flat-head problem, but when he was awake he was rarely in those two places, so I think that helped to combat it.

For the swing, I would put Ds in it and sing to him while swinging it myself and let it slowly stop once he fell asleep. On the 'harder' days, I would turn it on until he fell asleep and then turn it off. I think the noise of ours (it's the FP cradle and really noisy) actually acted like a white noise to lull him to sleep sometimes.

Some will tell you not to use swing b/c then they'll never learn to sleep flat/on their own/whatever. Don't listen, they will. They're helpless babies, don't sweat about them being independent beings yet.