How do you get an infant on a schedule?

Question

my son will be 4 months on the 27th of this month and we do not have a routine, when he's hungry i feed him and when he's sleepy i put him to sleep. i dont get how your suppose to get a baby on a schedule. the only problem that i am really facing is how long he sleeps. only after he poops, has a warm bath and a warm bottle will he stay asleep longer then 4 hours, his naps throughout the day are about 1-2 hours long. during the night he wakes up probally about 3-4 times between 8pm and 6 pm but my cousin has a infant around the same age as mine adn she has this scheduling thing down pact, i was just wondering how do you start a schedule

Answer 1

I hate to say it, but babies kind of just figure it out. Each baby is different, and figures things out at a different pace. The most dangerous thing to do is compare babies, b/c then you might feel your baby is behind in development. Just go with the flow. As your baby gets older, he will fall into a pattern. Just try to remain as consistent as possible to help it along.  

Answer 2

You really don't need to put him on a schedule this early!  He is still pretty small for that.  You shouldn't deny him sleep or food or give him food when he's not hungry just so you can be on a schedule.  Also remember that some babies just are not as good with a schedule, and most aren't good with one til they are much older.

If you have the ability to be a stay at home mom, then dont worry about it and just enjoy these times.  If you need a break, get a relative, friend or someone to babysit.

Answer 3

If your happy with how things are going then there is no need to put your bub on a schedule.

I didnt put my son on a schedule until he was 8 months old. When I did I used to get him up at the same time (7.30am) put him down for his first nap at 11am and regardless of how long he slept I would keep him awake until 2.30pm when he would have another nap. Then bed at 7-7.30pm. It took about a week and a few days of a tired baby as he was a terrible cat-napper and it took him a while to start sleeping longer.

If you put them down at about the same time each day for a nap/sleep then their body naturally begins to feel tired at those times and they go to sleep easier and for longer. Atleast thats what I found worked for my son.

I used to feed him not long after waking and give him a little snack or milk before each nap/sleep.

Answer 4

Why do you need a schedule?  You can't make him sleep when he isn't tired, or keep him away when he is; and you certainly can't (or shouldn't) make him eat whenhe isn't hungry or deny him food when he is.

It sounds like your baby is on a sensible, normal pattern that works for HIM.  3 month old babies eat at night.  3 month old babies take brief naps, because they have to eat often during the day.

If you REALLY want/need a schedule, there are lots of 'sleep training' books out there that use programs of varying severity to push baby into a particular eating and sleeping pattern.  The book that will work best for you depends on how much you are willing to make your baby scream and cry. Go to the bookstore/library and browse. (But remember that, no matter what the various authors claim, there is no one 'right' way of sleep training, no guarantee that any program will work  -- and indeed, there is no reason you HAVE to sleep train at all. Babies DO begin to STTN when they are physically able to do so.)

Answer 5

i'm going to disagree with everyone on this...I don't think anything is wrong with schedules at this age. it usually makes for a happier baby and a happier mom (at least in my experience!). Schedules are definitely not necessarily but if you want a little more predictability to your days then they're great! (and TOTALLY harmless, by the way!).  babies usually thrive if they have a good little routine. it helps them sleep longer and better too.

My baby had a good rhythm to her day from early on. In the first few months she always had an eat-sleep-play-eat-sleep-play-rhythm. I always tried to maintain this rhythm and not disrupt it.  One thing i did that really helped was to track her eating & sleeping habits. I bought this book, but you can just record it on an excel sheet or in a notebook.  

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Tracker-Round...

I tracked her naps & feedings (what time,  how long, how much) for the first few months.  I began to notice certain trends to her day -- she liked to sleep at similar times each day, she tended to go 2-3 hours between feedings, she tended to take 4 naps a day, etc.  Her habits changed and evolved over time, and i was able to adjust our days to accommodate her new routine.  I never "put" my baby on a schedule, but i did pay attention to her internal rhythm (all babies have them!) and encouraged it.  The most important thing you can do, is do the SAME THING EVERY DAY. Your baby will catch on and adjust. So, if you like to go on walks, do it at the same time every day (awake time for her). if you go on errands, do them at the same time every day, etc.

Around 4 1/2 months my baby was taking three naps a day, i think.  one early morning, one around noon, and one in the mid to later afternoon. she went to sleep at 7pm, woke up at 2/3am to eat, and then woke up at 7am for the day.  she was having 7 bottles a day, i think?  

this is an AWESOME age to start a routine. babies are pretty flexible now and will go with the flow.  

Another thing that helped bring more regularity is to make sure your baby doesn't "snack" with her bottles. having a full feeding will help her sleep longer and go a few hours between each bottle.  My baby ate every 3 hours at this age (about 5-6 ounces each feeding).

We do a nighttime routine, which i highly recommend if you don't do it already. I give her a tubby, lotion her up, change, bedtime bottle, cuddle in the rocking chair, then i put her in the crib awake. I started this at 3 1/2 months and it's done wonders....  

One last thing, if you can try to get your baby to eat more during the day she'll probably wake up less at night. my baby is about to turn 8 months and has JUST started sleeping through the night (fingers crosses this continues....).  

good luck!!