I can't believe that by next Saturday, Miss Jenna will be 3 months old! Now that she's a little older, I've been debating trying to put her on a "schedule".
Since birth, I've been taking the "baby led schedule" approach. I was lucky in that she's always slept so good at night, so we've never had any problems with that. She still wakes up once or twice to nurse, but that's it.
I tried to do the Eat-Awake-Sleep-Your Time schedule during the day. It lasted about 2 days. She was so young and going through growth spurts that I ended up getting frustrated because some days she didn't sleep hardly at all, and most days she just nursed non-stop. My frustration led me to give up on that until she got a bit older. And the fact that I quit my job made it easy to say that we didn't "need" a schedule because we were at home.
Now she's three months old she has been spending more and more time awake and less time nursing. I've been thinking about trying to put her down for a morning nap and an afternoon nap at specific times.
There's lots of moms out there that swear by "schedules" and believe that structure is good for babies. I'm on the fence... In a way I'd love a schedule because perhaps it would make it easier for me to schedule outings, appointments, etc. However, the other part of me is worried that I will become obsessed with following the "schedule" to the point where it becomes burdensome and causes me stress.
Personally, my parenting style has been more of a "go with the flow", spontaneous, and flexible approach. As a new mom, I've just been learning as I go and trying to adjust things as needed.
Any moms out there have personal experiences with this? Did you follow a schedule for your little one? Or were you more of a "go with the flow" kind of mom? What worked for you? I'd love to hear your comments!
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11 comments:
Both girls followed a schedule that they sort of came to by themselves, but I probably helped a little. Funny how time blurs your memories. It's probably the sleep deprivation working on me.
They both took naps in the morning, but then the youngest would not take too many naps.
Ok, Here I go. If you put your little one down for like 30 minutes in the morning, and she doesn't go to sleep, at least you are giving here some time to her self and away from you. That helps you both down the road. If at the end of the 30 minutes, she does not go to sleep, you can probably get her and put her in her bouncy seat or whatever where you are. Same with the afternoon.
Nope I don't have a degree in Early Child Development, but that's what I can tell after surviving, I mean joyously raising two girls to the grand age of almost 6 & 8!
I think if the baby does well on the schedule, use it! My first wasn't on one and it worked for us, I fed when he was hungry, and he napped when he was tired. My second one though, thrives on his schedule! They are just mini people... some adults HAVE to have a schedule and others just like to wing it! Good luck!
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I have kept my son on a very strict schedule since he was about 3 weeks because he had colic really bad and it was one of the only things that helped:)
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Yes, I believe in the schedule, not the "strict, can never bend" schedule, but the "loose, use as a guide" schedule. I started at 6 weeks with my oldest anad day one with my 2nd. I didn't nurse, so it helped as I could easily stop and feed in the middle of the mall or if we were out without much issue. I also didn't stress if the 1st nap was 20 minutes and the later nap was 3 hours, but I generally tried to gauge their cues and would put them down even if they didn't generally seem "tired" after about 3 hours. I had read that once a baby seemed tired they were overtired and it was harder for them to sleep. So both of my girls would go down for naps awake in their bed. I read the Baby Whisperer (which is sounds like you read as well) and loved it. I had tried Baby Wise at first and I thought it was evil - especially when my oldest wouldn't sleep as the book said she would - LOL. Good luck - I think you should do what works for you - if you are comfortable not being on a schedule and you don't feel you need to be, don't do it. For my sanity, I needed to be - I needed my girls sleeping through the night and the schedule did it - 10 weeks and 6 weeks (10-12 hours each night!) Good luck!
Jennifer (Green Door Girl) greendoordesigns.blogspot.com
My little guy follows his own schedule. He pretty much wants to nap around 10, and then again around 3. He is then ready for bed at 8. He signs to us that he is ready for bed. I do have to admit, that I love his schedule!
Do what works for your family.
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I had 4 kids within 5 years and none were on a schedule...it was stressful (but wouldn't 4 kids in 5 years be stressful anyway?) but I managed. I didn't know how I'd manage a sleep schedule with work schedules, doctors' appointments, etc.
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Keenly Kristin
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Im a go with the flow type of mom. Mostly just because we are busy and I could never have set nap times for R..now I love that she can nap at 11 or nap at 4. She always goes to bed at 9 and wakes up at 9 but she kind of put herself on the schedule other than that we just wing it.
I didn’t have any kind of a schedule with Chloe because it was just her and I for the first 4 months before I got a job again and I catered to her completely (no regrets there). With my job and being on-call, it’s been hard to do a schedule since I was working random hours and couldn’t stick to one. We eventually started implementing a consistent bedtime which we have enjoyed sticking to (used to be 8 but now it’s 7:30 because she has school in the morning). Auron was born into a bit of a schedule since Chloe was on one and he has always been more of a schedule person anyway. He needs consistency or he gets crazy (almost to an autistic level), so I do think it depends on the person too. Keep in mind that I’m talking about a toddler and preschooler here, but if they get off their schedule, it’s a bit of a mess because they lack adequate sleep. I’m not going to put this baby on a schedule until he/she’s about 9 months or older. I think the important thing for babies is to follow their cues and work with their natural rhythms. As far as breastfeeding goes, it’s important to always feed when she’s hungry since babies get about 30% of their milk volume at night. Good luck!
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