Am I suppose to have a routine?? 😳

Question

I’m a FTM and feel like I know absolutely nothing. I keep seeing everyone talk about routines & how their baby is starting to sleep more at night .. & I’m here like the complete opposite lol! I typically just let him do his own thing & tend to him when he needs it. But I can never get him to sleep without rocking him for literal hours... & now I’m afraid he’s dependent on that bc otherwise & cries & cries 😩 also he sleeps really long stretches throughout the day but is up alll night while I try to get him to sleep. Like he slept from 2-10pm!! today with small wake up periods only to feed & change then right back to sleep ... Now been up since 10pm & it’s 2am!!! And he’s eaten a lot! Should I wake him up more during his long sleep periods during the day?? What should I be doing? Also since he sleeps much more during the day, he mostly sleeps in his boppy since I’m always right there. Now he never sleeps in his bassinet... cries immediately 😩 & he hates swaddles. not sure how to fix this

Answer

I’ve been pretty laid back about schedules. This is my second and I’ve come to the realization that a schedule isn’t super important to us. It definitely helps some people a lot but if you don’t feel the need for it it’s not important. With my first, I eventually got into a nap schedule around 3-5 months. Then when we went down to two naps was when I started sticking to a real schedule more. 
In these early weeks, I let the baby sleep and be awake when they want to. Honestly, sleeping more during the day doesn’t always mean he won’t sleep at night. It seems completely random and done days he will sleep a lot and sleep great at night. Others he be awake a lot and be up every hour. Some days he’ll sleep a lot and then be up all night. You never know. 
Also, my last piece of advice that no one told me — once they start sleeping all night, don’t expect it to last forever. My oldest started sleeping through at 3 months. I thought I did it!! Then he hit 8 months and was up every hour or two again. I tried everything I could to get him back but it was just a phase. It lasted a few months until he was just over a year old. Now he’s almost 4 and sleeps 12 hours through the night pretty consistently. But just keep in the back of your head that it’s constantly changing. And what works one day may not work the next.

Answer

I don't really follow a routine per say, but I don't let him sleep longer than 2 hour stretches during the day , because I have a toddler and need some night sleep. With that said at 4 weeks old he's still up every 1-2 hours (thanks gas)

Answer

Definitely getting him into a routine will help. You need to wake him during the day to get his day/nights back right. I always start routines from birth and my babies sleep 5-7 hour stretches at night by 2 weeks old. Not all babies will do this, but the sooner you get into a good routine the better and the easier things get

Answer

No need for a rigid schedule right now. 
Getting on a eat, play, sleep routine is ideal tho. We’re still working on that. 😅
I asked what naps were supposed to look like right now at our 1 month appointment we had this morning because big brother is making it difficult to nap. 
She said naps should only last 30 minutes to an hour and a half and should be one nap during each eat play sleep cycle. 
My son eats about every 2.5 hours and she said a 30 minute nap is adequate for his cycle. 
I’d wake him more during the day in hopes he’d sleep better at night in your case. Keep naps under 2 hours for now.

Answer

I dont have a routine really. We go to bed and wake up around the same times every day. I try to keep it light and noisy during the day(just doing our normal thing) and keep it dark and quiet at night. I do try to keep her awake during the day if I notice she's sleeping a lot. Of course they need to nap a lot but if she does a big stretch of sleep then when she wakes up to feed I try to keep her stimulated and awake for a bit so she doesn't stay up all night. Other than that I just go with whatever baby wants. She's 1 month old now.

Answer

Following baby’s lead is ok! If you don’t follow TakingCaraBabies on instagram you should!! I bought the program this time and it’s not about having a schedule just a general “wake up, and follow baby’s lead throughout the day” watching for sleepy cues and putting them for a nap when you see those and extending the time frame at night that they go between feeds. Highly recommend 🙂

Answer

One last thing about habits — I also do t worry about sleep associations or habits. My oldest nurses to sleep for faaaar longer than the Internet and doctors recommend. It was literally the only way he would go to sleep for over 2 years. He breastfed until he was just over 3. Now he goes to bed on his own. He stopped when he was ready to stop just as any “sleep association” will. I definitely would t worry about rocking to sleep. Just enjoy that! I have a hard time remembering all of this too and will worry that a phase won’t ever end. But, every phase eventually ends. Sometimes it feels like forever but in the scheme of things, it’s not.

Answer

I’m a second time mom and I’m struggling too, you’re not alone!

Answer

I’m having the same problem. Doctor said not to let him sleep more than 2-3 hours during the day and to wake him up. Then let him sleep through at night and only feed him when he wakes up. Should help him sleep more at night. But trying to keep a 2 week old baby awake during the day is not an easy task. On day 3 of trying this. I’m a FTM too girl so I completely feel your struggle right now 😭

Answer

My bub tends to only sleep for 1-1.5 hours at a time throughout the day and then will have her longer sleeps at night. Maybe start waking him every 2-3 hours during the day and make sure his room/ wherever he sleeps has natural light shining in instead of a dark space. Don’t be afraid to make some noise either, get him used to daytime not being silent like nighttime would generally be - his body clock must be backwards.

Am I suppose to have a routine?? 😳

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