Routine

[newby87]

I have 8 week old who literally feeds every 3 hours. He cries a lot if he's not being held or got a bottle. I'm wanting to try get him into some sort of routine if anyone could offer some help and tips if he very grateful Thankyou

My breastfed baby could have never gone three hours between feeds at 8 weeks. What sort of routine are you thinking? Your baby is really young for that. Mine were about 6 months by the tile we got any sort of routine going unfortunately. The first three months are the hardest.

I'd say 3 hours between feeds is pretty good, my almost 10 month old goes 3-4 hours between his bottles still.
I started trying to get a routine down around 4ish months old, and I found online templates and sleep schedule examples really helpful.

I think 8 weeks is too young for a proper routine, I didn’t start trying until 4 months. If he’s going 3 hours between feeds that’s already a sort of routine so he’s doing well already.

The first 3 months are often called the Fourth Trimester so it's unreasonable to expect a routine. If there's older siblings baby might end up being woken up at the same time every day for a feed so mum can do a nursery/school run.

During the Fourth Trimester it's totally normal to want to be held all of the time. He was snuggly inside of you for 9 months so needs time to adjust to being outside you now. I know it's relentless, hard and you probably feel like every other baby has cracked it but be patient - 3 hours is good going and probably the longer side of average when not going through a growth spurt.

I had a routine from the first day home. That didn't mean my baby had one - it took some weeks of repetition for them to get in to it. As stated above, the first three months are hard, but I found it helped for me to get a schedule. Days I pretty much followed the baby - if he got cranky then down for a nap, but the crucial thing is to wake them after a certain time.
Night time routine was extremely important. I would bathe, read a story (that young just make something up) or sing (my poor babies!), feed then down when drowsy but awake. If they fussed after, go back in, a few strokes and calm voice (do not pick up unless screaming), repeat repeat repeat. I'd wake baby for sleepy feed before I went to bed, and baby would wake up again for another at some point, then any time they woke after 6am day starts. Baby was in own room with monitor, lights completely out.
My son was a good sleeper and seemed to get into this quite quickly, though he was always an early riser (still is st 17). My daughter had reflux and was quite hard to get down initially but even she had it down pat by three months.
Perseverance, repetition, success!
I would like to add I never let them cry for more than a few minutes - sometimes they cry out but fall back themselves, but if it went on or they sounded distressed I was right in there.

Feeding every three hours is great at 8 weeks and pretty much the start of a routine for that age - wake, feed, wind, change nappy, playmat/bouncer, nap and repeat!

I found Nanny Louenna really helpful for routines - Instagram or she has an app

Sounds completely normal, how about you get yourself a sling so your hands free?

After having read through these comments. I am quite happy it's prob too soon for a routine. I wasn't sure at all. I'm guessing this is what this is for hey, I really appreciate the feedback. Would anyone advise on roughly when you start to apply a routine in? Thankyou

He is very windy baby from birth, so I think he's in pain with his belly a lot I'm currently on infacol and he has gaviacon( hospital advised us) as he was in hospital for 2 weeks after being born. Anyone any ideas for it, pooing every 2 days.

I wouldn't start a routine before 3 months as they tend to sleep much still before that.

Re pooping, I do think every baby is different in that respect and just because they strain and push doesn't mean they are constipated. Is the belly hard and distended? Crying whilst pooping? Any feeding issues?

So I did have a routine from about 8 weeks but our routine was to feed every two hours after each nap. So she would be awake for 45 minutes- an hour, then sleep for an hour, then feed. That was our routine. As wake time increased the feeds became more spaced out.

@newby87 I found gripe water better than infacol!

He does have a hard tummy but it's only sometimes, it's not constant. I'm sorry for bombarding everyone just want to get it right and make it as easy as possible for him, we are in care of alder hey as he has Pierre robin syndrome, and I did forget to mention which is a biggy his teeth are coming now, which is a part of the syndrome. So when he cries we don't know if it's his teeth his belly his nappy.