Author Topic: I've got it all wrong  (Read 1267 times)

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Offline DaddyD

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I've got it all wrong
« on: March 28, 2015, 02:43:02 am »
Hello all. So my son, Jasper is now just over 12 weeks old. And my wife and I are finally seeing that we don't have much of a routine at all.

The crux of our routine is that Jasper drinks after waking. Then, when we see signs of sleepiness, he sleeps. Also, if he shows signs of hunger, we feed him. And he gets to play whenever he seems like he wants to.

So with all these factors thrown in, it's like we don't have a routine at all, I think.

The way I see it is that his naps are the ending point of each cycle of the routine. So this is my question...do you put your baby down for a nap if it's been the 'right' amount of time, even if s/he's not showing signs of sleepiness?

And then sometimes he drinks and drifts off to sleep for a few minutes, wakes, drinks, drifts, until his A time is not much more than a half-sleep state. Should we be ensuring that he's getting activity, even if he seems sleepy, b/c it's the A portion of the routine?

All in all, the little guy is doing great. He wakes once in the night, which isn't too bad.
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Offline Guedo

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Re: I've got it all wrong
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2015, 02:53:49 am »
Seems like you've got it right and do have a routine. Eats when he wakes up, activity time and then sleep and repeat.

If your son will go to sleep after the 'right' amount of time without showing sleepy signs and sleeps 1.5-2 hours then stick with that. Sometimes as they get older, it's easy to miss the sleepy cues so you don't really want to keep him awake longer then he can handle and risk him being overtired.
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Offline newkidontheblock

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Re: I've got it all wrong
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2015, 03:54:07 am »
Hi there.
The crux of our routine is that Jasper drinks after waking. Then, when we see signs of sleepiness, he sleeps. Also, if he shows signs of hunger, we feed him. And he gets to play whenever he seems like he wants to. So with all these factors thrown in, it's like we don't have a routine at all, I think.
Sounds like a routine to me too :) It might seem all over the place to you but basically you are following the EAS. A time is eyes open to eyes closed, so nursing counts as part of that. It does help to keep one eye on the clock too, so that your DS isn't up too long.

do you put your baby down for a nap if it's been the 'right' amount of time, even if s/he's not showing signs of sleepiness?
I do. We have a lovely wind down routine, so she does get sleepy by the end of it. I have found that if I wait till she is yawning/ rubbing her eyes, its already too late

And then sometimes he drinks and drifts off to sleep for a few minutes, wakes, drinks, drifts, until his A time is not much more than a half-sleep state. Should we be ensuring that he's getting activity, even if he seems sleepy, b/c it's the A portion of the routine?
I usually nursed as soon as DD WU from a nap, so she was less likely to fall asleep during. There isn't much actual playing or activity at that age. They do have one period in the day --usually evenings-- when they are awake & alert to play but mostly we did low-key stuff like change her diaper/ look out of the window/mobile/fingerplays & rhymes and so on. I remember that morning A before nap 1 was wake up - top & tail - nurse - diaper change - back to sleep.

Hope that helps






Offline DaddyD

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Re: I've got it all wrong
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2015, 04:43:49 am »
Thanks a lot to both of you. It's reassuring to hear that maybe we do have a routine after all. We're getting more committed by writing down times and tracking. For Sleeping, is your wind down to sleep routine ALWAYS the same?

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Offline newkidontheblock

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Re: I've got it all wrong
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2015, 04:53:57 am »
Bedtime routine is always exactly the same -- bath/massage, nurse, into swaddle (now sleep sack), sing song, kiss and put into crib, say goodnight & turn lights off and leave the room.

With naps, it has been more or less the same but we have modified it as she has gotten older. When we were starting out, we would go into a pre-darkened room, swaddle, hold till drowsy patting & then PD. Sometimes we would play for a bit in her room before doing this. But for ages now our routine has been for 10/15 minutes before hand to quietly read a book in the living room, then walk around singing ( DH has 3 specific songs that he sings and she always nods off during. I just sing the one song on repeat) Then we go into her room 5 minutes before nap time, turn on music box, put into sleep sack, sing sleepy song, PD and leave the room.

I always felt that DD loved the predictability. She knew what was coming next and what we expected her to do. This way, if she starts fussing/ protesting, we know that something is not quite right -- maybe she isn't tired enough or maybe she is too tired today? It helps to understand her better






Offline DaddyD

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Re: I've got it all wrong
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2015, 07:20:05 am »
Thank you.  :D
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