My Baby Has No Routine and I Don’t Mind

Before Logan was born, a lot of people would tell me how good it is to get baby into a good routine. They’d tell me how important it is for ensuring baby knows when their naptimes are and the difference between night and day and if they are in a good routine, it means you can have some time to yourself or do some chores etc. At first I wasn’t sure, but then I started to think maybe it would be good. As long as it isn’t bad in any way for my baby then surely it’s fine. Which I’m pretty sure it is in any circumstances, everybody loves a good routine sometimes. 
The first couple of weeks of getting used to having a baby, both Logan and I slept and ate pretty much. We didn’t leave the house much or bother with things like that. We only saw family and friends if and when they came to the house or on the rare occasion we would all go out as a family. He certainly didn’t have any set naptimes as he was a newborn and a doctor once told me that apparently, young babies can sleep for upto 22hours a day…what on earth is he talking about?! 

When Logan was around 6 or 7 weeks old, an email from one of the newsletters I’d signed up to during my pregnancy, had caught my eye. It highlighted about getting baby into a routine once they’re around 6 weeks old and helping them to learn day from night and bedtime etc. I’ll admit that yes I did read it and thought this must be important for baby. I’d noticed Logan already had gotten into the habit of knowing night time as he slept more between feeds and during daytime he had more naps rather than big sleeps. 

I started to make sure that I changed Logan into a new outfit every day and in the evening I tried to get him bathed around 8.30pm followed by a massage, fresh pyjamas/baby grow and a feed in bed which he fell asleep straight after so I could pop him straight into his Snuzpod. I think this kind of routine lasted approximately a week until he wasn’t having a bath every evening as sometimes he became tired and fell asleep earlier or when he was struggling with colic, we could be trying to settle him and wind him around then. A couple of weeks later, he might have a couple of days where he actually didn’t want much of a feed after the bath but he didn’t go to sleep on me either, so I had to pop him in the snuzpod while I lay next to him in bed and hoped he would settle or I would just get him into my bed where we could read and cuddle together. 

Another friend asked me “did your health visitor not tell you its important for them to have routine and set nap times etc during the day?” Now bearing in mind I’m breastfeeding so ultimately I’m feeding on demand. I never know when he wants a nap or a feed or anything specific. He wakes at different times each morning & doesn’t always go to sleep at the same time in the evenings.

At 24 weeks, we can now say we are figuring it out a bit more…still no routine or set times for anything however… I know that approximately 2hrs maximum after we get up in the morning he will want to boob to sleep. He will also boob to sleep another 3 times in the day unless we are out when he tends to have little naps in his pram and not always boobing to sleep. In the evenings we just bath him not long after he’s had his evening feed and nap so then he can have a bath and we can have cuddles and stories or watch a movie until he will want to boob to sleep. This is about as far as we’ve gotten but hey…it works for us! I’ve found with my friends who have a routine for their little ones, that if we are arranging to go anywhere or do something for example, they will have to time certain activities around naps/feeds whereas I tend to just play it by ear, as long as Logan is fed before we leave the house, it doesn’t matter at all if he has a nap in his pram or he tends to be pretty content until wanting his next feed. But again..this really works for us and we’re all so much happier and chilled for it as I know I’d be stressed out making sure I did things around him.

As he is almost 6 months old, we will be trying to get him to sleep in his cot in his room soon and my idea (not that they ever happen or work) is that when I notice him getting tired, he can have a relaxing bath followed by a bit of massage where we will then go into his room with dim lights and relaxing music, read a book on the nursing chair or if he’d prefer to just nurse him to sleep then pop him in his cot. I have a feeling this won’t go to plan but we can only try haha!

Does your baby have a routine? What do you find works for you? Any tips for getting him to sleep in his own room are much appreciated.