How do you put an 8 month old on a schedule?

[Anonymous]

My 8 month old DD has never been on a schedule. It's becoming a little hectic with a 3 year old.

- Do I wake and put down at nap times I want? She is pretty good and sleeps 11 hours a night.
- How do I get her to take a full bottle or nurse longer? She will eat about 2 ounces and take a break and eat again after 10 minutes. This will go on for a good 45 mins. Same with nursing. She ends up taking in roughly 25-28 ounces a day.

It's to the point that is frustrating and I can't get anything done. I never know how the day will go and she is always cranky and crabby because of it. Anyone please save ( I mean help) me!

P.s. I know this is a nanny forum but I figured I would get some experienced answers here.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would gently wake her on your new schedule - I start by opening the blinds, doing little housekeeping chores in the baby's room, and then if necessary, rub her back until she wakes up. You do no not want to wake a child up abruptly when they are in deep sleep - gently ease your child out of sleep. And it's routine, routine, routine. I let my charge pick out his nap time pajamas, close the blinds, give him his paci and rock and hum (same song) for maybe one minute and he's immediately drowsy. We do the same routine every day for nap time and it could not work better.
As for the longer bottles, I give my baby charges something to play with while they are taking the bottle (babies around 8 months get bored). My 8 month old charge likes to tap the cap of the bottle on the bottle. Also, switch to faster flow nipples. I would never not feed a baby when she's hungry so all you can do if get her to feed longer.

[Anonymous]

I sing the exact same song while sitting in the same chair every nap period. Also, I never let babies fall asleep in my arms but put them in the crib when their eyes start to look droopy so they will learn to sleep independently. Around your DDs age I start presenting the song about 5 minutes before the nap time routine because if they protest it will not cut into the nap time. I also try to give them some choices like which cuddly do you want or do you want one blanket or two. Its really about distraction and making them complicit in your plan. However, nap time is not a choice. So I would not ask do you want to go to nap time now?

At night, my MB will go to the crib to comfort but not take the baby out. I followed her lead. I went in after no more then ten minutes of crying and lay DC back down, rub her back, and then walk away. I do not take her from the crib unless her diaper leaks or something that necessitates it. As DC got older we had fewer problems but on occasion she would resist and we extended the check in to 15 or 20 minutes. We also leave a book so that even if DC does not want to sleep she will have a quiet time. Today, DD is three and is the easy at bed time. On the now rare occasions that she won't nap we give her a quiet activity and explain that she is going to do quiet time until the timer goes off.