Baby morning routine - am I doing it wrong?

[007mummy]

Looking for some advice please!

My baby boy is 6 months old (4 months correct as was 2 months premature).

He was initially exclusively breastfed but now combi fed with only formula at bedtime and during the night. He's never slept through the night always woke for feed/s since we got him home from the hospital.

He doesn't get fed at the same time every day, sometimes goes 3 or 4 hours between feeds so I don't feel he's in a routine that way anyway but works for us during the day. But bedtime is always roughly the same time (usually 7.30-8.30) and he looks to go to bed so we give him a bottle before bed and he goes to sleep no problem (most times!)

Now once he's fed at bed time he usually wakes after 4ish hours, feed him and he goes back to sleep. After this feed it's a mystery, sometimes he goes 3/4/5 even 7 hours(!!) it is very unpredictable.

I'm just trying to figure out when his actual morning wake up time is? Eg last night he woke up at 1am, got fed and back to sleep. He then woke at 5.30am fed and back to sleep. He then woke at 8.30am, was calm and babbling I managed to change nappy etc but then he got fed around 9 and literally fell sound asleep afterwards and was rubbing eyes and so I put him back into his bed and he went back to sleep. It's now 10.15am and he's still asleep!

Did I do wrong? I feel like every other baby is up at 7am/8am and that's them getting up and fed and dressed but my baby wants to sleep. Is it because he doesn't sleep through the night?

Just looking for some thoughts and advice please! X

Firstly on the routine front, with my first I beat myself up from about 3 months because I couldn't get him in a routine like all these websites were talking about, he didn't get into a proper routine till about 6/7 months so don't worry about that at all, it will come.

Secondly, night time wakings, my son didn't sleep through till he was about 15 months! And even then he went to bed at 7.30 and would be up between 5 and 6, he just was an early riser. Is your little one on any solids yet? Once the weaning starts it may help him feel fuller for longer to get a longer stretch overnight. My son used to do 8hrs till 3/4 am then feed then go back to sleep for a couple of hours, but that went on for a long time.

Are they going straight back to sleep after night time wakings? You could try to make sure they are in bed for sleep at 7.30pm each night and hopefully they will get the required sleep to have a consistent wake up time. Look at some example routines online and just try to roughly get it to fit, ie set wake windows, but don't beat yourself up if it isn't perfect it will come very soon I am sure. Nothing worse than trying to entertain a tired baby to fit in with a routine of they need a sleep.

I am much more relaxed with my second, currently 3.5 months, I am not even trying a set routine till after we get back from holiday at 6 months, although her bedtime routine is pretty much the same every night that's it.

Forget the ‘routine’ crap and people like your sister who has a baby who runs like clockwork. There’s always one of those women around when you have your own baby 😄 Remember, your baby is an individual. You are trying to do the best for them not copy another baby’s life.

The morning sounds fine. At that age my babies used to wake around 7/7.30, breastfeed, then usually go back to sleep around 9/9.30.

One thing I will say is that maybe 7.30pm for bedtime is a little early. When mine were babies, I didn’t put them down for bed until just before we went to bed. They had a last breastfeed around 10 or so, then went to bed. As they got a bit older, that bedtime moved forward to 9.30pm roughly (this was somewhere between 6-9 months, I think), then moved slightly earlier again when they were a toddler, then a final move to a ‘child bedtime’ when they were 2 or so (don’t remember exactly when as they had siblings by then so my brain was fried).

Listen to what he’s telling you. He has a lot of catching up to do - he might need to have extra naps sometimes. You literally only need to try and intervene if he has a full day night reversal. Waking at night for feeds is completely normal so not something to worry about unless he then stays awake for a long time with no obvious reason (like teething or illness). Be kind to him and to yourself. And as far as routines go - some babies are naturally easily encouraged into a routine or find their own - others aren’t. For many babies they only develop more of a pattern to their days from 4 months (his true age) on and even then many things will disrupt it.

Every baby is different, mine wasn't up early either, he was normally waking 1-2 twice per night, got changed and fed and slept again. He was going to bed around 8, which we still do and he is now 2, but he is waking up earlier now that he did as a baby. Nothing to worry, he is on his own timetable. As long he is eating well and having enough wet nappies, you are doing fine.

I had one baby that didn’t sleep through the night until he was about 7-8 years old, next one did sleep through from day one. Half the time it isn’t what you do, it is who they are. Clean, happy and loved will get you through. You’re doing great!👍

Best advice ever.

I think this is probably normal?
my babies were both super lazy so would sleep 12+ hours and then go down for another nap at 9.30am with naps in the afternoon too