Routine

[OnNaturesCourse]

I just genuinely got asked if my 1 week old DD had a nighttime routine, ie. Bedtime etc

Am I wrong in thinking she sleeps 1-2 hours, eats, burps, gets some cuddles and the cycle starts again... Its not a bedtime routine, it's just her general routine.

Am I wrong in thinking a tiny baby doesn't have a night time routine? I just work round her until her awake/sleep ratio starts to switch...

Yes. No baby has a routine after 7 nights.

Ignore. And don't waste your precious downtime posting about such tiny tiny throw away comments! Most people suffer social anxiety, never know what to say and just dribble nonsense. It's not a line of dialogue she will have spent hours co spidering, it's just a stock phrase blurted out.

I could understand if it was a other mum (with similar aged baby) asking, as in do you do a particular routine before bedtime? But even so, as you rightly say, at a week old any bedtime routine is futile as a newborn hasn't developed their sense of day/night etc.

Think some people just want to make interesting conversation but it can come across wrong, so try and laugh it off, next time (depending on the person) try and make a light hearted joke of it.

With both of mine it was about 3 months before there was any semblance of a routine. At 1 week it was feed-poo-sleep-poo-poo-feed-feed-scream-sleep. If there was a pattern, I couldn't see it.

Having said that, my mum used to be a GP receptionist, and one day got a phone call from the mum of a 2-day-old, who was insisting that her DD was ill because her cry "wasn't her usual cry".

Hehe! I hope you laughed out loud. Entirely stupid question. Your "routine" sounds spot on, as you were!

I'll get flamed for this but we started a bedtime routine for our baby from around a week old. Just bath, milk and into bedroom. Timings depended on when he seemed ready, it was nothing militant but I honestly believe it helped him identify bedtime/nighttime from the word go and he's always been a great sleeper. I also made sure we were up and around, lights on etc from around 07:30 latest even as a newborn. I know that how well a baby sleeps will also be largely down to luck but with any future babies I will do the same again.

You will get plenty of people saying that it's physically impossible for a baby to learn habits until they're much older but I find it interesting that those are always the same people who say that sleep training is evil as a baby just learns no one will respond to it. I'm not advocating sleep training on a newborn by the way, just pointing out an observation I've made from MN.

To each their own - do whatever will keep you and your baby happy and relaxed. For us that was a (loose) routine from the off.

We have a warm bottle, cuddle in bed and into crib routine but it can start anywhere from 6pm to 9pm depending on what we are doing that night/if LO is tired (if we've been in the car/out in pram she sleeps a lot and therefore is more awake at night)

It was actually asked by a very close family friend who has had a baby... 19 years ago.

Thanks for the input, just felt like I was maybe missing a trick!

We have a warm bottle, cuddle in bed and into crib routine but it can start anywhere from 6pm to 9pm depending on what we are doing that night/if LO is tired (if we've been in the car/out in pram she sleeps a lot and therefore is more awake at night)

It was actually asked by a very close family friend who has had a baby... 19 years ago.

Thanks for the input, just felt like I was maybe missing a trick!

What a ridiculous question.

OP brace yourself, the thoughtless questions and comments about every detail of you and your child's life only get more crazy/rude/judgemental etc as time goes on!

I'm beginning to realise the questions will never end..

😂
Eat, sleep, nappy, repeat...

You can maybe (baby depending) start a routine at around 12 weeks. Or maybe you can’t be arsed and that’s fine too.

I'm quite happy in her "routine" - she's happy and thriving so our "routine" obviously ain't that bad!

I need to get a thicker skin and a bat for these comments I think...