entertaining a new born

[jabuti]

hi there! im not sure if i should be posting this here or in the post-natal thread... but let me know

we have a gorgeous little baby who is almost 3 weeks old and we are starting the gina ford routine with her. i know not everyone likes her method, but its working for us.

my question is... is there anyone out there that have done her routine for a newborn? if so, how do you keep your baby awake? thats the only bit we are having a hard time figuring out, because she keeps falling asleep during the awake times and its soooo hard to entertain a newborn.

[Jojay]

Juuule - what you say is exactly right.

If you don't know what you're doing with a newborn, routines are a good place to start.

I completely agree that they shouldn't be adhered to like glue if it is clearly not working, and yes, they can cause a lot of upset if you try.

IME most people on 'routines' operate on a flexible basis, but it can give new mums a lot of confidence to have a guideline to follow - I know that was my reason for starting off with it. A few weeks down the line, when my ds objected, I had the confidence to go with it, and our own, flexible routine evolved.

[Yurtgirl]

We had enormous trouble getting our lo's to sleep

Newborns love to sleep as a rule - as long as he isnt keeping you up all night be grateful for the peace and quiet - it wont last!

Trying to keep a baby awake who wants to be asleep is likely to lead a very tired grumpy baby who wont sleep when you ask him too!

[kittywits]

Routines for newborns??? What a load of old crock.
What a lot of contol freaks.
You've had a baby, your life has changed
Stop trying to control it
poor baby