...to wonder how "routines" (GF et al) actually work in reality?

[MsElisaDay]

Usually DS (6 months) goes to bed at 7pm ish, has a last feed at 11pm ish, wakes once or twice, and is up around 7am.
However, last night he was up virtually non-stop between 11pm and 4am. I think his teeth were bothering him, as he finally settled back down at 4am after some Calpol. He then slept through til 8.40am (a lie in!!) as clearly he was shattered.

Anyway. The backdrop to this is that various friends are telling me I should have him on a more strict routine to try and encourage him to sleep through. They also say that his mealtimes and naps should be more set in stone, rather than fitting around whatever we're doing during the day.

What I'm wondering is, if I were doing a GF routine, what would I have done last night? Would I have woken him at 7am despite the fact that he didn't sleep properly until 4am?
AIBU, therefore, to wonder how routines work in reality? Or do people just abandon them when teething issues or other problems come along?

TBH there is waking up and waking up.

There is going into a room wherein a baby or toddler is sleeping, opening the curtains and tidying stuff while cooing in a peaceful voice "Hellooo poppet, are you waking up? Aaah! " as they blearily come to consciousness and smile dreamily and lovingly at you.

And there is the going into a room wherein a [usually older] DC slumbers, opening the curtains and tidying stuff while speaking gently to them, then speaking more loudly to them, then saying sternly "Oi! It's 7 o'clock," then pulling the duvet off, and leaving the room, returning 10 minutes later to find the duvet back on and the DC snoring again oblivious, wrenching off duvet in a temper snarling "Get. Bloody. Up. I am NOT driving you AGAIN." Repeat.

If my baby was as sleepy as the 2nd scenario (which my 12 year old eldest usually is now! ) I would not wake them, I would let them sleep in. But when the routines work properly, you go in to wake them and they are nearly awake anyway, so it's not like you are being unkind.

I'm firmly in the camp of 'never wake a sleeping baby'. Why on earth you'd wake a baby at 7am every day is beyond me. My DS wakes when he wakes.

Oh no i never woke him as a baby,i do now hes older

Exactly miaow, only my first baby when I was on maternity leave didn't need to be awake for the day. After that there was a family 'routine' that needed observing

Well yes we wake DS for nursery. Other than that no I don't wake him, I figure he needs to sleep and I'll have a grumpy DS on my hands otherwise.

I woke DD from the word go and don't regret it, found she needed to feed that early in order to feed well in the mid morning feed.

Sleeping-wise it was like dominoes. If she slept into the morning she then didn't sleep properly at lunch time which meant she'd be cranky late afternoon and I wouldn't be able to keep her awake till bedtime which meant she wouldn't go to bed at bedtime which meant I would have no evening and be up during the night. I preferred to get her up and start the day right. Would not have bothered otherwise.

I seem to spend half my life dragging my DC (10 & 6) out of bed, and treasure days when I don't have to, so I now regard those halcyon days of leaving PFB to sleep with a certain amount of nostalgia.