Schedule Question

So, i've read the schedule thread a thousand times- and we are really struggling.
My girls are six months, 4.5 adjusted, and i am still trying to get some sort of schedule down. We have just started solids, and one girl is not at all interested (although Tessa smiles and smacks her lips which is hilarious).

They are combo bf'd and bottle fed (a long, separate story); they seem to be getting mostly bottles during he day as my bfing girls seems more interested in the world than my boobs when there's stuff happening.

My question is: do you wait for them to give hunger cues, or just automatically feed? I am so used to feeding on demand that I'm not sure what/how to do.

Also: do you wake them in the morning? If one awake and the other doesn't? (which rarely, but sometimes happens)

Do you put them down for naps if they show sleepy signs, even if they stay awake or thrash around?

it just feels as if the days are still a free for all around here: i make plans to go out for a walk orr something, and four hours later i'm still trying to get out of the house - and as soon as one baby is in a car seat, one has to eat, poop, spit up or SOMETHING.
sorry if this is not coherent' it's 4:30 am and i've just pumped and im sure someone is going to wake soon.

 

Mine have been on the following schedule since 4 months. I followed Weissbluth's advice since he's our pediatrician. Start the day at 7 am. Back in bed for nap at 9 am (when they were young they would sleep 1 1/2 - 2 hours, now about an hour); Back to bed at 1.00/1.15 pm, sleep until 3 pm. Before I would wake them at 11 am in order to secure the 1.00 pm nap, now I wake them at 10.30 am if they don't wake up by themselves in order to secure a 1.00/1.15 pm bed time. I also wake them around 3 pm if they don't wake up by themselves, although I do look at how they napped (when they fell asleep, etc.) so sometimes I leave them a little longer, but often they're awake. They then go back to bed at 6.30 pm, used to be 6 pm when they were younger. So yes, I do scheduled awakenings, did the same with my oldest who was pretty much on the same schedule.

 

My question is: do you wait for them to give hunger cues, or just automatically feed? I am so used to feeding on demand that I'm not sure what/how to do.
I've always bottle fed so I don't know if this applies to you, but to keep my sanity I've always had them on an eating schedule, starting at every 3 hours then we extended it as they were able to go for longer. Of course if they seemed hungry I fed them right then. I would try a schedule if I were you and adjust it as necessary, you'll notice that they will fall into a pattern pretty quickly.

Also: do you wake them in the morning? If one awake and the other doesn't? (which rarely, but sometimes happens)
I don't wake them in the morning, if they sleep in I think they need it. They almost always wake together so I don't have to worry about one being up without the other. They are seperated for naps, and when one wakes I will wake the other, it definately keeps their napping and bedtimes the same.

Do you put them down for naps if they show sleepy signs, even if they stay awake or thrash around?
It took me a long time to get naps somewhat organized but now I know that they will start getting tired about 3 hours after waking, so I start looking for sleepy signs at that time, and even if I get no sleepy signs I put them down after 3 1/2 hours.

 

Do you wait for them to give hunger cues, or just automatically feed? I am so used to feeding on demand that I'm not sure what/how to do.

My boys are pretty predictable now. They eat about the same amount in their bottles at around the same time each day, and they eat about the same amount of solids twice a day (around the same time each day). If somebody gets hungry early, then I feed them, of course - I don't want anyone going hungry! But meals tend to be offered around the same time each day: 6:30 bottle, 10:30 solids, 12:00 bottle, 3:00 bottle, 5:00 solids, 6:15 bottle. I don't really go by the clock, I just kind of try to make sure their meals don't coincide with their naps and that they aren't getting fed to sleep (not a habit I want to to start). I follow HSHHC too so a "schedule" just kind of developed out of my routine.

Do you wake them in the morning? If one awake and the other doesn't? (which rarely, but sometimes happens)

I don't wake the babies in the morning - I'm having the opposite problem. I wish they would sleep longer but they're wide awake at 6:00 no matter what time I put them to bed. On the rare occasion they sleep in a little, if one wakes I let the other sleep about 20 minutes and then I open the blind so he gets the hint to wake up soon.

Do you put them down for naps if they show sleepy signs, even if they stay awake or thrash around?

I do a little wind-down first. They look at their mobile for a while in their cribs, then I turn down the lights, then I wrap them up and it's off to sleep. If they're truly tired this always relaxes them enough to drift off to sleep without too much trouble. Since we do the same thing before every nap their little bodies start to realize what's coming next and they start rubbing their eyes and seeming ready for sleep.

 

Why are you trying to get on a schedule? And how strict a schedule do you have in mind? (Ie strictly by the clock, or "sometime in the morning they'll take a nap"?)

Personally, I wouldn't bother. I think meeting babies' needs on demand is great! I just try to get their needs in sync. I feed mine at the same time and put down for naps at the same time. We usually go nap, feed, play, nap. Every day is different, but the general pattern is the same: DD needs to crash after 1.5 hrs awake, so there you go. They are very predictable.

I never wake them in the morning. DS wakes a little earlier, and DD still needs her sleep.

Just observe the babies and let them create their own schedule, and you'll save everyone a lot of tears & frustration.

 

I was a schedule freak! It was the only way I could have some sense of sanity, especially having 3 more kids with schedules and activities to deal with. I think you just need to pick one, and try it for a few days, if it works, keep it, if it doesn't tweak it a little. Good luck!

 

I wake mine in the morning on weekdays. We need to get them out of the house at 8am, so we usually wake them at 630am so that we can get them changed/fed/dressed etc. On the weekends I would LOVE to have them sleep in, but they usually wake up by 7am anyway. On the weekends usually my DD wakes up first, so I 'll take her out of the room and let her brother sleep. But once she starts getting upset and ready for her bottle, i'll wake him up, because I refuse to get them off schedule.

Schedules worked great for me. It's a little give and take ... but we are feeding at 7am,11am,3pm, solids at 5 or 530pm, bottle at 645pm and bed right after. It works for us. And the kids are fine. Do what feels right to you.

 

We really tried to pat down a real feeding and nap schedule right at six months. Since thats when we introduced solids, we needed a little more structure. So starting at 6 months, they went in seperate rooms for naps, did CIO for DS, and they now nap at 9 and 1, mostly by the clock, but I am flexible if one is showing they're really tired earlier, I'll put that one down a little earlier, etc.

I pump as well. DS BF until a month ago, so I tried to nurse him when I gave DD a bottle...but again until he stopped nursing and went to all bottles too, there was some flexibility. Now that they're on all bottles, we are on a bottle schedule. Sometimes they don't even come close to finishing them, so I will let them "nurse" them. If they seem hungrier before bottle time, I'll feed that one earlier...

It's not totally uncommon for one to sleep a little later than the other. I will not go to them before 7 am though. For instance this morning, I got DD at 7 because she was awake, and then my DH woke DS before he left for work at 7:30. This is because I still want him to go down for a nap close to 9 so I can have a break. So DD went down for he nap a little before 9 because she was fussy, and then I let DS stay up til 9:10 since he didn't seem tired, but he went to sleep within 10 minutes, because I really think they've been trained to be sleepy at these times because I am so consistent.

All I can say is extreme consistency with naps and bedtime really helped ups.

Good luck, it will get better!

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ Sep 25 2007, 01:21 PM) [snapback]422387[/snapback]
I was a schedule freak! It was the only way I could have some sense of sanity, especially having 3 more kids with schedules and activities to deal with. I think you just need to pick one, and try it for a few days, if it works, keep it, if it doesn't tweak it a little. Good luck!

Oh, I hear you!!! I am a freak too, and I only have one more, can't imagine 3!