To wonder if anyone successfully managed a routine with a baby?

[Toomanymuslins]

By routine I mean one in books (I don’t just mean Gina Ford - any book.)

It seems impossible to me. You can’t make a baby sleep it they don’t want to but also if they are tired waking them up is difficult/impossible! And if they are hungry you know about it but likewise you can’t force them to take more milk than they want ...

Do I just have awkward sods for babies or are routines impossible?

Both of mine were in routines from about 6 weeks and I’d say unlike a lot of people I was probably actually stricter about it with my second than my first. Caveats to that though is that I have always been happy to prioritise nap time and be at home for that. Others wouldn’t like the rigidity. Eg I changed my eldest’s gymnastics class as it clashed with nap time for my youngest’s. Others would have prioritised the class. Neither is right or wrong but it depends on personality and priorities.

I found that my friends who tried to stick to a schedule from a book tended to be more frazzled than us who just went with the flow. Admittedly I didn’t drive, so walked or took the bus everywhere so baby was in his pram whenever he wanted a sleep: I used to eat lunch on the bus on the way to baby classes as it meant he slept and didn’t interrupt me

I was ridiculously lucky though: DS slept from 11pm to 7am from 7 weeks old!

On the routine vs babbled stuff, I read an article talking about this that said by about 6 months all babies naturally get in to the same rhythm, whether it’s parent led or baby led.

So really don’t worry, if you can’t get your baby in to a routine the chances are in time they’ll set their own routine

my first 2 were perfect Gina Ford babies after a few weeks of going with the flow. My youngest just didn't but that may have been because she had to fit around the other two.

I didn't really, but I know quite a few people who have. The biggest difference I think between myself and them is that I am not a very routine sort of person in general and they are.

Now - that is not to say their routines didn't evolve as the baby grew, and the first few months there wasn't much routine. But far more of a schedule than I ever had with my kids.

My baby has also slept through the night from a very early age. That is just luck of the draw though!