Making Myself Crazy?
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Anonymous
| I have an 8-week- old and we have been trying to get a schedule, but it’s not always working. I have been following his cues up to this point - feed on demand and let him sleep when we he wants. I’ve been trying to implement a bedtime and a nap schedule. I was hoping to follow eat/play/sleep, but he’s sometime follows it, and sometimes doesn’t. We have successfully moved him to his crib for naps but he still sleeps in our room in a bassinet. We feed him every 3 hours during the day, but I will let him go 4 hours if he is napping and did every 2 hours for 2 or more previous feeds. We let him wake at night, which he often does a 5-8 hour stretch. Naps last anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. There are days where he naps for 30 minutes, and days where he wants to sleep the entire day. I’m trying to find more consistent predictably, but it’s making me stressed out. Do you think I should keep trying or just stop? Everyone has been telling me now is a good age to get him on a schedule. |
Anonymous
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I think your biggest problem is having him in your room at night. Is there really no one that puts baby in the crib at night?
Otherwise, OP, it all sounds normal. Exhausting but normal. |
Anonymous
OP here. What’s wrong with having him in our room? I think the recommendation is at least 6 months. We planned to transition him at 3 months if he is still doing long stretches. |
Anonymous
| 8 weeks is really young to expect a baby to get on a schedule. You can encourage a schedule now so your baby starts to follow it as he develops, but you can’t really expect him to organize into a fairly consistent schedule until around 12 weeks. |
Anonymous
| We didn't start a sleep schedule until 6 mos. My kids were small babies, only at 6 mos did I feel they had enough weight on them (close to 18lbs) to sleep through the night. And at the age, they were more alert in the day for play, so they could sleep more soundly at night. |
Anonymous
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Stop making yourself crazy. Keep track of what he's doing if you'd like (note the sleep and eat times) but he will not coalesce into a schedule until at least 4 months. If at 8 weeeks you're getting 5 hr stretches at night, consider yourself lucky. Go with his flow. Go outside in the morning (even in cold) get some air. Feed when he's hungry, let him nap however long he wants. He's going to grow in odd spirts and sometimes be alert al day and sometimes be sleepy. Snuggle and enjoy. I say this as a parent of a 16 week old and a 4 year old. I stressed so much with my oldest and wasted maternity leave and weekends worry about when to put her down and that she was 30 min off etc. with my acorns I'm super chill and just go with what she seems to want and we are both calmer and it's far easier.
Good luck!! |
Anonymous
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When my baby was 2 months old, she had dropped the night bottle. She slept from 8pm till 7am, 1 morning nap for 2-3 hours, 1 afternoon nap for 1-2 hours, & sometimes maybe another 30 min-1 hour late afternoon. No set time/schedule for nap & sleep. I remember I was worried that she slept too much & she drank 5 bottles a day. She is 10 months now, still sleeps from 8pm till 7am, 1 morning nap of 1-2 hour, sometimes 1 or zero afternoon nap. 3 bottles & 3 solid food a day plus 1 snack. She is on the tall but light weight size.
There is no certain schedule & it is always subject to change. Don't stress out too much. |
Anonymous
| I'd pay attention to wake windows but otherwise follow his lead. It sounds like you're doing great! |
Anonymous
| He will only be this little for such a short period. Stop rushing it. Everything sounds fine!! Enjoy it. |
Anonymous
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You are doing great and it sounds like your baby is doing great.
I wouldn’t worry too much about a schedule until closer to 3-4 months. 8 weeks is still too young. Just make sure there are clear differences between night and day routines. Current recommendations are to keep your baby in your room at night until at least six months. So you are doing it all right. |
Anonymous
Room doesn't mean bed. Putting baby in your room through 6 months decreases the SIDS risk. Worth it unless it compromises your own sleep too much. |
Anonymous
| Early parenthood becomes a blur for so many that people often dramatically overstate how early their children do things. Anything that made me feel crazy had to be stopped immediately. Enjoy that baby! You’re doing an amazing job and are the best mom/dad for that baby! You have their entire life to get them on a schedule. |
Anonymous
| Totally normal. Don’t make yourself crazy trying to get him on a schedule. And the baby sleeping with you in your room is recommended and the best for him. |
Anonymous
I’m not sure why the pp said this op. You are right that’s the recommendation and also fine to move at three months (we did for various reasons). You’re doing great, if it’s stressing you out I would drop it. Almost all of us parents who read a lot of books and stressed too much about this look back and wish we’d tried to force it less. Keep paying attention to wake windows and then transition to a more time based schedule by about 6 months. It will get easier I promise |
Anonymous
Worth it even if it compromises your sleep! My God, you are weighing a decreased risk of your baby dying vs you being exhausted and coming down on the side of risking your baby dying?! The AAP and SIDS experts don’t make these recommendations to make a parent’s life miserable - it’s to lower the chance of your baby dying. |