Getting baby on a schedule

Putting baby on a schedule allows you to plan your day and give you some sanity, and maybe even some sleep.  It also makes it easier to predict what your baby needs which allows you to provide him better care and makes both of you happier. You can start a schedule whenever it seems right to you - every baby and mom are different but you'll know when it seems like baby can handle it.  If he doesn't get it right away, don't be frustrated, it will happen with time.  Also know that it will change all the time - babies hit growth spurts, day light savings time will come along, and some times things just get thrown for a loop.  Go with the flow, it will be OK!

Now that my sweet baby has started to sleep regularly, I decided to try to put him on a schedule.  The plan is to feed him at 3, 6, 9, and 12 (am and pm, my guy is still little!) with a nap from 1-3 pm, and then down for the night from 9 pm to 9 am. My strategy so far has been to offer him sleep, or food when they fall on the schedule, but never to keep sleep or food from him just because "it's not time yet." (how cruel!) Even if he just ate at 2:30, I offer him food again at 3:00 so that hopefully he won't be hungry again until 6:00.  I do not wake him up for the midnight, 3 am, or 6 am feedings.  If he is up I feed him, if not I enjoy the sleep.  If you do get in the habit of waking a baby in the night to eat, they will start waking up at that time every night because it's what they're used to, even when they don't need to any more.

That being said, here is what a typical day for us is starting to look like:

6 am: Baby wakes, gets a diaper, eats, and goes back to sleep.  I stay awake and get ready for the day.
9 am: Baby wakes, gets a new diaper, eats, and I get him ready for the day.
10:30 am: We GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Yes, you can leave the house with a baby, even if its just for an hour.  We go to story time at the library, a play group, the park, grocery shopping, or a walk. We both go stir crazy sitting around all day.
12 pm: Back home for diaper change, and lunch for both of us.
1 pm: Nap time for both of us!  Baby sleeps from 1-3, but I get up at 2 to get some things done around the house. (If he won't sleep then we snuggle from 1-2 and I put him in the front pack while I clean from 2-3. He almost always passes out in the front pack anyway, so it kills two birds with one stone.)
3 pm: Baby wakes, gets a diaper and eats. (If he doesn't wake, I let him sleep. He'll wake up to eat eventually!)
4 pm: Play time, tummy time, and story time until Daddy gets home from work
6 pm: Dinner for both of us, followed by family time
9 pm: Baby has typically drifted off by now, but I sneak in a quick "dream feed," get him into his night time diaper and pj's and rock him until he is sound asleep.  Some people say that nursing or rocking your baby to sleep is a bad habit, but I enjoy it because he'll only be little for a short time and I want to enjoy every second of it.  It's comforting for both of us, but you have to make the decision that is right for you and your baby when it comes to this.
At this point baby usually wakes up twice during the night for food, and maybe a diaper change. I bring him into bed with me to nurse him, and then put him back in his crib when he is asleep.  He usually drifts back off quickly after he eats.


Getting him on a schedule has had ups and downs. Offering him food at scheduled times is easy, but the tricky part is offering him sleep when its time.I recently read the book The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer, and it's done wonders to help my baby get to sleep.  Swaddling, swinging, and shushing him and then giving him something to suck on (pacifier, my thumb, his fingers...whatever he wants) has been a godsend.  Now I can calm him at nap time and watch him go off to sleep.  He is so easy to put back to sleep at night, and I am more rested too! My whole family is happier.  Now if only I could find a cloth diaper to get him through the night, things might get even easier for us.