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| First Time Moms |
| Public online group |
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Hi. I am a first time mom. Our daughter was born Oct 23 and is just absolutely precious. I know it is too early to get on a "schedule" for her, but I was wondering what basic routine other moms use during the day. Do you wake your babies up at a particular time...play, eat, ect? Right now I feel just so chaotic because we don't have any kind of routine at all. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Also...any tips on how to get her to nap in the afternoon? She is typically awake from 1pm and if she doesn't sleep she is extremely cranky at night..inconsolable until about 10 pm. She does doze for maybe up to 15 minutes at times, but that isn't enough to help her. We can tell she is tired, but she fights going to sleep.
THanks!!! |
| Posted by Debbie on 12/16/2007 01:26 PM
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Debbie,
I've read so many books, and am not considered an expert by any means, but the book that helped us the most, SLEEP EASY SOLUTIONS. We needed it to fix problems, but it would be a great preventer also. It's 14.95 at barnes and noble. |
| posted by Cara on 12/16/2007 02:08 PM
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Hi Debbie!
I'm the same way...I need routine in my life! Therefore this "new mom" thing is very character building..=) My daughter was born on the 17th of October and she hasn't been on a schedule at all either. She seems to sort of start on a schedule for a few days and then it all changes! Right now we're trying to figure out how to adjust her bedtime to earlier in the evening, since she really doesn't fall asleep for the night until between eleven and twelve. And she's recently discovered the world around her so she fights sleep too. The only thing that seems to work is to strap her into her Baby Bjorn carrier and vacuum! That or just simply walking around with her, maybe with some playful music on. Then she doesn't feel so much like I"m trying to put her to sleep. Anyway, good luck! And remember the phrase "This too shall pass".
Jaci |
| posted by Jaclyn on 12/16/2007 08:03 PM
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| My daughter was born end of september so she is about a month older than yours, but we have somewhat of a routine. She wakes up between 7 and 8 and is ready for a nap about an hour and a half later. I read her books before and then i swaddle her and give her a paci, then we rock for a couple minutes and then she goes down. Sometimes she sleeps a half hour, sometimes she sleeps 2 hours. Then she's up about another hour and a half and we repeat the same thing. When she was younger i used the swing sometimes for a longer nap. It worked for her. I was worried she might get addicted to the swing, but that never happened. So that's what we do. Hope it helps a little. Good luck. Colleen |
| posted by Colleen on 12/18/2007 01:11 PM
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| Thanks to everyone for their replies. :) |
| posted by Debbie on 12/18/2007 02:27 PM
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| My sister gave me a book called The Baby Whisperer, and I highly recommend it. The author comes up with what she calls the EASY routine, and it is just that. Eat, Activity, Sleep, You time. For the first few months, you will usually run on three hour incriments, as activity time is usually only 15-30 minutes. My daughter's six and a half months now, and is still on that basic routine, just varied a little since she stays up longer. |
| posted by Angie on 01/14/2008 12:33 AM
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| Hi Debbie! Everything is quite chaotic for the first couple of months before it's easier to get a routine down. Your daughter one week will have a great routine then the next horrible, it changes so frequently in the beginning there's not a whole lot you can do until the baby is ready to accept it. I used to let my daughter nap in her swing because it was the only thing that kept her asleep for a couple hours. I would slowly over time slow down the speed until eventually I could stop it and she would stay asleep. Then I got her to nap in her crib, but it still took awhile for her to take long naps. Just keep trying to put her down if she seems sleepy then eventually she'll want to go down. Good luck! |
| posted by Jillian on 01/14/2008 08:54 AM
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| with sean- since he was born (now 11 months) the only routine we have truly kept to is dinnertime,bathtime then storytime on his way to bed. i think it really does make him aware that it is time to sleep due to always going through the same motions right before. |
| posted by lauren on 01/19/2008 08:44 AM
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| I have to agree with the bedtime routine. We FINALLY seem to have one and it helps so much. She goes to bed earlier now allowing us a little time to ourselves. She is typically asleep around 9pm. We are still working on during the day. LOL. But we are getting there. :) |
| posted by Debbie on 01/19/2008 11:02 AM
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There are a lot of people who swear by the book "Baby Wise" - it was even recommended by a dr. friend of ours with 4 kids. He strayed during 1 child and says that their 10 month old still doesn't have a schedule since they didn't start early enough.
My child is only 5 weeks old now, but I started her on the schedules suggested in the book at 2 weeks old. While she can't understand the schedule it give me a sense of order. She has also started to follow the routine within the book itself of Wake/Eat/Play/Sleep every 3 hours with no more than 2 hours of wakefulness and no more than 3 hours of sleep give and take during the day. She is on this schedule now at 4-5 weeks old and she is already sleeping (even while breastfeeding) 4 to 4 and 1/2 hours a night between feedings. I know it is rare, but trust me mom's who read this book swear by it and I see why now..
I don't suggest following the book 100% by all means, but it does give you some good ideas to try and follow. My little one can't be woken up from naps as it makes her too fussy by the end of the day. Give it a read and it will help you.
You can also check out the book that it references for sleep habits healthy sleep, happy baby or something like that. I might go to the library and read the chapters that are applicable to you in this book as there is a lot of extra stuff in the book (3/4 of it) that you won't need. |
| posted by Melissa on 01/20/2008 12:27 PM
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| I think if you stick to a strict nightime routine it helps the daytime routine fall into place. I have a 9.5 mo. old and he gets a bath strictly at 7:00, then gets read some nightime books (this is a great way to settle the baby down before bed especially when they start moving), and then we put him down at 8:00 with his last feeding of the day. He always sleeps till 7:30 the next morning and when he gets up he takes two naps right on schedule at 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM, both respectfully 1.5 hours long. I hope this helps!! |
| posted by Heather on 01/24/2008 07:21 AM
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| I just got the book Baby Wise, and have started it with my 3 month old daughter. Even though we started late, it's making a HUGE difference just in the first day. She would only fall asleep if we were holding her, and wouldn't sleep in her crib at all. She had been getting progressively fussier during the day, and though it's tough for her to get used to falling asleep on her own, it's WORKING. More rested baby, happier baby, more rested mama, happier mama! |
| posted by Jaclyn on 01/24/2008 12:32 PM
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