Getting a newborn into a routine....am I being impatient??

[BuddysMama]

Hiya, my first post on here! But was after some advice please? Had my first baby 5 weeks ago, and I would like some input on establishing a routine, is this do-able? Or is it far too soon?

So, at the mo she sleeps most of the day, and is awake most of the night, and I have no idea how to reverse this, so I thought about getting her into a routine! But she's not settling when I put her to bed as she's sleeping all day! How do I stop her doing this? She is spending more time awake between feeds now, which I thought would really help, but it isn't.

Does anyone have any experience/suggestions

[Creatureofthenight]

Personally I never bothered with a routine, I followed her lead and DD just fell into her own one when she was a bit older. I did try to help her distinguish between day and night though - daytime naps in rooms with the curtains open and tv or radio on, and when she woke at night I kept the lights low and tv low or off. It did take longer for her to be easier to settle at night though, I think it’s quite normal.

[OhioOhioOhio]

Yes. Relax and do what your baby tells you. It's way too early to worry about a routine.

[BuddysMama]

@Creatureofthenight @OhioOhioOhio

Thank you will 100% take your advice and just enjoy her whole she's so tiny! im feeling mega overwhelmed, everyone seems to do things differently and there's so much to take on board that I feel I'm the only one who doesn't know what they're doing! I'll get there xx

[BuffaloCauliflower]

She’s too little for a routine! Routines are an adult creation. She’s not even really ready to be born yet that little, humans are all born far too early (we have to be or we wouldn’t get out, heads too big) google the 4th trimester

[FirstTimeMumApril19]

I panicked and thought I need to establish a routine when my baby was 5 weeks old. I was so tired I never got round to doing it, but a few weeks on and my DD sleeps 9.00-7.00 with a wake up for 15 minutes between 4.00-5.00.

My advice is to take the baby's lead

[feliciabirthgiver]

Agree with the others on routine, but I am an advocate of getting into a rhythm - so feed, awake time, nap - repeat.

The baby whisperer books are really helpful for this and less rigid than some of the others.

Good luck and congratulations on the birth of your LO.

[thinkingaboutthinking19]

It's completely normal for babies to sleep all day and be up most of the night. It takes them around 12weeks give or take for their circadian rhythm to sort itself out.
It's hard but not her fault and certainly not yours. Give it time and it will improve.
Congratulations on your baby. 😊

[GenevaMaybe]

I agree it’s a bit early for a real routine per se, but you could start helping the baby recognise day from night.
The best way to do that is to:
Wake at 7am each day regardless of what happened in the night
Feed every 3 hours with an hour awake time around the feeds
Make sure night time is very dark and boring with no stimulation.
So feeds would be
7am feed
Nap 8-10 ish
10.30 feed
Nap 11-1 ish
1pm feed
Nap 2-3.30
3.30pm feed
Nap 4.30-5.30
6pm half feed
6.30pm bath
7pm second half of feed
Bed
10pm dream feed

[GenevaMaybe]

Meant to say, an hour awake time around day feeds. At night you just feed, burp, swaddle, straight back down to bed.

[Minster2012]

Totally agree with above. This is v similar to what I did following a certain sleep training program which helps establish night & day as soon as possible & get a routine.

I needed a routine with 2 active dogs & no clue! All about teaching them night there’s darkness & no stimulation & giving sleep cues

Awake time increases as per age. It worked amazing for us & a few people we know

Good luck& enjoy!

[MyNameIsRachel]

Im always a bit baffled by the idea of being awake after feeding, if my 6 month old is tired then he just falls asleep on the bottle

[GenevaMaybe]

I know - I have always actively woken up my two if they fall asleep on boob or bottle. I don’t want any feed to sleep association.

[Creatureofthenight]

That’s a very rigid routine for such a small baby. I’d be feeding on demand, whenever she’s hungry.
You might decide that you don’t want the feed to sleep association, but it is biologically normal and I’ve found it great and reliable for getting my DD to sleep- still going at 2 years old!

[Minster2012]

Still agreeing with Geneva on this one, I didn’t want a feed to sleep association as it’s harder to crack for self settling but it’s entitled each to their own. We still fed on demand but tried to make sure each feed was as big as possible & tried to squeeze out time in between feeds to get a good routine
But whatever suits each person