Setting a More Predictable Routine for My 2 Month Old

I remember going through the same thing. All I can say, is at some point I realized it was unrealistic to expect from her at such a young age. She didn't get a routing until she was like 5 to 6 months. Try not to worry about it too much, you're doing great, it's just taking her time for her body to adjust to day/night.

I also use a sleep, eat, "play" rotation. Feed her when she wakes up, then have awake time. When she gets crabby, put her down for a nap. Repeat. Just be flexible and logical. Sometimes they wake up way too early and it's clearly not time to eat. I typically feed the baby after 2-4 hours. I also never woke my babies up from naps to stay on "schedule".

I like the schedule idea, but I always have to remind myself that babies are little people that can't tell time and who didn't read the Babywise book! But the rotation always helped me in determining if baby was hungry or tired.

I agree... please don't put your new baby on a schedule. She has put herself on a schedule already--you should be dancing that you're getting 6-7 hrs at night! I guarantee that she will wake up more frequently during the night to nurse if you schedule out her feedings during the day. She feeds frequently because her tummy is tiny and once she has digested your milk she needs more! :)

It sounds like you are already following her natural wake/sleep tendency. I think you and she are doing a great job together just the way you have things--a lot of moms haven't even found their groove yet at 2 mos pp! Consider yourself ahead of the pack, and try not to stress too much. She will get into a more obvious pattern in the next few months--you'll see!

Enjoy her... I really miss those tiny babies!

A lot of moms really love schedules, but I think your baby is still a little young for it! It sounds like she's doing really, really well already. (And you too!) So don't stress yet. Keep watching her cues, and she'll create her own perfect schedule. You'll probably find, as she gets older, that she'll be napping about every 2 hours. (About 3x a day, then 2x as she gets toward 9 months or so.)

But all kids are different, and it's just all about paying attention. Which you must be doing a great job at already, since she's sleeping so well! And nursing on demand is really good for her. Don't stop! That'll slow down as she gets older, too. :)

Hi! There is an old saying that I never truly knew the meaning of until I had my first daughter "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

You have a dream come true newborn - my first daughter was collicy (sp?) thru 9 months and that was a complete nightmare. My seconds was a godsend, she would nap & was sleeping from 8PM-5AM just after 3 months. It has been the experience of many that once you go messing with their sleep schedules, it is so difficult to get them back on track.

We moved into our new house when my youngest was 8 months and had to then go through the whole sleep battle all over again. I know it's hard to gauge things around our newborns, but sometimes we really have to think long & hard when we pick our battles.

I'm sure you will get tons of views, suggestions, etc. Many people do the whole sleep train thing. We tried the Ferber method with our oldest she would vomit while in her crib because she would be crying so hard so we never even tried that again. But my cousin did it w/both of her children & it worked wonderfully. I guess you just never know! My oldest is 11 & I'm still trying to figure things out! Good luck!

check out Becoming Babywise - it worked for us! basic premise - sleep, eat, play, sleep...in that order, repeat every three hours or so.

Hi C.
you can easy get her on a schedule:) It takes a couple of days of patience but, it is pretty easy. I changed my babies eating schedule from 3-4 hours between bottles recently. Every day I pushed the time I fed out 15 minutes until I went from 3 to 4 hours. She was just a little fussy for the day or two I started pushing the time out. At 2 months she she easy be eating every 3 hours. You could probably do it for every 4 hours after you get her "trained". Just start in the morning at the same time. Then only feed her at the 3 hour increment. She will eat exactly what she needs to eat once you get her trained to eat every 3 hours. It was really easy with just a day or two of fussiness during the training time.
I put my daughter down at the same time every day as well. She now gets tired at exactly those times.
A friend of mine had her daughter eating every 5 hours by the time she was 6 weeks. I couldn't believe it. She is the one who told me how to do this. It was so easy I couldn't believe it took me so long to do it.
Good luck. Email me if you have more questions.
D.

i bought the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth (it was highly recommended by a friend of mine who followed it).
I recommend just reading the section that is for the age of your baby (otherwise it can be too overwhelming).
I found myself re-reading sections whenever I had problems and following his directions closely. It was the best thing I ever did - I have a child who is now 2 1/2 who is a great napper and sleeper and is very happy. So are my husband and I because we get the rest we need as well.
We started sleep training our son when he was 4 1/2 months old, but you can do it as early as 3 months. I wouldn't do it earlier than that though.
good luck!
-H.

Too soon for a schedule...I have a 3 month old:-)

Hi C.,

This may not be what you want to hear but I actually don't think you should try and put a 2 month old on a schedule. I know its hard when you are at work and want some semblance of normalcy around the house, but I personally don't think forcing a schedule on a baby that young is a good idea.(others may disagree with me) As she gets a bit older she will make her own schedule and it will get easier. My son was the same way and when I tried to put him on a schedule, all it did was frustarte him and me (because babies that young are not supposed to be on a schedule) and cause us both more stress. My son started tobe more predictable around 5-6 months old. Hang in there it will get easier

I think 2 months is a little early since they usually are very unpredictable until about 4 months. The book Baby Wise has you put them down for sleep every 2-3 hrs. You are lucky you are already getting a 6-7 hr stretch at night! It took my son 5 months to do that. I personally would just keep doing what you are doing and watch for the natural schedule she puts herself on as she starts to consolidate sleep and stay awake for longer periods. It's never to early to start nap and bedtime routines. For bed I always did bath, bottle, book - you want them still awake before you put them to bed so they LEARN to fall asleep. For naps you can do a feed then a book and/or song. I felt silly trying to read to a 2 month old but they like to hear your voice and are getting more out of it than we think. Songs are always fun too! I had to get the night sleep worked out before I was able to even think about naps! Once he was all good w/ everything he would wake up around 6, nap around 8:30/9 then 12:30/1 and then again 3/4. I didn't let him sleep past 5 no matter what. Then I started his bedtime routine at 6:15 and had him down at 7. He woke up once to feed for awhile and is now going 11 hours straight.
It's good you are thinking about it now but it might be another month or two before you get a real schedule going. Good luck! It's nice for mommy and baby to know what's coming next!

Hi C., Your baby sounds amazing! A 2 month old that sleeps 6-7 hours at night! I am an older mom and I know nothing about sleep training stuff. I believe the baby is the boss right now. You need to feed her on demand. Whoever is with her has to follow her lead. You may get some other suggestions, I hope they help. Grandma Mary

Hi C.
Sounds like you have a wonderful baby! Your baby knows best when she needs to eat and sleep! A schedule really doesn't benefit her. At this young age, her eating and sleeping needs change frequently. You may not be hungry or tired at the exact same times every day, and neither is your baby. When you see the she looks tired, it's time for a nap - follow her cues! When she is showing hunger cues, it's time to feed her. There's no need to change or interfere in that natural scheduling. It doesn't matter that you don't know how much she eats, this is the beauty of breastfeeding - babies KNOW how much they need to eat, they tell you when they are hungry and they eat until they are full. It may seem hard to believe that a baby knows best, but they do, because they are acting on instinct. They don't know to eat when they aren't hungry or to stop before they are full. It can be hard for parents to give this control to their babies (and is just the thing that the BABYWISE program speaks out against), but it's okay to let the baby control this, it does not undermine your authority as a parent.
Good luck

I see that many people gave you good advice here. I would also just let her set her own schedule at this point. Wait until she's about 4 months to start scheduling her naps. I just want to warn you against the Babywise book. It was condemned by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a dangerous book when it was first published in the 90's. It was written by a pastor with no medical knowledge. Babies on the Babywise schedule often end up underweight and there are problems with failure to thrive.