How to Get Baby on A Schedule?

[Anonymous]

This sounds like a schedule to me? What is not working right now?

[Anonymous]

Try the Huckleberry app. You enter sleep times and it helps predict the next sleep window. It sounds like you already have a good grasp on your baby's natural schedule, but might just need to tweak the times a little to avoid the long wind-down (rocking). It helped me with my first, and around the same time---8 weeks.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you want your baby?

It's just so bizarre to me...going through 9 months of pregnancy...and so many people actively TRY to get pregnant, even spending thousands of dollars and undergoing medical procedures to have a baby...

Then they actually HAVE the baby and suddenly it's "OH! But I don't want this tiny infant to actually NEED me! I want them to be independent and 'self soothe!' Actually TOUCH this baby to try and help him? Horrors!"

If you didn't want to take care of your baby, why did you have him?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you want your baby?

It's just so bizarre to me...going through 9 months of pregnancy...and so many people actively TRY to get pregnant, even spending thousands of dollars and undergoing medical procedures to have a baby...

Then they actually HAVE the baby and suddenly it's "OH! But I don't want this tiny infant to actually NEED me! I want them to be independent and 'self soothe!' Actually TOUCH this baby to try and help him? Horrors!"

If you didn't want to take care of your baby, why did you have him?

Go back to bed.

[Anonymous]

As you can see from this thread most of this is baby dependent. My #1 could be put down drowsy and stay asleep early on. I thought I was just the best parent and understood what babies needed. My #2 would become hysterical when put down drowsy. She needed to be fed and rocked in a coma to be put down. She is off to college next week and goes to sleep on her own now. The rocking is a vague memory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you want your baby?

It's just so bizarre to me...going through 9 months of pregnancy...and so many people actively TRY to get pregnant, even spending thousands of dollars and undergoing medical procedures to have a baby...

Then they actually HAVE the baby and suddenly it's "OH! But I don't want this tiny infant to actually NEED me! I want them to be independent and 'self soothe!' Actually TOUCH this baby to try and help him? Horrors!"

If you didn't want to take care of your baby, why did you have him?

Go back to bed.

+1. What a cow. Op, self soothing is an important skill for your baby to learn, and he/she will learn it eventually. Don’t listen to morons who accuse you of not wanting your baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you want your baby?

It's just so bizarre to me...going through 9 months of pregnancy...and so many people actively TRY to get pregnant, even spending thousands of dollars and undergoing medical procedures to have a baby...

Then they actually HAVE the baby and suddenly it's "OH! But I don't want this tiny infant to actually NEED me! I want them to be independent and 'self soothe!' Actually TOUCH this baby to try and help him? Horrors!"

If you didn't want to take care of your baby, why did you have him?

Op should have been reading things like touchpoints while she was pregnant.

At 8 weeks, what she wants is unrealistic and unhealthy for the baby.

It sucks, and it’s exhausting. People who can afford it, hire help. It’s just the way it goes.

[Anonymous]

So much gets better at 12 weeks. I am a very neurotic type a person and I need schedules. Obviously newborns and schedules don't go well together but once baby is old enough to be predictable I feel much better. Around 12 weeks that happens. And I don't mean YOU schedule BABY, I mean the baby falls into their own pattern and you can recognize that and plan accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He is a good eater and sleeper. It's the rocking that is hard when we are trying to work and during the middle of the night. He eats 7 times a day and has full feeds. His weight is fine. His naps vary. He sleeps in our room but he is outgrowing his bassinet and he is a noisy baby. He makes noises and grunts and groans during sleep. His room is right next to ours. I would love to be able to transition his for naps and night sleep.

He is a good night sleeper with only one wakeup. I would like to be able to put him down and he fall asleep by himself. We are not going to let him cry but doing drowsy but awake is ideal. I will look into the books that were mentioned. I don't need him on a strict nap schedule or anything. He's on a predictable routine. I want him sleeping in his crib and for him to be able to self-soothe.

7am - wakeup, eat 4oz
8-9:30 - nap, eat 4oz
11-12 - nap, eat 4oz
1:30-3:30/4 - nap, eat 4oz
5:30-6 - nap, eat 4oz
7:30 - eat, 4oz
8pm - bedtime, 4am wakeup, eats 4oz

This will happen eventually but for now he is too young to self-soothe. You can start putting him down in his crib for naps though! And people do successfully transition to cribs earlier than the AAP recommendation. That’s a choice you have to make for yourself. All babies are different but nights are easy with my baby because I feed him before he wakes up fully and he falls right back asleep while nursing. We achieve this by having a sidecar bassinet. If he regularly wakes at 4 can you get up a bit before to prepare the bottle so you’re ready to feed as soon as he starts stirring (before he is crying & fully awake). Keep the lights off. Usually I read to my baby when he’s eating but I stay silent during the night time sleep feeds.

[Anonymous]

This kid is doing great for 8 weeks. He is too young to self soothe (and I say this as someone who totally advocates sleep training, but it can't be done before the kid is old enough, which is definitely not 8 weeks).

[Anonymous]

OP , as other have said you and your baby are doing great for 8 weeks.

Your baby can't truly self soothe yet, that will come and may be as early as the next 4-6 weeks.

What you might try is putting him in his crib right aftter he eats cozy in a sleep sack and pacifier if you use them.

Instead of rocking you can gently stroke the head and face, and sing a little song while baby is in crib.

Also don't rush in the minute he makes noise. I do not mean ignore cries, you must always respond to cries, but babies, especially newborns are very noisy sleepers., every sound may not need to be attendted to, so give a little listen before you go in and start poking around.

[Anonymous]

You still haven't been through the 4 month sleep regression, so everything might change.
There is a lot of good advice in the Ferber and Weissbluth books, but you really have to read them and not just look at summaries.
I'd say don't try too soon to get your baby to be independent. You can take small steps, but having a baby sleep on you is one of the best things ever, and pretty soon your baby won't really be able to sleep on you, so it's good to enjoy it now if you can.
One thing you can try is putting them in a carrier and bouncing on an exercise ball while working on your laptop at a table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP , as other have said you and your baby are doing great for 8 weeks.

Your baby can't truly self soothe yet, that will come and may be as early as the next 4-6 weeks.

What you might try is putting him in his crib right aftter he eats cozy in a sleep sack and pacifier if you use them.

Instead of rocking you can gently stroke the head and face, and sing a little song while baby is in crib.

Also don't rush in the minute he makes noise. I do not mean ignore cries, you must always respond to cries, but babies, especially newborns are very noisy sleepers., every sound may not need to be attendted to, so give a little listen before you go in and start poking around.

+1 to the rushing in part. I did that way too much with my first and had to realize the hard way I had gotten her used to being picked up at every little noise. With my second I don't go in unless he's really crying, not just making little fussing sounds in his sleep. Babies are loud.