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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

routine routine routine, whos got one and what is it???

24 replies

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 16:41

My DD is just over six months and i have a great bedtime routine with her going down at 7 then sleeping through till about 5-6. Trouble is i dont have a routine with the day time, whos got one, do you need one, do you feed milk with food , what times do they eat, how does it fit with their naps etc etc etc etc...........

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Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 17:16

HELLO.....

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Donbean · 05/07/2006 17:18

HELLO!
I did/do have a routine for mine.
Started like you with a bed time routine then followed by following my sons natural routine.
He slept at a certain time (nap) and i loosly fed him at certain times

bramblina · 05/07/2006 17:23

When we began weaning, I offered a bf then solids then bf. I tried to manipulate the feeding times to correspond with ours, for future simplicity. Most days at that time he would nap 11am for an hour and 3pm for an hour but at 7 months he didn't nap till the afternoon. Every day was very different though! What stage weaning are you at?

notsogummyanymore · 05/07/2006 17:27

Hello. My ds is 9 1/2 months and has a bottle at about 7ish, bfast at about 8.30, nap at about 10 til about 11.30 (if i'm lucky!) lunch about 12.30, nap about 3ish til about 4ish, tea about 5ish, bath about 6.30ish then bottle and bed by 7.30pm. He still has milk with his meals cos he loves it so much (would drink milk all day i'msure if i let him!)and that's about it Oh, and he has water in a sippy cup thingy in betweens and maybe some rice cakes if we're running late for a meal and out and about! Seems to work really well for us but i'm sure everyone's got different ideas

Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 17:27

Well i introduced rusks in the evening at 4 1/2 months, by 5 1/2 months she was having porridge in the morning aswell, and today ( 6mths) i gave her some fruit at lunch time. I think she may be filling up too much with food as she will take her morning bottle ( 5-6am) and her eve bottle 6.30pm but is reluctant to take more than an oz or two in the day, am i just doing this all wrong...?

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Alan · 05/07/2006 17:27

no you get up, give breakfast, get dressed, do you thing all day or whatever, feed again etc etc and then go to bed

its simple

Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 17:37

notsogummyanymore ( great id!!) sounds very sim to how my days goes for my DD except that she wont take her bottle very much ( as i mentioned down there...)this was today

6.00 6 ozs milk

8.30 porridge ( made with 2ozs milk)

9.30 -10.30 nap

12.30-1.30 another nap.......(just when i was going to feed her...!)

1.30 2ozs milk, half a pear and half a banana

3.30 tried to put her down for a nap, she wasnt haveing any of it, took her out of her cot about 4 then she took 3 ozs of milk........

5.15 x2 ice cubes of parsnip and sweet potato
then i thought as she hadnt hadnt had all her milk id try her with a yoghurt and a spoonful of jelly, she ate the lot...

5.30 ( now) so grouchy and grumpy that i have put her down for a nap, and i should be bathing her at 6 ready for her bottle at 630 ish then bed by 7...

its all just all over the place and i feel like i am going round in circles, i know to some it might seem like i am making a deal about nothing but its bothering me now that i cant seem to get it together from day to day....

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Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 17:38

God i am letting it get to me aren't i, its that simple huh Alan???!!!

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Alan · 05/07/2006 17:39

you really dont need to stress or have a routine. Honestly, trust me

Donbean · 05/07/2006 17:42

I think that the routine that you have is effective for what she needs TBH.
You are getting milk into her and also food...thats great.
Can i ask, how often do you take her to be weighed and has her weight consistently risen?

notsogummyanymore · 05/07/2006 17:47

you don't NEED a routine but some people find it easier to have one. Each to their own and all that eh jay? We sort of fumbled into ours and it works for us, so there! Some babies thrive on routine, and we're both happier for it.

notsogummyanymore · 05/07/2006 17:48

p.s ditto what donbean just said!

Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 18:52

hi thanks for the responses. I had her weighed two weeks ago, and she had only put on 3 ozs in 3 weeks, which is nothing, this did set me thinking about her food/bottle and routine, but then as my DH pointed out she is just over 19lbs and for a six mth old is a good weight. She has done the doubling of her birth weight (9lbs 5ozs at birth) so its not that that worries me, just that she may not be getting all her nutrients etc. And yes i agree, some people dont have a routine and it works well for them, i seem to need one, and i guess where i have a brill one for bedtime i felt i needed something more in the daytime.
By the way, she woke at 6 ( half hr nap) had her bath and i have just put her down ( to sleep, not in the vetinary sense!!) But she did only take approx 3 1/2 ozs of her bottle, which isnt good, as she normally takes more than that.....grrrrrr shes flat out now though so ob didnt need to have it all???

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Original poster

Jaysfirst · 05/07/2006 18:52

sorry for the long complicated threads!

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cleaninglady · 05/07/2006 19:50

hi - think your a bit like me - i like the routine and knowing what i was doing from one day to the next ! think your routine is not too far out to be honest - i wouldnt have done the two naps (morning and lunch time) - would she not be distracted and have lunch first and then nap afterwards for a bit longer - then not grouchy at 5ish?? easier said than done i know as when their tired they are tired - with regard to nap at 5 maybe a bath would have brought her round a bit - used to work a treat with mine! also used to do the dream feed thing if not enough milk taken in evening - also a good thing!

mawbroon · 05/07/2006 20:31

I started one for ds about 7 weeks ago. He is now 8.5 months and naps at the specified times and sleeps through the night without a peep. It is set in stone and any variations from it result in disaster!!

6.30 or 7am wake and breastfeed
between 7.30 and 8am breakfast
9am nap for a minimum of 1.5 hours, sometimes longer, followed by bf
between noon and 1230 lunch followed by bf
2pm - nap until at least 3.30pm, sometimes later. often (but not always followed by bf)
5pm tea
6pm bath/teeth brushed etc
6.30pm breastfeed
6.55pm bed
7pm sleep

It has transformed both our lives. We were all over the place before (not with bedtimes though as that had been set since 12 weeks). I never knew when to make appointments or what time to meet people. Ds would have just dropped off and then it would be time to go out. It was a complete nightmare. Now we both know exactly where we are and what we are doing. I can't recommend it highly enough.

2OldSofty · 05/07/2006 21:34

Jaysfirst. I have a routine that is routinely being broken! Your description of your day sounds just like mine. DS is 10 months this week and we've had good routines, followed by real breaks in them. Interruptions such a teething, being poorly and very hot weather don't help. Sometimes plans don't quite work out when DS suddenly needs a nap, but never mind! They are only babies for a very short time, so I'm beginning to enjoy the unknown - everyday is different.

CADS · 05/07/2006 21:46

I got very hang up on routines with ds (my 1st) and landed getting myself stressed and by 8mnths I was depressed.

With dd, I am a bit more relaxed and follow her signs. I put her down when she is showing signs of being tired and let her sleep how long she wants. Don't do any of this 'nap at 9.30am for 30mins only' thing anymore. I find her naps are roughly at the same time each day.

I do however try to feed her every 3-3.5hrs during the day so that she has all her calories. She goes down between 7-8pm through to 6am, without any feeds. As for solids, we only started properly a week ago so am still working on it.

She's 7.5 mnths BTW

Sassafrass · 05/07/2006 22:02

We have a loose routine which is enforced by my daughter who is 18months old =)

7ish wake up, she gets her swedish cereal drink, plays on her own while me or her dad lounges on sofa and tries to wake up.
8ish, breakfast, porridge over half the house
9.30, daughter bangs on door, throws her shoes at me and we go outside for a walk to the park or to a playgroup.
12.00 lunch and then nap
2.00 wake up from nap and play indoors for a bit
2.30 repeat performance of banging on door and throwing shoes until we go outside for a walk or to go play with some of her toddler friends.
4.30 home for dinner and more lounging on the sofa for knackered mum while daughter climbs over the sofa and generally has a great time.
5.30 Cereal drink, bath, story and then bed.
6.00 Toddler is asleep, mummy and daddy are happy but tired.

Sassafrass · 05/07/2006 22:03

Forgot to add, we've had the same routine since she was 11 months, before that she had two naps a day.

archiesmummy · 05/07/2006 22:38

Hi, my ds is 6 months and for the last month or so we wake up around 7ish. DS sleeps 3 times in the day and the naps last around 1 hour each, so about 2 hours inbetween naps then a bit longer in evening before bedtime. This works well for us. Unfortunately, since chicken pox and then teething (and perhaps this lovely weather aswell?) our night time routine is none exsistant.

Original poster

Jaysfirst · 06/07/2006 07:31

good to hear that theres such a mixture of routines, from none to exact timings! I guess it goes to show that everyone is truely different yet at the same time babies survive, grow and develop none the less!
Its fraustrating when i read that other people follow the lead of their LO's and that their routine just fell into place,I did try and let DD lead me in what she wants, but varied so much from day to day that it confused me so it must confuse her. Hence why i wanted to have some structure so i knew what i was doing. I suppose i have to be grateful that bedtime/nightime routine is nigh on perfect, daytime will have to come in time!!!

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archiesmummy · 06/07/2006 08:37

You're right Jaysfirst. I never thought we would have a routine and was never too worried about it. One day I suddenly realised that ds had his naps almost exactly 2 hours after waking throughout the day.. guess if I was pleasantly surprised!!!
I did put him in his cot as soon as I saw the tiredness signs though.
The main thing is that you are both happy, isn't it?

Original poster

Jaysfirst · 06/07/2006 15:03

archiesmum, i would be a lot happy if she did do the same things at the same sort of time everyday, but only becasue it fits in with me more!! I guess i am not going to be lucky enough to have a baby that falls into her own ways and provides me with her built in routine, i will have to persevere with what i am doing for now!

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