How should I start a routine??

[SophieRose]

I have no idea how to start Aiden on a routine. He usually sleeps most of the day, then up from around 12am to 3-4am then sleeps till about 8:30am then after a feed and change goes back to sleep until about midday.
Unfortunatley he's gotten into Dp's graveyard shift routine. And now i'm not sure how to get him out of it and make his bedtime around 7pm or so.
Any advice? My brain turns to mush when i try and think about it. Lol

[Winter]

Hi Sophie,

Aiden is a little too young to worry about routines just yet. You'll find that over time he'll naturally fall into a more manageable routine, as he gets bigger and he sorts out night & day etc. Just go with the flow for a little while longer, you'll probably see a change at around 3 months or so.

Good luck, hope that helps.

[MummyNaomi]

Hey Sophie - I agree with Winter, they do seem to 'fall' into a routine around 12 weeks - my DS started calling it a night at 630pm-ish about this age and would wake up about 7-8ish, and although he was still feeding 3-4 hourly at night at this point, he would go back to sleep within 15 mins after a sleepy feed. A tip that might help though is when Aiden is awake in the middle of the night eg from 12-4, keep things really low key - eg lights and noise low, avoid play, stimulation, too much eye contact etc and this may help him go back to sleep quicker - I used to stroke my little boys face and sing softly to him (and still do) to relax him.

Also, its never to early to start the bathtime/book/cuddle routine, although it might not work straight away, you'd be surprised how quickly they catch on.... as soon as we put DS into his grobag after a bath, gently massage and cuddle/story, he seemed to 'know' it was bed time and would snuggle in for sleepy cuddles and nod off for the night

HTH

Naomi

[harleysgirl]

The only type of routine i ever do with my bubs that young is have a bath at night at the same time every night that puts them into a night routine which will carry into a normal day and night routine on their own.

Good Luck

[Winter]

The only type of routine i ever do with my bubs that young is have a bath at night at the same time every night that puts them into a night routine which will carry into a normal day and night routine on their own.

Good Luck

Agree totally with this Harlesgirl!

[HollyC]

Child and Youth Health SA promote what Naomi said about keeping things low key at night. They also say that it is ok to try and keep bub awake a bit more during the day by having some gentle play time after feeds. This is supposed to help them sort out night and day. Lots of info on their website.

If you are interesting in routines you may want to check out Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall. I only got this book when DD was about 9 months old, but I have implemented some of her strategies and quite like it.