Hellobee Boards

No schedule here and no way would I wake a sleeping baby!

More like a timeline? For us, it was more about noticing her natural patterns and then building a routine around that, adjusting when necessary. We stuck to a 45 minute wake period pretty rigorously until she was about 5ish months old. She had few sleepy cues and it kept her from getting overtired and helped her nap better.

I absolutely never woke her to eat. She generally would wake up when she wanted and eat right then. The only time I woke her is if she napped too close to bedtime.

No, I didn't. I just followed baby's lead. I would NEVER wake a sleeping baby (assuming they didn't have weight gain issues!) She's 10 months now and has been on a pretty consistent routine that developed naturally since 6 months. I can't imagine watching the clock so intently, but if it works for you go for it!

I did with my first child, it was very rigid. I thought I had to have a schedule and it did nothing but make me stressed and inflexible. No schedule with child two and it has been a million times better!

@Pumpkin Pie: we don't really have a schedule except for one that my baby sorta put herself in. I might not be a great person to ask, though, because my child isn't big on sleep. I fed on demand, and we ended up co-sleeping to get a good night's sleep. They have a routine for her at daycare now, but even with that, she doesn't really sleep. She's happy, though, so we just go with it.

I don't wake the baby if I don't have to. I wouldn't wake her up in the morning or from a nap unless we have somewhere to be. I am totally OK with her falling asleep in the carseat or stroller, though. I don't go home specifically so she can sleep, but I don't like to move her if she's already asleep.

@Pumpkin Pie: I followed a routine rather than a schedule. I never waked her, she got fed when she woke and I put her back to sleep after a certain amount of wake time. Once she was 6 mo old, I had more of a schedule in that she napped at 10 and 2.

Nope

I've been wondering about the same thing! DD is 2 weeks old and she pretty much just eats & sleeps with minimal awake time in between. There really isn't a "bed time"... It's usually between 10:30-11:30, we head to bed either after a feeding or to start the next feeding in bed. She did gain back her birth weight so I stopped waking her at night to feed but during the day we're still waking her every 3 hours or so if she hasn't woken up herself...

No. I let her lead the schedule.

I did with my oldest. We were all miserable.
We've been letting our second take the lead, so we follow her cues & she goes with the flow. She's a better sleeper and everyone is happier.

@Pumpkin Pie: Yep we are on a schedule. Feeding on demand and following his lead did not work for us - our son was losing weight and not getting enough sleep and was screaming all the time (he had colic and reflux). He is a touchy baby that gets really angry when he's overtired and hungry but is a wonderful baby when he's on schedule because he's fed and well-rested so I have no problem waking him from naps. He's ready to go to bed at 730pm and we wake him for his last feeding at 1030pm (otherwise he wakes at 5am and will be up for the day) and he sleeps through until 730am. He's ridiculously happy when he wakes up from a good sleep and usually goes down for his naps without much protest.

For the first 3 months, I completely followed his lead... Bf on demand and he napped in my arms or rock n play, stroller etc. Bedtime was around 8, and he woke up 2-3 times to eat. At 4 months, I started following a loose schedule of putting him down to nap after 1.5-2 hours of being awake, and always in his crib. We tried EASY for a couple of days, but it just didn't fit with my parenting style. Also never woke him to eat, even as a newborn. Now at 11 months, he naps around 10:30 and 2:30, and bedtime is 7-7:30. He usually sleeps 12 hours, and wakes up once around 5 to eat, or sleeps through. He still nurses on demand, but I also offer solids at breakfast, lunch & dinner.