Diaper Swappers

pottermomma · 08-07-2012, 06:35 AM

How old were your babies when you started trying to schedule them?

My baby boy will be 8w on Wednesday and he sleeps about 5-6 hours straight in the night. Basically he goes down around 830-930 and then my hubby wakes him up around midnight to eat and then sleeps until 5-6am. If he isn't woken up then he gets up around 2-3am which I just can't do anymore.

So I'm fine with nights for now but then he is so hard to schedule during the day. I can get normally one hour nap it if him and then a lot of cat naps and maybe 30-40 minutes one or twice I'm the afternoon. It drives me crazy because I can't get anything done or make dinner.

So when is an acceptable time to start or resources to go off of?

bezark · 08-07-2012, 07:06 AM

8 weeks is still *really* young and the 30-40 minute cat naps are totally normal. DS1 didn't start taking longer naps until he dropped to 1 nap at about 18months.

It sounds like he *has* a schedule, but it's not what you'd prefer.
Have you tried or considered baby wearing?
I hold my 4mo through most naps, because with my second I've learned to take advantage of the down time. I get the housework and cooking done while he's awake or dozing in a carrier.

babylove921 · 08-07-2012, 08:18 AM

8 weeks old is really young, so sorry. I had the same problem. Eventually he'll have a predictable schedule.

Bentley'sMomma · 08-07-2012, 08:29 AM

Yep, sounds like he has a schedule.... And a really good one too. Ds also never napped longer than 40 minutes until he went down to one nap around 18 months.

pottermomma · 08-07-2012, 12:21 PM

Lol yeah I would prefer more but I have nothing to compare him to so I wanted to ask. Thanks ladies. And I would baby wear but he's huge (12lb or more and 23") so it is hard on me because I'm pretty small or I would.

GEMQEMCABOOSE · 08-07-2012, 12:30 PM

We are a scheduling family here as are our friends. We schedule beginning somewhere between birth and 3 weeks depending on the baby. It is 40-45 minutes is a very common interval for babies to awake. Most will fall back asleep if they have learned to self soothe and have eaten well and had sufficient waketime throughout the day. We shoot for naps 90-120 minutes from birth on and do very very well with it, despite occasionally waking at that 45 minute mark. We feed our babies, keep them awake about 30-45 minutes after eating (change diaper in there) and then lay them down when drowsy for a nap. Drowsy means reading your baby's sleep cues. For many its that first yawn, restless movement of their heads or the first fuss. This is the happy sleep window! Early tired = likely to fall asleep happily and unassisted. This way we are assuring they aren't hungry, diaper is clean and dry, and they are ready for sleep after some socializing and activity. We have very little difficulty guiding our babies to this routine. Generally 2.5-3 hours after we woke them and fed them, they are awakened and fed again. that's we do with smashingly successful results. GL finding what works for you!

bezark · 08-07-2012, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottermomma

Lol yeah I would prefer more but I have nothing to compare him to so I wanted to ask. Thanks ladies. And I would baby wear but he's huge (12lb or more and 23") so it is hard on me because I'm pretty small or I would.

Have you given a good carrier a shot? My first was 24lb at 4 months, I'm relatively petite with chronic pain issues, and it was still LOADS easier for me to use a carrier than to hold him in my arms.
I don't mean this to say "look how tough I am," just that if you've never tried a good carrier, I think you'll be surprised.

isabelsmummy · 08-07-2012, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GEMQEMCABOOSE

We are a scheduling family here as are our friends. We schedule beginning somewhere between birth and 3 weeks depending on the baby. It is 40-45 minutes is a very common interval for babies to awake. Most will fall back asleep if they have learned to self soothe and have eaten well and had sufficient waketime throughout the day. We shoot for naps 90-120 minutes from birth on and do very very well with it, despite occasionally waking at that 45 minute mark. We feed our babies, keep them awake about 30-45 minutes after eating (change diaper in there) and then lay them down when drowsy for a nap. Drowsy means reading your baby's sleep cues. For many its that first yawn, restless movement of their heads or the first fuss. This is the happy sleep window! Early tired = likely to fall asleep happily and unassisted. This way we are assuring they aren't hungry, diaper is clean and dry, and they are ready for sleep after some socializing and activity. We have very little difficulty guiding our babies to this routine. Generally 2.5-3 hours after we woke them and fed them, they are awakened and fed again. that's we do with smashingly successful results. GL finding what works for you!

This is pretty much me. Although dd2 was never a great napper. She was a fabulous night time sleeper though so I just had to kind of go with it.

I have to say, even if you decide a schedule/routine is not for you, the KEY to sleep is watching for those sleep cues. (and at 8weeks they will be within an hour of waking) I can't emphasize it enough. If you catch that window of sleep right, putting them down for a nap is easy. Miss that window and try and put an overtired baby down and you'll have a screaming child. I always thought my dd1 was hungry when she was crying and with dd2 I realized that dd1 had been overtired!! No wonder she was always crying. She wanted to go to sleep and I kept feeding her!

GEMQEMCABOOSE · 08-07-2012, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isabelsmummy

Miss that window and try and put an overtired baby down and you'll have a screaming child. I always thought my dd1 was hungry when she was crying and with dd2 I realized that dd1 had been overtired!! No wonder she was always crying. She wanted to go to sleep and I kept feeding her!

I see this happen soooo often. Many times I will hear from a friend or acquaintance that their infant is eating every 45-60 minutes. I'm like ??????. Usually, that they are fussing at the breast or not really interested or keep unlatching. Some do, esp. at growth spurts, but so very often these were tired not hungry babies.

doodah · 08-07-2012, 01:09 PM

Check into the books by the Baby Whisperer for a how to put an infant on a routine. I like these books because it is not a strict schedule but information on how to read your own childs cues and particular needs. It sounds like you are off to a great start and kudos to you to recognize that daily routines and patterns are very important for children, even young ones!

08-07-2012, 06:35 AM	#1
pottermomma Registered Users Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,301 Ratings: 13 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	sleeping schedule How old were your babies when you started trying to schedule them? My baby boy will be 8w on Wednesday and he sleeps about 5-6 hours straight in the night. Basically he goes down around 830-930 and then my hubby wakes him up around midnight to eat and then sleeps until 5-6am. If he isn't woken up then he gets up around 2-3am which I just can't do anymore. So I'm fine with nights for now but then he is so hard to schedule during the day. I can get normally one hour nap it if him and then a lot of cat naps and maybe 30-40 minutes one or twice I'm the afternoon. It drives me crazy because I can't get anything done or make dinner. So when is an acceptable time to start or resources to go off of? __________________ Married since 08 Became parents 6.13.12

08-07-2012, 07:06 AM	#2
bezark Registered Users Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 3,101 Ratings: 38 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	8 weeks is still really young and the 30-40 minute cat naps are totally normal. DS1 didn't start taking longer naps until he dropped to 1 nap at about 18months. It sounds like he has a schedule, but it's not what you'd prefer. Have you tried or considered baby wearing? I hold my 4mo through most naps, because with my second I've learned to take advantage of the down time. I get the housework and cooking done while he's awake or dozing in a carrier. __________________ Robbyn, SAHM to Silas, 4/3/09 and Griffin, 3/23/12

08-07-2012, 08:18 AM	#3
babylove921 Registered Users Formerly: mrsdrums1 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 33617 Posts: 3,902 Ratings: 2 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	8 weeks old is really young, so sorry. I had the same problem. Eventually he'll have a predictable schedule. __________________ Megan, wife to Jason. Mommy to Asher, 2, Levi, 1 and Rebekah coming September 10.

08-07-2012, 12:21 PM	#5
pottermomma Registered Users Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,301 Ratings: 13 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Lol yeah I would prefer more but I have nothing to compare him to so I wanted to ask. Thanks ladies. And I would baby wear but he's huge (12lb or more and 23") so it is hard on me because I'm pretty small or I would. __________________ Married since 08 Became parents 6.13.12

08-07-2012, 12:30 PM	#6
GEMQEMCABOOSE Registered Users Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Beautiful Tennessee Posts: 3,229 Ratings: 128 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: sleeping schedule We are a scheduling family here as are our friends. We schedule beginning somewhere between birth and 3 weeks depending on the baby. It is 40-45 minutes is a very common interval for babies to awake. Most will fall back asleep if they have learned to self soothe and have eaten well and had sufficient waketime throughout the day. We shoot for naps 90-120 minutes from birth on and do very very well with it, despite occasionally waking at that 45 minute mark. We feed our babies, keep them awake about 30-45 minutes after eating (change diaper in there) and then lay them down when drowsy for a nap. Drowsy means reading your baby's sleep cues. For many its that first yawn, restless movement of their heads or the first fuss. This is the happy sleep window! Early tired = likely to fall asleep happily and unassisted. This way we are assuring they aren't hungry, diaper is clean and dry, and they are ready for sleep after some socializing and activity. We have very little difficulty guiding our babies to this routine. Generally 2.5-3 hours after we woke them and fed them, they are awakened and fed again. that's we do with smashingly successful results. GL finding what works for you! __________________ Leslie Helpmeet since 1999. WAHM to Big(04), Middle(08) and Little(09).TWINS due in September!! Granola crunchy, scheduling, Evangelical Liberal mommy that CDs, BFs, ERFs, & BWs. An attached parent without the Attachment Parenting.