Daily Schedule for 7 month old - HELP!

[bunnywabbit]

Hi all, desperate for some help and advice...

I'm desperately trying to get my little man into a decent daily routine. He's coming up on 7 months old and the 'routine' we have now is horrible. Does anyone have a good schedule I can work with our would someone be willing to help me come up with a working schedule? Will be forever thankful! So far it's:

07:00 - Nappy change and bottle (7oz. He'll then go back to bed after this)
10:00 - Breakfast
10:30 - Nappy/clothes change and bottle (6oz)
12:30/13:00-13:30/14:00 - Sleep (some longer than others!)
14:00 - Lunch
14:30 - Nappy change and bottle (6oz)
16:30/17:00-17:30/18:00 - Sleep
18:00 - Dinner
18:30 - Nappy change and bottle (6oz)
20:00/20:30-22:00(?) - Sleep
22:30 - Get ready for bed and bottle (7oz)
23:00 - Bed (fallen asleep)

So yes, a very bad 'routine' for both him and me; I'm not happy about it and it needs to stop NOW. Don't get me wrong, the sleep from 8-10am is great as i suffer from fatigue so is very much welcomed but I'm exhausted by the end of the day! His sleep from 20:00 I used to put him to bed for but because of surgeries, ill health etc. I couldn't keep going up and down stairs with him when he wakes so have kept him downstairs to sleep until bedtime which I know is a no-no. Again, horrible excuse, but it is what it is and am not happy about it.

I'm a first time parent so am not too sure how to fit everything effectively into his day. There's things I'm working on because of health that some wouldn't think twice about which is starting to make me feel like a useless parent. Excuses aside, I need to nip this in the bud before it gets really out of hand. TIA! x

[bluebonnet22]

Don't stress and blame yourself. I had so much trouble getting my son on a good schedule - it's very normal! At your son's age, my DS was going to sleep for the night at 18:30. At 18:00 we took a soothing bath to relax him, then fed him a very large bottle, then he would sleep through the night many nights from 18:30 - 6:30 AM (and wake up and go back to sleep as your son does). Sometimes he would wake up and need a feeding at 1:00 AM, but not always . The daytime doesn't seem that crazy from what I remember.

[bunnywabbit]

Thanks, bluebonnet. Trying to get anything solid down on paper here - who'd have thought it would be so complex! He is, thankfully, a good sleeper, although we're going through a little sleep regression at the moment.

The one thing I have always said, lousy routine or not is that the 'kitchen is closed' between bedtime and first bottle of the day. The most he'll get between those times is water. Or should I not be doing that? For now it's only 7 hours between the last and first bottle...

[mommymachine]

From birth to age 18m babies are constantly changing how much they need to sleep and eat. I have not tried to put babies on any type of a schedule since DS2. You are doing an amazing job! Parenting is touch especially when you have health issues. My kids don't sleep through the night until 2.5 years or closer to 3. My youngest daughter needed more naps than I remember with any of the other babies. So not only is it different from age 7 months to 10 months, it is also different with every.single.baby. I agree with having a routine at bedtime to help him out, but work it around what he needs. And remember, you are doing an amazing job!

[bunnywabbit]

Oh, bluebonnet, really dumb question - do you change your LO's nappy on his morning feed at 06:30 or do you treaty it like a dream feed? I had been trying to treat it as a dream feed so he didn't need to wake up but when he'd wake later he'd be soaked through to the sheets so have had to change him, which means he wakes up. Was using Pampers New Baby but now using Pampers Baby Dry...

[bunnywabbit]

Anyone else wish to add their two cents?

[TRL]

Here is the schedule I followed. I had a baby nurse for the first year and she was very strict with this schedule. I always thought it was crazy to wake a sleeping baby until I saw how she took to this schedule. She was happy and knew what to expect. It worked great for us. Being a new mom is tough. Hang in there.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/04/cf9e5eebb8835792ada0a9afcd7f9c61.jpg

So nap schedule is 1 1/2 hours at a time then wake them if not up by then. This will get them to sleep most if not all night.
So naps would be
10:30-12:00
2:30-4;00
Bedtime at 6:30.

Also need to make sure you get stimulating play during wake times.

3 boys and 1 HT princess!

[bluebonnet22]

Oh, bluebonnet, really dumb question - do you change your LO's nappy on his morning feed at 06:30 or do you treaty it like a dream feed? I had been trying to treat it as a dream feed so he didn't need to wake up but when he'd wake later he'd be soaked through to the sheets so have had to change him, which means he wakes up. Was using Pampers New Baby but now using Pampers Baby Dry...

When I switched the Pampers Baby Dry (the ones that say "extra protection for night time" - not sure if the brands are exxactly the same over there?), he quit leaking and I wouldn't change his diaper. Before we changed to the Baby Dry he would always be leaking like you mentioned so we had to change him. Sometime around 9 months he started having a morning BM around 6:30 AM - 7:00 AM and just waking up for the day after that. It's great when they will go back to sleep in the mornings, but don't be shocked if it ends soon !

[atomic sagebrush]

I would never wake up a sleeping baby for a diaper change. I had one who would pee through any diaper and for awhile we would put two onto him and that worked well, eventually they do stop peeing at night.

I agree with MM, I have found that my kiddos change constantly and schedules never worked for me. I'd just get used to one thing (naps, etc) and then they'd start needing less sleep, have a growth spurt and need to eat more, or whatever. I am not a real "schedule" type of mom but I found that they sort of set their own schedules and I'd just try to fit into that.

[nuthinbutpink]

Well, I have an opinion- he is sleeping too much during the day! I would never want to stay up until 23:00!

07:00AM - Nappy change and bottle (7oz. He'll then go back to bed after this)- if this were my child, he would be UP! We would start the day! When he woke up, I would feed him breakfast and then change him and the day would begin!

I would try to make it 3-4 hours and then do bottle and bed. So 10:30 am-ish, naptime

I would only let him nap 2 hours

12:30 - Nappy change and Lunch, 2 hours is as long as I would let him sleep for a daytime nap! bottle after if he needs it

Try to make it 3 hours and bottle and nap so 3:30 PM

5:30-6:00pm - Up for Dinner, nappy, playtime, etc

9 pm-ish - Bath, bottle, down for the night!


I think he is sleeping way too long and that right back down in the AM is messing the entire schedule up! If you don't want to stay up until nearly midnight and want a couple hours to yourself in the evening after he goes down, I would not let him sleep so much during the day! Good luck!

[nuthinbutpink]

Right now, he is sleeping 16-17 hours out of 24 in the day!!! Way too much IMO!

[bunnywabbit]

Well, I have an opinion- he is sleeping too much during the day! I would never want to stay up until 23:00!

07:00AM - Nappy change and bottle (7oz. He'll then go back to bed after this)- if this were my child, he would be UP! We would start the day! When he woke up, I would feed him breakfast and then change him and the day would begin!

I would try to make it 3-4 hours and then do bottle and bed. So 10:30 am-ish, naptime

I would only let him nap 2 hours

12:30 - Nappy change and Lunch, 2 hours is as long as I would let him sleep for a daytime nap! bottle after if he needs it

Try to make it 3 hours and bottle and nap so 3:30 PM

5:30-6:00pm - Up for Dinner, nappy, playtime, etc

9 pm-ish - Bath, bottle, down for the night!


I think he is sleeping way too long and that right back down in the AM is messing the entire schedule up! If you don't want to stay up until nearly midnight and want a couple hours to yourself in the evening after he goes down, I would not let him sleep so much during the day! Good luck!

Thanks, NBP!

Would you also cut him down to 4 bottles a day instead of 5, or would you still give him a bottle with breakfast?

[nuthinbutpink]

I always did food first and then bottle. The goal is to get to just food. Now that will take a while and yes, I'd offer a bottle after food. It's hard. My goal is to get my kids to bed early enough so I still have an evening. My 4 and 7 year old are in bed by 8/8:30.

Your baby may certainly wake up in the night if you switch to an earlier bedtime but eventually, he will sleep 10-12 hours!

[bunnywabbit]

I always did food first and then bottle. The goal is to get to just food. Now that will take a while and yes, I'd offer a bottle after food. It's hard. My goal is to get my kids to bed early enough so I still have an evening. My 4 and 7 year old are in bed by 8/8:30.

Your baby may certainly wake up in the night if you switch to an earlier bedtime but eventually, he will sleep 10-12 hours!

Thanks! So you'd do a bottle at 7am with breakfast, as well as one 3-4 hours later at nap time, reducing to 4 bottles at a later stage?

[nuthinbutpink]

I always offered a bottle or breast after eating up until a year.

[mommymachine]

23580

I just saw this on facebook and thought of this thread!!