routine or not routine ...what do u find best ?

[kittenbaby]

just interested in your views
dd is 4 months and im wondering if i should try to have a bit of a routine in the day as she doesnt nap at all somedays
somedays she does
although she does sleep v well at night about 12 hours

[dissle]

i did from very early on...but i have to say....IF IT AINT BROKE, WHY FIX IT.
leave it be

[Pheebe]

we introduced a rhythm to the day rather than a routine from about 5 weeks (around the EASY routine). the only thing we fixed absolutely was no napping after 4pm and bedtime between 6-7 pm. DS has been a really good sleeper and a happy and contented boy in the day because of it and still goes up for his bath at 6 and is in bed with stories at 7 (he's now 3)
if your lo is sleeping a good 12 hours a night at 4 months count yourself v v lucky although you're heading towards the teething stage ...

[kittenbaby]

thanks dissle and pheebe yes i think your right,i think ill just carry on and go with the flow and hopefully dd will have the odd nap in the day at some point.....

yeah im bracing myself for the teething i think i can see/feel some teeth already !!

[bobsi]

Hiya,

I introduced a routine at 4 months as was having a few problems with dd getting enough milk. IME it was the best thing I ever did but wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been having problems. Am now pregnant again and will be doing routine from day 1 Most people tend to find their own routine in the end anyway, I just needed some pointers.

[morningglory]

Routines work best if both the parent and baby take to it.

I did a routine with DS1 from birth, and will do so again with DS2. I loved it, but I'm the kind of person who goes nuts without structure, and needs to anticipate my day in advance. Luckily, DS fell into the routine easily, so it suited him.

THB, all babies seem to fall into their own routine if you just stick it out. Establishing one just sets them in a pattern earlier.

[insywinsyspider]

i'm like morningglory I find some structure helped me know what was going on and what we could do in a day - it all went a little to pot when ds started with childminder but the night time routine has been invaluable - whilst we have our share of broken nights for teething etc and early wake ups he will always settle very well at 7pm which is great

we did EASY from about 5 weeks, as dissle says if you are happy with everything then don't worry but if you'd like some more structure then a routine could be good for you both

[Sketchi]

We started a bedtime routine at around 6 weeks ans my dd has slept overnight since.

As for feeding and sleeping routine during the day, my dd started nursery at 5 months when I returned to work and we are still using the same routine at home and she's a year this month. A routine has def worked for us, but each to their own.