do you let your babies run the show?

Hi mommies,

Do you let your babies run the show in the house at their own pace or do what it takes to keep up with your schedule?

For example do you wake your babies up if they slept too long because in your schedule it should be bottle feeding time or playtime before bath?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

I let my babies make the schedule and they stick to it on their own for the most part. It is not always exactly the same time but usually within an hour. I just found that this works the best for my kids because when I would try to wake them up to feed them etc they would just refuse to eat and be grumpy and through off the whole day. Best of luck

 

I stayed with a schedule, and woke them if needed. Without a schedule I would drown!:drown:

 

I stick to the schedule and wake them, etc. I will vary the schedule a bit to fit if need be, but for the most part, I "try" to run the show...although, with my 7 week old twins...it's proving to be challenging, but I'm sticking with it if it doesn't kill me because I know in the long run, I'll be thankful I did.

 

I was kind of in the middle. I stuck to a schedule for the most part to save my own sanity, but at the same time I rarely would wake them if they were sleeping, I always just left room for minor adjustments in the schedule. My two always slept together, so I rarely had that problem, because if one woke up they woke the other one & they rarely ever both slept longer than the scheduled time.

 

I'm attempting to run the show, but the babies are winning. Actually, their biological rhythms are running the show right now, particularly sleep. I'm trying to create a schedule that follows this pattern (as described in HSHHB), but it doesn't work if they scream for the first hour of the nap time. :faint: HSHHB does say to wake a baby up if they're sleeping past 7AM or taking a really long nap, in order to protect their nap schedule.

 

I did both. If there was day that I knew we were just going to be hanging around the house, I let them nap whenever. If I knew I had plans then I would sort of force a schedule for that day.

 

No schedule for us. Hasn't been one since the NICU. After 8 months of life... their little bodies are in a good routine now, but nothing is set in stone. We have no scheduled naps, feedings, play time or such. I listen to the girls and they let me know what they need. This works best for us.

I fully understand that no-schedule would never work for some, but for my type... being on a schedule, I feel held back.

Good luck!

 

Up until about 8 months they pretty much did things at their own pace. At about 8 months I started trying to regulate their schedules more as far as naps and we did CIO at about 9 months for STTN. As far as waking them up - I think I have only done that maybe once because they would have gone down for bed at like 10 or 11pm if I let them sleep any later. I'm pretty flexible on feeding and stuff. I just try to do the 2-3-4 schedule for naps and bed - everything else is up to them.

 

I am still really new at this, so I don't know what I will end up doing in the long run. But for right now I am following their lead and just trying to observe what their natural schedule is. Once I see those patterns developing I try and work them into a more cohesive, yet still flexible, schedule. I have realized that when I am really observant I can see certain patterns emerging. I then encourage these patterns. So far this is working really well---especially with sleep. I try and see the creation of a schedule as a partnership between us rather either than them--or me---setting the schedule. For me it's all the middle of the road approach that other moms were talking about.

 

My schedule is based on the twins' patterns... eat roughly every three hours during the day, sleep 8-9 hrs at night. They did that on their own. What I do enforce is having them on the same feeding schedule.. so if one is sleeping when it's feeding time, they get woken up. If I didn't force that issue, I'd never get anything done but feeding!