Up until now I have demand-fed DD, she has slept when she wanted, etc. This suited her well until maybe three weeks ago when her feeding pattern changed, she no longer seems able to go to sleep without a protracted period of crying and fretfulness beforehand and is by turns irritable when held and then very clingy when put down. I think the time has come when she would benefit from some kind of routine. I'm not talking about a Gina Ford-like regimine but just more structure to her day.
At the moment she wakes at about 8am and is changed and fed straight away. She will then sit and play with me for an hour or so before going for a sleep. This can last up to 3-3.5 hours, normal is 2.5-3. She is fed again around 12- 1 and seems really hungry but often manages only 3-4 oz. This is our at home pattern. A couple of mornings a week, we go out to library sessions, etc. so she will be woken earlier but still feeds at the same time and only a small feed.
We are out everyday during the afternoon and she sleeps on and off during this period and also has a lot of stimulation between sleeps (we go to mums and babies, baby classes, etc.) She will either sleep for another two or three hours in total in the afternoon or if she is unable to sleep for more than 10 mins or so at a time, will sleep in the evening for maybe two or three hours. She often will not feed again until 6-7pm in the evening. In the last couple of days, we have been giving her a couple of spoonfuls of baby rice at this meal.
The evening is variable depending upon what she has done during the day and how much she has slept. She will often have a longish sleep and wake up at 8pm for another feed. She is then really alert and restless until 11pm-1am when we give her another feed and she eventually falls asleep.
Sometimes she falls asleep in our arms in the living room but often I will take her into our (darkened) room for a while and hold her but with no eye contact, little talking. This works well and calms her down and eventually when she is drowsy I put her in her cot and sit by her side without talking, much touching, and she will go to sleep. The only thing we have been consistent about is that once put to bed, she does not leave the bedroom until morning. If she cries and is very distressed, I will pick her up and then put her down again when she is calm. When she wakes during the night, I leave her for a while as she has been able to resettle herself to sleep but she has a dummy that she seems to have become attached to over the last few weeks and she will often cry now until that is put back into her mouth and then she falls asleep straight away. I had wanted to move her to her own room at 6 months but I'm not sure how I can do that now she has become attached to her dummy.
I think she needs a routine - she is not as contented as she was. I would like something flexible as I do take her out every day at different times and something that is responsive to her needs and that still allows her to lead the way a little. I should have said she is formula-fed.