[kgrands]

Hi All,

I'm a FTM and was wondering what everyone's days look like with their newborns (DD is 12 days old). We have a routine and I want to make sure we're not missing anything.

Here's how our day looks:
Every 2.5-3hrs (and on demand if needed) I breastfeed the baby for about 30-45min. After that we hang out for about 15min (looking at black and white cards, snuggling, etc.) and then I put her down for a nap which usually lasts about 1.5-2hrs. We then start the cycle all over again. At night we let her sleep longer - usually 4-5hr spans. It sometimes takes up to 25-30min to get her to go to sleep.

Does this sound about right? Am I missing something? Being too rigid? I usually sleep or hang out with DH during her naps. What does everyone else do?

TIA!

 

[goodheartedmama]

Just do what feels right

Our day looks completely different, but I have 2 toddlers, too!

 

[Patchfire]

Chop wood, carry water.

Seriously, there's something beautiful about letting things just flow, but it's taken me three kids to get to this point. And I wouldn't be able to do it if I didn't have my mom staying with us to help with the older kids. But in general, there's something monotonous but good about my days right now...

 

[OkiMom]

I agree with just letting things flow.Im going to have to start getting on a better schedule but I have a toddler who needs one. Im probably going to start pretty much what I did before the baby only add in nursing every 1 1/2-2 hours.. Heres what our days looked like:
6am- wake up/shower
630- breakfest
645- DH leaves, clean up kitchen, do dishes
700- Walk
800- story/book time
1100- lunch
Noonish- nap time
200- park
300- clean up, straighten house, clean one room
500- make dinner
530- DH home, wash up
600- Dinner
630- Family time
730-8 get ready for bed
830-9 bedtime

Add in about 12-20 nursing sessions and a ton of time changing diapers and there you have it. I don't watch a clock but we are pretty consistent with our times before hand. DD1 thrives on a schedule and starts acting up when she doesn't have one.

 

[emc03]

my routine is decided on a day by day basis by a 20 inch long dictator.

feeding is every 2-3 hours. he decides when he is alert. sometimes the dirty diaper bothers him, sometimes it doesn't. i make sure he's changed every four hours or so, since it's always dirty by then. he's starting to settle into a routine. the only thing i insist on is sleeping the majority of the night in his bassinet. he can't come in our lofted bed and i have no intention of sleeping the rest of my life on the couch.

 

[louloubean]

as soon as i get a rountine, someone goes and changes it!

this second kid is way different that the first! she sleeps (first didn't) she complains when her diaper is dirty (first one STILL doesn't) and she nurses forever. (like 30 minutes plus per size)

i think we all just go with the flow!!

hope that helps, and best of luck to you

 

[coyotemist]

Our routine varies per day. I'm getting -at the max- 2 hours a sleep at a time during the night. What I wouldn't do to get 4-5 hours of sleep at once!

We sort of go with the flow. At the minimum, tho, I have to feed the baby, wash the dishes, do a load of laundry, and pick up. So I put him down when I can.

Structured routines aren't really my thing. Gentle routines with a "tendency to do this at that time" are more what we do.

 

[natalieadw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by coyotemist structured routines aren't really my thing. Gentle routines with a "tendency to do this at that time" are more what we do.

wss!!

 

[Sioko]

let's see, the only consistent things here are;

Kids and DH wake up about 9am
Bug and I wake up around 10:30-11:30am for the day (sleeping-in thanks to DH

)
feed-on-demand, never put the baby down (unless it's for the night in the co-sleeper)
lunch around 2pm, dinner around 8pm
bedtime for other kids is 10-30pm-11pm
Quiet-time and swaddle Bug after kids go down
Bug falls asleep on the breast around 11-midnight and I follow soon after
She wakes for feeding around 4-5am and again around 9am
Diaper changes 6-8x's a day plus 2 at night

Anything can happen to change that stuff though and I don't fight it

 

[kgrands]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I really appreciate it.

I'm not sure if I'm a "go with the flow" kind of gal. In fact, I'm feeling like a bit of a control freak!

After bringing LO home from the hospital the baby blues hit me pretty hard. I wasn't expecting the hormone crash. I think I found some kind of security in this routine that we came up with. The baby seems to like it too - I guess that's whats important.

Anyhoo, I appreciate all of your responses!

 

[AugustineM]

I don't think there is anything you can miss as far as taking care of a newborn -- the needs are pretty basic. Food, warmth, attention, cleanliness. I don't think a newborn really "needs" a schedule or even a routine, but sometimes it makes things easier for us! And as they get older they will just naturally fall into a routine, especially a nap routine -- two a day generally until they're one, then one a day. I can already see my baby (5 wks) tending towards 2 sleep periods a day. Really I think a good thing is to follow the baby's lead, especially with a newborn that's all you can really do!

Around here (but I have a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old), we are up at about 7:30 (DH leaves at about 5am), we watch sesame street and have breakfast, then some days DS goes to preschool at 9am. Usually the baby is awake until we go to preschool or go somewhere else, like the park or library or store. Baby sleeps for about an hour, or whatever she can. Life is chaotic around her, and I can't stop or lay down with her if I need to! We all lay down at about 1pm, and sometimes my older two sleep for a bit, but this is when the baby really sleeps. It's like she knows it's her chance -- so sometimes she'll sleep from 1 or 2 until 4 or so (straight!). Then she's usually up for a while in the evening. She gets a bit cranky and I think it's because she's tired and stimulated. She dozes off and on and nurses a lot, like every hour. Finally I try to get her to go to sleep around 8:30 or 9, and sometimes it takes a while. She doesn't fall asleep while nursing easily, so she usually lays by me with her paci, or I cuddle her and rock her to sleep. She sleeps pretty well, like 3-4 hour stretches easily!

 

[slinginhipmama]

This is how our day looks (generally)

7:30 am- wake up /nurse
8am-breakfast for older boys and myself (baby in sling) this is also my time to clean house, shower (usually with baby in my arms) and do laundry
9ish am school work (baby nurses sometime around this time) ok so we are more or less "unschooling" now....
11ish playtime (baby still in sling and nursing)
12ish Lunch

afternoons are always different we may go to the park, go to a homeschool function/group or just play and hang out at home. Finn now nurses about every 2 hrs but its all on demand so sometimes sooner. He is always in the sling or in my arms, he is just like his brothers. The moment I put him down to do something he gets upset, so I'm getting alot of use from my sling.

6ish pm dinner
7ish bath for all the boys
8ish books and bed

This routine is not set in stone, there are days we are on the go all day and then there are days where we stay in our pjs all day and do nothing but read books and play. The only REALLY consistent thing is that Finn nurses and gets his diaper changed as he needs.

 

[claddaghmom]

I noticed my little one keeps two schedules. One when she feeds like crazy and one when she doesn't. Maybe pre-growth spurt and post-growth spurt??

If she isn't feeding like crazy, she'll fall asleep at 11:30 and sleep until 7. Then after a feed and diaper change, she'll sleep until 10 or 11am. Then she will sleep from 1PM to 5PM. The rest of the evening is a spatter of nibbles and naps.

If she is feeding like crazy, she'll have the same general start and end times

but wake every 1.5-2hrs.

 

[Honey693]

Our schedule isn't even really a schedule, but here goes.

Sometime between 11am and 2pm - up for the day, shower, feed DD for anywhere from 5-45 minutes.
whenever DD finishes eating and passes out in a milk coma - any errands we have to do or gym time for me while she naps
when we get home - more food time for DD and then I try and clean after she falls back asleep
5ish - dinner time for me and DD
6ish on - either she sleeps 3 hour stretches and wakes up to eat for 15 minutes or she cluster feeds until 11 (those are some long nights)
11pm - DD is up for awhile and eats, plays with my husband as much as a 2 month old can and eats lots more
3am - down for the night where she'll wake up every 3-4 hours to eat