routine and schedule

i really want to get my boys on a schedule of sorts for napping. am i nuts to try this at their age?

so far they eat every 3 hours and for the past week or so at night, they've been holding out anywhere between 5-6 hours. (YAY!)

during the day they wake around 8ish and then they eat and oftentimes one is up and the other sleeping. will this change as they get older? i want them to sleep at the same time and be awake at the same time, lol. i'll usually go for a walk or take them outside before it gets too hot.

after their 11:00 feeding they generally nap. they nap on the couch but i would really like them to be in their cribs if i can. thats been a toughie.

 

It was really hard for me to get my twins on a good nap schedule until they hit 6 months old. I would try some semblance of a schedule and it did not take until then (don't know why, other then they were testing me). I can say that after that point, I was able to get them to nap at the same time...I think I transitioned them to cribs for naps between 5 -6 months and thought maybe I should have tried that sooner, I don't know. before then I was so desperate for any naps, that I just let them sleep where they were. The schedule that worked best for us was the 2-3-4 schedule (first nap 2 hours after waking, 2nd nap 3 hours after waking from the first, etc.), they kind of put themselves on that. Good luck!

 

Crazy?? No. It sounds like you have a good routine going now. I guess it depends on your meaning of schedule. Do you want them to nap at 1pm every day? That may not be realistic, but you really do have a good flexible schedule going now. Our routine/schedule changed a LOT the first 5 months. Every time I thought we had it down, they changed things up on me. After that though, we had several good solid months of schedule and routine. Let the babies be your guide and you'll be surprised how they will set their own pattern for the day.

 

Mine let ME know what their napping schedule was. I knew nothing about babies before having my girls.. even my very first diaper changing - ever

It was around 4 months when I noticed a 'pattern'. Then we moved when they were 6 months and everything went out of whack for about a month or so. Then after about 7 months we were on a 2/3/4 hr schedule [wake for 2hrs [nap], wake for 3hrs [nap], wake for 4 hrs, then bed time]. Have been there since

Also, for the first 4 months I let them sleep where ever [bouncy, car seat, glider, crib]. Then I gradually got them used to sleeping in their cribs [we had them in cradles in the living room [next to our bedroom] for the first few months]. And once one woke up - I'd wake the other so they were on the same schedule. But in the begining I let them sleep however long they wanted - but we'd keep them awake 2 hrs before bedtime so they'd go to bed at night. Sometimes it was difficult to do, but it worked for us.

GL!

 

At their age, mine slept whenever and whereever. We didnt get on much of a napping schedule until about 4 months when the morning nap became predictable and about 6 months for the afternoon nap.

 

I think mine were around 4 or 5 months when I started getting them on a nap schedule. Before that, they were just sleeping whenever they wanted.

 

I used the method and still am for the Healthy Sleep Habbits Happy Child the two hour rule. I find it more useful to judge by the time they wake up then by the clock sinc it varies a little each day, but I have always tried to stick with a 7pm bedtime and tired to judge their last nap length by that. I think this book has some great ideas and explain how their sleep system works. Definately worth the money.

 

At 7.5 weeks I started reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and putting my boys down for naps about 1.5 hrs after waking up (at the first sign of drowsy cues). They immediately started taking regular, consistent naps! It was great. So I definitely think you can at least try it! Mine still have off days and sometimes off weeks but overall they are great nappers.

 

It's just in the last couple weeks that mine are starting to fall into a "pattern" with their feeding and naps. They are trying to drop a bottle right now so the feeding is a little erratic until I figure out a good schedule, but otherwise their naps are fairly consistent at about 2 hrs after they wake up. They are currently taking about 4 naps a day but today they slept so good their first 2 naps that they skipped their evening nap and went to bed an hour early.

I too tried to find a "schedule" at that age and it just didn't work, and I don't think it does work until the babies start eating at a set time, rather then whenever they are hungry, kwim?

:hug:

 

I too followed the HSHHC book and would just check in it on the various age groups. You are already doing amazing with a routine. Just remember one thing.... hug and hold them as MUCH as you can. I swear when they get to be 4 months already they start to get interested in toys and soon you can't just sit there and hold them for hours. Soak it up while you can. I know it seems you are ALWAYS holding a baby but try to really enjoy it all. I found my schedule/routine would be perfect and then they would change again and I would go looking at the book ... then I'd get them worked out and then boom change again.

 

IMO, it's never too early to get a good flexible routine going. At 2 months that's what we did, and the girls responded very well to the structure. They both STTN (8 hours) by 10 weeks and 11 hours by 16 weeks - and they still do. Starting at about 4.5 months, we had also a "schedule", by that I mean we generally eat at the same time each day and try to nap about the same time. But for now, if you can encourage a 3 hour routine during the day and let them sleep as long as they can at night, I think you're on the right track!

Great job!