Throughout time new moms are most commonly known for one thing...worrying about everything! Rightfully so. We are thrown into a world so different from our everyday lives. Not to mention the weight of being able to keep this tiny human being alive.
I am one of those moms.
I worry about everything! Google everything! I'm not sure how the world of motherhood existed before the internet. Good or bad it will give you an answer, tons of answers actually. Which sometime will create this twisted vortex of having an array of answers to your question so you're really no better off than you were to begin with. However, most times it is of great assistance.
I am also a woman who likes to schedule. Probably relating back to my work life as a operations manager. Everything had its time and I liked to try to stick to it so I know how my day is going to go. In mommy world this is referred to as parent-led style as opposed to baby-led. With parent-led parenting you choose the schedule and you try to get baby to conform to it. Sometimes it works, and others it doesn't. You do need to be flexible about it. If baby says they're hungry you absolutely need to feed them. I love being on schedule but I'm not about to starve a baby..
So in this scenario this is where the internet was helpful, a website I have found in one of my multiple google scavanges is http://babysleepschedule.net/routine-samples/ . It breaks it down by age, ex. newborn, 6 weeks, 2 months etc. a general schedule you should try to keep your baby on. A 6 week old baby will not have the same schedule as a 2 month old. You are attempting to space out their feeding and naps as they get older, and this website helps you with that. I was lucky in that my baby was a pretty scheduled being right from the get go. She does not like her routine to be messed with a whole lot so we have had to change only gradually. From the day she was born she was fed every 3 hours. I started off breast feeding and supplementing with formula. I was only able to do that for 4 weeks until I switched completely to formula. No matter which, once 3 hours had passed my baby wanted to be fed! She is now 9 weeks old and we are only at 3 hours and 10 minutes between feedings! Not a lot of difference but its progress. As for sleeping we are currently on a schedule that looks like this:
7:00 - wake up
7:10 - eat
8:15 - nap
10:00 - wake up
10:10 - eat
11:15 - nap
1:15 wake up
1:25 - eat
2:30 - nap
4:30 - wake up
4:40 - eat
5:45 - nap
6:30 - wake up
7:00 - bath time routine
7:15 - eat
7:45 - bed time for the night
2:30 - eat
I have been lucky because my baby dropped her 10:00 PM feeding pretty quick. Perhaps that is why she is so rigid with her 3 hour feedings. They say you are suppose to try to give them most of their calories during the day so they can build up to eventually last the whole night without eating. However, if your baby is hungry around the 10 o'clock mark you will see on the website previously mentioned something called a dream feed. This is when you feed your baby without actually waking them. I attempt to do this at my 2:30 AM feedings and it works out for the most part. If you have to change them then the idea is usually out the window!
Now you may look at this and it appears to be pretty rigid and trust me, it feels that way too! Its hard to get a lot done when your day is broken up into essentially 1.5 hour time slots. This is what works for my baby though. She is overall a pretty happy baby, never gets too upset. Which I chalk up to the fact that she is never left until starving to be fed, never over-tired, and her diaper is changed routinely just before she goes down for her naps (with the exception of the poopy ones, they get changed immediately!). Like I said though, this is just what works for us.
So, whether you choose to go the route of parent-led style parenting or baby-led; it always boils down to what works for the two of you. Never feel bad if what's working for you is not what the websites are saying are right. You're the one who has to get you and your baby through the day alive!
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