how and when do you put a baby on a schedule?

Question

i have a son who is almost one month old. thanks for the help!

Answer 1

i would attempt to start to put him on a schedule, moniter when he seems to get hungry and sleepy and try to configure a schedule that will work with your schedule and the schedlue he is all ready on. most babies at that age will all ready start to fall into a schedule, in middle of night you want your sleep i know but try to keep the feedings consistant if he eats every 2-3 or 3-4 hours in the day keep it that way at night until he is able to sleep all the way thru the night that way his body is on consistant feeding thru the whole day makes it easier on u in the end.

Answer 2

Schedules don't work well with babies. Because even if you are the most organized person in the world, baby isn't.

Routine is the key. Just get in the habit of doing things in a certain order every day and the baby will come to trust the routine and you will have a nice flexible schedule. But you have to realize that babies have good days and bad just like you and a strict schedule just may make things worse instead of better. Sometimes they need more sleep, sometimes less. Sometimes they will take a bit longer to feed, sometimes they won't want to at all.

Routine will make your baby feel safe. A schedule will just drive you crazy trying to meet it and make you both stressed.
Relax and enjoy your baby. They change so much so quickly that "scheduling" them just isn't practical.

Answer 3

I feel like schedules just "happen" with kids. You wont need to sit down and right anything out. As your baby gets older he'll tell you, he'll normally get up at a certain time, normally eat a certain time, normally nap at a certain time. The older they get they fix their schedual. I have a 2 month old son whos up ever morning by 6:30 or 7, changed, fed etc by 8, he'll hang out with me, or in the swing or on the floor for 20 mins or so, then down for a short nap, the process seems to just repeat until 11pm when he is fed, bathed, changed, and put to bed, and he'll sleep a good 5 hours, before he gets up to top off the tummy and back to bed.

My older daughter takes a morning nap of an hour and a half, an after noon nap of 2-3 hours, and then 11 to 12 hours at night.

There isn't really a set time/schedual for any child in my opinion. I have had five from infancy, all with their own perference for their own schedual. You will have a happier baby, and there for a happier home life if you'll let him make his schedual, and help him keep it.

Good luck!

Answer 4

well it's hard and at first you are kinda on baby's schedule and all baby's get on schedule at differant ages. I have a 10 week old daughter who I started trying to put her on a bedtime schedule when she was 3 weeks old b/c I had to return to work at after 6 weeks. I started bathing her at 8:30pm and putting her in bed at 9:00pm every night to establish a pattern and I wake her up every morning at 7:00am. This has worked well and she is asleep every night by 9:30pm. She also only wakes up only 1 time to eat around 2:00am or 3:00 am then goes right back to sleep till I wake her up at 7:00am. I also try to space her daytime feedings out about 4 hours. That is as far as we have gotten with the schedule. She still naps during the day whenever she wants b/c grandma is not big on the keeping a schedule thing while I'm at work.....lol. All you can do is try to make a pattern of things you do every day and at night and hopefully baby will get used to it soon. My daughter was very easy to get on some-what of a schedule and I hope it's this easy for you too!!! On the other hand I have a 8 year old son who was never on schedule as a baby, he ate and slept whenever HE wanted and never would get on a schedule, I swear the child woke up to eat every hour on the hour till he was 2 years old and I still have a h3ll of a time with him trying to make him go to sleep and stay in his own bed asleep. I truely believe it depends on the child whether or not they will do a schedule! Anyways, good luck!!!

Answer 5

You put him on a schedule right away. The quicker he learns the routine the better. The how part of this is watch his behavior and note when he is tired, hungry, playful, etc and work that into YOUR schedule. If you only go by what HE wants when HE wants it you are in trouble. Of course do this within reason so as to give quality care to your son but don't stop living your life just because you have a new one to care for. Good Luck!

Answer 6

I assume you mean for sleep. For eating it will be on demand for most of his first year.

Keep him in bright active areas during the day (he will be a quiet dim place to nap atleast 2-3 times a day) and keep the house dim and quiet and still in the evening and at night.

If you want to put him on a schedule you have to keep a schedule. DO the same things the same way the same time every day, without fail. He'll get used to it in a week or two and stick to it. His body will also get use to the new sleep pattern and stick to it as well.

Answer 7

I think 1 month is still a little early to start putting the baby on a schedule, but if you are trying to get sleep in the night, you could try to "Ferberize" the baby. It's a method that allows you to slowly ween the baby off of nighttime feedings.

The baby is a fast learner, and it knows that if it cries, you are going to tend to him. Babies start to become dependent on their mommies for attention and aren't necessarily hungry in the night, but simply want to be held or rocked to sleep again.

I think the best way to put such a young baby on a schedule is to do EVERYTHING at the same time everyday, so that his natural patterns of napping and feeding can coincide with your schedule. Feed him, bathe him, play with him at the same time every day. If you can keep the baby up in the evening with play, then bathe him, then put him to sleep at the SAME time you're ready for bed, he'll start to understand it's time for him to sleep now. You still may only get 3-4 hours of sleep at a time since he's still so young, but it's better than being awoken 45 mins after you first fall asleep!

Answer 8

what kind of schedule are you talking about? feeding, naps, etc?
Babies should always be fed on demand especially one as young as yours. If you are breastfeeding it is even more important to feed on demand.

Babies (& children) fall into a "schedule" of their own - just start glancing at the clock & make a mental note & you'll start to see a pattern (even though it doesn't feel like it.) Don't get "stuck" on what the clock says- think about it somtimes you get hungry at an earlier time than you normally eat- right? - what do adults do when they are hungry they get something to eat. It is the same form children & babies- execpt they need someone to get the food for them.

At that age follow your baby's schedule, as he/she gets older the schedule will gradually change (feeding space out, sleep longer, etc.) & eventually work out to be a routine that works for your family.

Remember babies are only little for a short amount of time- a year or two is a small sacrifice for you.

Answer 9

I started putting my babies on schedules the day I brought them home from the hospital. At first it's kind of difficult bc everything is so new and you and the baby have to adjust to one another and your surroundings. But stay consistent in the way you feed, bathe, cuddle, playtime, etc. Stay consisent everyday without getting off the schedule you have set out for your baby. After a few weeks the baby will begin to adjust to the schedule you have for him/her. As the baby gets older you will have to allow for some changes bc of the baby getting older. But keep to specific schedule for feeding, bathing, bedtimes, etc. I have to tell you that after my babies adjusted to being at home and adjusted to the schedules I had set out for them, they were the best babies you could ever hope to have. They were very easy to deal with and knew what to expect in their lives at all times, and because of that it made them very happy and secure babies. Good luck to you. Congrats on your little one, and stick to the schedule bc it will make life so much more pleasant for you and for your baby. The comment T made about baby should always be fed on demand? Not true! This can cause a baby to become overweight and unhealthy later on in life. Don't feed your baby on demand. Feed your baby on a schedule just like you schedule anything else. He/She will adjust to that schedule as long as you are feeding him/her enough. Good luck!

Answer 10

My child is on somewhat of a schedule. It is more routines you do. He knows it is bed time and not nap time because he gets in his PJ's and gets lotioned up. My son is 3 months old and sleeps all night, I think it is because of his nightly routine. I will take that as a schedule.
Seriously, you can't put them on a schedule. They do not comprehend that type of life yet. I would stick with certain routines.