Schedule - Peoria, IL

He is ready for a schedule! My sister introduced me to a book called "Baby Wise" and it worked wonderfully with both of my children and both my sister's children. By six weeks, they were on a great schedule and sleeping through the night. The book is easy to follow and gives great tips on what baby's need, scheduling and many other things that really do work. Good luck

Hi H., I am a Registered Nurse in the state of IL. I am also the mother of 11 BEUATIFUL children, three boys and 8 girls, ranging in age from 30 years to 6 years. I have homeschooled for 20 years and breastfed all of my babies. My husband and I used natural childspacing through breastfeeding beginning with the birth of our fourth child. We wanted a large family, and this is how we chose to space them out. My suggestion for you is to give your precious little one more time to grow. He is only 7 weeks old, and right now he is just getting used to the idea that he is not inside of your warm, watery, safe womb. Infants desperately need the closeness of their mothers during the first months of life...especially until they crawl and can get around on their own. Then, they naturally begin to detach a little bit at a time and explore their new world. From that point on your become mainly your baby's protector (from all harm, physical, emotional and spiritual), as well as your baby's direct 'connection' to the world around him. He will learn soooo much from you! My husband says its almost 'scary' how much the little ones pick up just from watching and listening to us! The bottom line is...don't worry about schedules just yet. When he is showing you through his behavior that he is ready to sleep for longer periods, then you can work him into a 'schedule'. My husband and I slept with all our babies when they were born until they established a pattern of wakefulness during the day and sleep at night. This helped teach them when it was appropriate to sleep for longer periods of time. Knowing what happy people the African's are, and realizing that these women carry their babies in a sling for the first 2-3 years of their lives, I must confess that I carried my babies around in a sling much of the time when they were little. It has made for some well-adjusted, happy adults! And, helped me to keep my sanity! Hope this helps.

i was told when my son was born to never turn the lights on during a feeding in the night. use a flashlight when they wake up in the night or use dims lights when feeding. then in the morning when it's time to get up always turn the light on. that teaches them day from night. then they go right back to sleep after feedings. it worked like a charm for me. also docotrs completely disagree, but i always mixed cereal with his formula after i went back to work because then he would sleep ALL NIGHT and we could both get some rest. if their bellies are full they sleep veery well!

I think you have the right idea. I also made sure that I didn't turn on the lights when I nursed and I didn't talk to mine. I may have hummed or sang very softly, but no talking. I used a nightlight to nurse. Then when they were done nursing I laid them right down. Like you said they fussed a bit on occassion but they typically went to sleep pretty quickly. You are doing fine. It may be a little hard to develop a schedule this early, but it doesn't hurt to try. The sooner you can get him on a schedule the better for you and him. Both of mine did so well on a schedule. Less crankiness and bad behavior (when they were older)

Not sure how soon I had mine on a schedule. I know the older one was on a good schedule during the day pretty quick, but night time was hard. The second child was on a good schedule at least by three months. It may have been sooner but I'm 40 now and my memory fails me. I'm due in May with number three so I'll have to remember some of that stuff real soon. Hopefully God will help me out and make it a little easier than the first two. I'm getting too old for those all nighters. :)

It sounds like you are on the right track.

PS: My oldest loved background noise. I would run an old humidifier that my mother-in-law gave me. It sounded like a semi ideling, but she would sleep so good with it. I ran it everynight on a towel (we had wood floors and it made a horrible racket that dad and I didn't like...though she did) and I ran it during naptime. It finally blew up when she was two and a half. So maybe try something that makes low sounds too. That lulls them and distracts them. Who knows it might help.

Good for you! I've been told babies can't get themselves to sleep until they are four months old. That's when you can start actively putting your baby on a schedule, too. My baby put herself on her own schedule starting around 6 or 7 weeks so things might start getting a little more regular for you soon. My baby is 11 weeks old now and is getting pretty predictable. The big wild card is during the night. She'll usually give me at least one longer stretch. Whether it is six hours or eight, I never know, but at least it is enough that I'm starting to feel human again.

Just do not forget you can't spoil your baby. I am on my 3rd and until 6mo of age I answer their cries. My 2 older have no sleeping issues, bath, books, bed--they go right down. The baby stage is when they develop trust in you! Spoil your baby, this is such a short period of time in their little lives! Enjoy it

hi H.!
I have a 19 week old and just went through all that. You are totally on track. I went through a period where she would only go to sleep if i rocked her to sleep. I didn't want that to become a habit so i started doing what you are. Continue putting him down drowsy. After being consistant for a while, my daughter now can put herself to sleep and soothe her self back to sleep if she wakes. So if you continue what you are doing, and just remember, it's ok to let them cry, you will be soo happy you did. I can't even tell you how nice it is now to have her go down without a long drawn out process. Keep it up, good luck, and congrats!

Hi H.!
Congrats on your newborn!! What an exciting (and exhausting) time!!

My little guy started sleeping in his crib with a regular bedtime and schedule when he was about 10 weeks old. I wanted to co-sleep so he was sleeping with me before that but I just did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. You will be amazed at how quickly he will adapt to whatever schedule you set for him - as long as you listen to the clues his body language is telling you.

At 7 weeks I think he is a little young for the "cry it out" method, but if he just fusses and cries for a few minutes when you put him down, that will subside very quickly. It sounds like he understands that the crib is his sleep place which is great! My boy was soooooo much happier once he got into a nap and bedtime schedule (and so were we!!). I think he really likes knowing what to expect from the day. I would also say that swaddling works wonders for calming a baby after a feeding - we still wrap our son a little and he is 5 months old!

Best of luck to you!!
T.

I would keep track of his eating and sleeping patterns. Then this way you can see the pattern and modify and tweak it a little bit. It is EXCELLENT that you put your son to sleep in his crib not fully asleep. This will teach him how to sooth himself! Congrats!

If you can't take an hour to put him back to sleep, you'll have no schedule. Tough love is not fun, or easy, but so incredibly effective.

We started putting my son to bed awake at 6 weeks old. He is now 18 months and we've never had a problem at bed time.

More questions? Buy the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child". It helped then is continuing now to help now!

They will start to show recognizable schedules between 3/4 months. You will start to see a pattern and you can go with it. When you start seeing the pattern you will also need to watch for signs of tiredness, which can be different for each child. Also, unless you choose to let your baby cry it out, most kids will need assistance going to sleep. This could mean nursing, walking, rocking, singing, etc. Sometimes this can take a while. He is too young at this age to cry it out and doctors will not recommend that method until they are older. At this age it is okay to let them sleep in a sling, bouncy seat, swing, etc. But again over the next few months you will see your baby's schedule emerging.

If he's fussing a bit and then falling asleep.. just go with it.. no better thing than that.. he'll just get used to doing that and soon he'll even stop fussing about it. Don't feel bad. I know its hard but him falling asleep on his own will help you maintain your sanity. Just keep trying it.

Good luck,
Aarti

Most pediatricians prefer that you put your baby to bed drowsy, but not completely asleep. I don't think I was on a good schedule with my second daughter until she was about ten weeks. Basically, you have do what is best for you and your family. There is no perfect advice. What my two girls have taught me is that every baby is different. If your baby fusses a little, but goes to sleep on his own that is wonderful! Whatever works for you both! I have found that shedules work themselves out with time. I am also not afraid to break them because you can always get back on track. It seems like you are already doing just fine. Good luck!
Jen E.

H. - I started right away keeping track of my kids eatings and sleeping habits and found over time they had a schedule and I used that schedule as a guide. I tweaked it alittle and it has been wonderful. My son is 3 and my daughter is 8 months. Also - a great book - On Becoming Baby Wise. They also have On Becoming Toddler Wise, Potty Training Wise, and many more. It talks a lot about the schedule. It is a great resource.