When is it appropriate to start a routine? & help w/STTN

Our boys will be three months old and from day to day have no clue as to when the will nap or eat. I would feel much better if I knew when to expect them to want to be fed or sleep but at the same time, don't know at what age it is normal....and..

One of our boys will sleep 7 or 8 hours at a time, but wants to do it starting at around 5 pm or sometime a lil later at 7pm. Ive tried to keep wake him and keep him up and give him a bottle hoping he will start his long stretch after the bottle (around 9 or 10pm) but then, he will just wake every 3 -4 hours from when I fed him....how did you help your baby STTN???

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond

 

I started a routine from day one. But it really has been since the boys were 6 months old that I know what time they want certain things. So, when they were that age, it was just a routine not a schedule, now it is a schedule.

At three months we were doing a dream feed and then they slept all night. But I would still just give them what they needed. I also naped them on their bellies to help with tummy time and they slept great. Therefore, I turned the over at night because I needed all the sleep I could get because it was just me. Some people are not comfortable with tummy sleeping, but I was. I do believe this was when the 3 nap schedule evolved. Remember sleep begets sleep. I was pretty much home all day, every day.

You are in the thick of it and what may worked for me, may not work for you. Just find what works for you!

GL,
Jenn

 

If he is falling asleep on his own at 5 pm I would let him sleep for as long as he is willing at that point. I wouldn't bother trying to keep him up. When my girls started to STTN it was from 5:30 pm - 5:30 am. It wasn't my favorite thing to get up every morning at 5:30 am but it was awesome to have my evenings to myself.

 

Mine are not on schedueles either. just routines that we try to do each day. NOrmally they go to bed between 7-830. I know its a big difference but between work, dinner, etc sometimes its anywhere in that time frame. The past 2 nights that they were given baths, they slept from 8ish until 530-545am. That is STTN!! Thank goodness. however the 2 nights in between bath night they got no bath and was up at 330 wanting to eat. THey are only up about 30 min to eat and diaper change and they go back to sleep.
After their morning bottle they tend to want to sleep and during the day its whenever, no set times. DS fights it to the end and he is a horrible napper!!

 

At that age, we just had more of a "rythym" going than a schedule per say. We kind of new what to expect but it changed frequently. The schedule didn't really start to settle in until they were 6 months and by 7 months I had the 2-3-4 schedule in place. I agree with the pp that you just need to find what works for you. Following the babes cues at this age is normal and in another month you'll notice things will slowly start to settle down and then before you know it they will fit right into a schedule that you made! Hang in there and know that it does get easier!!!

 

We did a routine from day one also. When one slept, I put the other one down. When one woke, I woke the other one. It really helps sync them up to do that. I also feed them at the same time (every 3-4 hours). Right now, I know they get up at 630, eat at daycare at 7am, then nap around 830/9, and from there on they eat every 3-4 hours and sleep every 2 hours. They also go to bed every night at 630/7pm.

 

I did the same thing. It helped keep my day "together". Sure there would be days that they were off, but it helped me stay sane. My didn't STTN until 7.5 months when we did CIO (cry it out) so I'm no help there! I would let him sleep though if he is still going to sleep after eating in the middle of the night. We were still doing 2-3 bottles a night at 3 months and at least 1 at 6 months. That said, things like naps and feeding times got much more predictable toward the end of 4 months and the beginning of 5.

 

Thanks for all you responses..it makes me realize everything seems to be pretty much on target. I have been just letting him sleep and wake when he was hungry since he will just eat, get diaper changed and go right back to sleep. Although I know it would probably be sooo much easier, from day one, we never tried to put them on the same schedule but luckily, they pretty fall into the same routine at some point of the day anyway

I just didn't know if anyone did anything special starting at 3 months to help a schedule but seems like my boys are pretty much doing whats to be expected at this age, which makes me feel so much better.

 

I followed the Baby Whisperer´s advice when it came to routine and it was great. As Im a person who likes to know what´s happening, it made everything much easier for me though we did have days when it all went to pot!

I basically put mine on a routine as soon as I got back from hospital but the Baby Whisperer advises starting at 3 months. I had a 4-hour routine going and it took a few weeks to get going (7am, 11am, 3pm & 7pm). Normally a 3-hour one is advised but my LOs changed to 4 hours themselves but I was flexible. I would basically feed every 3-4 hours and if they were sleeping, I´d wake them from their naps to do so. The idea behind this was that they learned to sleep more during the night and to get enough food into them during the day so they would last the night without food. I also did a dream feed which meant that I woke them at 11.30pm every night and gave them a nappy change and a bottle. I´d also put an extra ounce in their bottles and they would normally drink it. We kept everything very low-key: no TV or noise, low lights, whispers and both babies would drink, go back to bed and would sleep through until 7am when we´d start the routine all over again. One thing I didnt do was wake them for breakfast, I´d let them wake. DS was like clockwork and would wake at 7am but DD was more of an 8.30am riser. It meant their routines were different but it made it easier on me as I was alone plus I got some one-on-one time with each baby (once they were older I got them both on the same timetable). When they were 4 months old, they stopped wanting the dream feed and that´s when they STTN 12 hours. We havent looked back since.

This doesnt necessarily work for everyone, but it worked like a dream for us and our LOs have thrived on having a routine. GL!

(edited for typos)

 

This is my routine!...lol And it's been like this for some time now. The only difference is that after I put them to bed at 7-ish I let them sleep as long as they want. Most of the times they only wake once around 2.30-3 for food, however there are days when they wake at 11.30-12 and then at 3.30-4 again. But as you said, I am flexible as well.