9 week old baby routines

[Fiddlesticks345]

I know that some people fundamentally disagree with ‘routines’ for young babies, and I completely respect that, but is there anyone out there who doesn’t disagree with routines and who has established any sort of routine with a 9 week old? For example rough sleeping times, feeding times, social times etc., and tips on how you established these? I am a first time mum and feel like I just need some kind of structure in my days if at all possible. I am EBF. Thanks in advance!

Sorry I can't offer much help but I know there is an app called Huckleberry which might be useful.

I don’t think that many people are against routines. Most of us eventually fall in to them at around 9 weeks, but it’s quite an organic process and not based on timings. You have a sequence in which you tend do things and that is a routine in my opinion. But trying to get them to conform to timings can be pretty stressful and futile, and their needs are still changing so much from week to week at that age, you won’t be able to maintain any timings for very long as they can gradually go for longer without a feed or nap. You decide nap time is at around 3 - but if your baby isn’t tired yet there’s not much you can do. You can decide feeds are at certain times - but if your baby may not be hungry yet. I think having a structure to the day is really useful - but the timings need to be very flexible. The routine/sequence in which you like to do things can be whatever you want it to be - following your DC’s lead will really help.

Hi! I have a 9 week old and have a routine. It isnt one that we imposed on him though, we were led by him.

Generally he'll have a long nap at midday between 11-1300ish. The naps either side of this are 30mins to 1hr each. His last nap of the day will be somewhere around 1700ish and last 45mins or so. At 1830ish we'll give him a bath and a bottle and put him to 'bed'.

Does your baby have a loose routine? Something you notices he/she does everyday?

Also, this has changed a bit as hes gotten older. The constant has been the long midday nap and the bath before bed. Agree with PP, the timings are still very loose at this stage.

Thanks for the responses! I’ve noticed that in the daytime she wants to feed roughly every 2.5-3 hours, and that she starts to get grumpy and sleepy once she’s been awake for around 1.5 hours. At night she goes down to sleep in her crib (next to my bed) after a feed at around 10:30pm and wakes around 3:30am for the next feed. Then she goes back down again until around 7:30am. I’m having a real problem with daytime naps, though. I’ll be able to see that she’s tired but she’s so hard to actually get to sleep- have tried cuddling her in different positions, putting her down in her Moses basket (in the living room) with the lights dimmed to see if she can settle herself, pushing her round in her pram, walking round cradling her and rocking her etc., and she just resists for ages - then before I know it she needs feeding again. So the daytime just feels like it has no structure at all. She has a bath every day at around 7pm and seems tired afterwards but resists sleep until around 9:30pm when she’ll have a short nap before waking up for the 10:30pm feed. Hope that makes sense, sorry I’m a bit knackered.

My baby is 9 weeks old and approximately has a sleep at 10, 2 and 5. But sometimes they're shorter so she has an extra one, or the 10 o clock one is really long so the 2 o clock on is pushed back. I wouldnt call it a routine yet!

One thing to bear in mind - in this heat an EBF baby might want to breastfeed more frequently because they're thirsty.

Try some other methods to get her to go to sleep. The only things which work for me are putting her in the sling for a walk or rocking in the bouncy chair or nursing chair. If you can find a method which works for your baby that makes things a lot easier!

My baby can only really stay awake for an hour, he'd never get to 1.5hrs. Is it possible shes getting too tired?

and that she starts to get grumpy and sleepy once she’s been awake for around 1.5 hours.

As a pp said maybe she’s getting too tired, especially if like you say she’s getting grumpy. I would maybe anticipate the nap a bit earlier before she gets cranky - pop her in her pram for a little walk or have a nice cuddle after an hour or an hour and a quarter to see if she falls asleep more easily.

Hi
My daughter is almost 9 weeks and we have no daytime routine. She is EBF and tends to want feeding hourly during the day and then sleeps for approximately 30minutes after each feed. She tends to have long feeds before bed and sleeps from 10pm until 4am. I'm not sure whether she should have a routine or not at this age!

I highly recommend The Blissful baby expert for the first few months. Was a life saver for me!

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! It makes sense that she might need to go to sleep sooner than 1.5 hours so will start trying to get her to nap after an hour. Will also look at the app and book mentioned!