Well we are still trying to get some kind of routine to our day and wonder if you can help us out. We have just started to get LO up at a set time each morning, in the hope that this will give structure to the rest of the day but I'm struggling.

The idea is that we'll get LO up at 7am, then try and feed every 2h45m so that we can get 5 feeds in the day before bedtime at 7pm, as this is already established.

My LO normally feeds 5-45-6.15am so when I'm waking him he's not really hungry. I managed to get half a bottle into him today at 8am but then this obviously puts us back for the day. What do you do?

Also it can take a while sometimes for him to drop off for a daytime nap and I'm wondering would you wake him for a feed or would you let him sleep? For example he's fed at 10.30, we've played until 12.00, he's had a bit of quiet time and he's finally gone to sleep at 12.30 but he really ought to feed between 1 and 1.30 and there's a good chance he won't wake until 2.30. How would you handle this scenario?

All opinions and other ideas would be most welcome xx

What we tend to do is Hollie normally wakes up at about 7am, I then bring her down and feed her at about 7.30 - 7.45. Then she tends to nap about 9ish for about 1 hour (but will sometimes sleep on and off till next feed).
11am has next feed, then will play till 12.30ish and then will nap for about 2 hours.
3pm ready for next feed, then plays till 4.30 when has a nap for about 1 hour. Then bath/top tail. Has a feed 6.45pm then goes to bed at 7pm.
Do wake her at 10.30pm for last feed, she is very sleepy for this feed and tends to sleep straight after it till 7am next morning!
We are lucky she seems to have fallen into this routine since she was about 5 weeks and it suits us all really well.
Maybe you could try spacing out feeds over longer periods in the day see if it helps at all.

Emma and Hollie 9 weeks 3 days.

HI Lawso

Isla is 12 weeks 1 day so i think our LO are the same age I do 5 feeds a day at 6 oz a feed .
isla routine ..
isla wakes at 7.30 - 8 am and i chnage bum and give her 6oz she normally finishes this super quick.
isla sleeps a lot so normally falls asleep in her chair or on me even sometimes on th eplaymat !
she wakes for next feed about 10.30 -11 am again 6 ozs
I try to play with her after this feed as she is most awake !
at 2pm if she is still sleeping i gently wake her i change her bum ect and she normally streches awake again she takes 6 oz
she normally falls asleep and wakes up at 4.30 ish i feed her at 5pm she may only take 5-6 ozs
she has a bath ,play ect and normally stays awake till 7pm then sleeps till 8ish when she has her final bottle of 6 oz thou is she falls asleep after only 4 ozs i normally just put her down in our bedroom in her moses basket . she then sleeps thou till the morning .

so i do 5 feeds between 8 and 8 this may help you get in to a little routine , I must say im very flexible and Isla has made this routine not me i just feed her on demand luckily it is pretty much the same evry day.

today she must be having a growing day cause she is sleeping more than usual and thats a lot anyway !

HTH pucca

Thanks for your replies, it's really helpful to know what is working for others and you are both so lucky, my LO still gets up twice during the night 2-3ish and 5-6ish!

I thought that getting into a 4 hour feeding pattern would help and we've been trying to get him to go longer in an attempt to do this but I've realised in the last few days it's not the answer. I say this because we wouldn't get enough food into him during the day, hence why I'm trying a bit shorter in between so that I can at least get 5 bottles into him in the hope that he'll sleep a bit longer at night.

I have tried waking for a late night feed around 11.30pm but he still woke at the normal 2-3 o'clock so we didn't try it again!

Thanks again, look forward to hearing from others xx

Lawso...you and I are exactly the same haha! This happened to me and I had to coax grant into it. You say lo gets up at 5/6 - I would keep him up (gruelling I know) and do your three hour routine from there. Over the next few days belive me, the feed at 6 will drop and you can leave it an hour till 7.

What Ive found now is that if grant runs slightly behind on his feeds, he'll speed himself up and take all hid bottles by half 7 anyway.

The first week of my routine KILLED me - but it did work! Hopefully you'll find something that works for you x

Princess87 - Oh my god I had never thought of that!! Even though I'm a morning person myself, with the amount of sleep I'm getting (or amount I'm not getting) I can't imagine staying up from 5.45am but you know, I think you might be right!!! I think I might have to try and give that a go, thanks xx

Lol no problem, sometimes all you need is another perspective! Let me know how it goes - fingers crossed xx

Another different night, he slept through to 4.30, woke at 6.30 but amused himself in his cot until I got him up at 7am. He wasn't hungry though, had to wait until 7.30 before I could get a feed into him but this is progress.

Let's hope this is the start of something ..........

That is progress!!!! Sometimes each night is different! What time do you put your LO to bed? We find that whatever time we put him to bed he still wakes up at the same times !!!

If you're on the EASY routine, I'd highly recommend visiting the www.babywhisperer.com website....it's kept me sane in understanding my LO's needs. It covers everything from routines, nap problems, night waking etc.

Gi & Thomas 10 weeks 5 days xx

Aww lawso that's great maybe your lo has whipped himself into a bearable might pattern lol! X

oh my god im sooo jealous... how do your lo's do it?!!

mason is 13 weeks tomorrow and his naps are not structured although i do try and actually think i have tried bit to much and stressed myself out over it all! he does tend to have some kind of nap in morning, afternoon and then on me late avo but this could be quick 10min shut eye or longer nap if out etc... i really want him having at least one good long nap in cot but not working at mo! also since day one we have bathed with 2 year old at 7 and put in sleeping bag etc and bottled... up until few nights ago he was then awake all evening may of dropped off for nap after really crying in lounge but that was it then i would take up feed at 10.30pm and put down then at one point he would wake at 4am then 7.30 but not feed until 8/8.30 this was good............ this has totally changed and for ages now he wakes between 12 and 1.30 and he isnt hungry as would ahve had 5 7oz bottles at this point last one around 10.30/11pm so i do dummy etc and get very tired then he wakes 2.30 anyway and want feeding then after that feed i go to put down he is blatently tired and eyeds shutting on me etc but then he starts wriggerling dummy whacked out crying etc i then spend ages trying to get off and last night this was 4.30am then he woke again at 5.30 and i couldnt settle so brought him in bed but he woke for day at 6.30 but was tired as screaming and wouldnt feed it was nightmare!

anyway thats obviously not helped you just me ranting.... sorry! its good to read others posts though and the annoying thing is i do very similar....

Thanks for your replies.

Our LO goes to bed at 7pm, this has been set for a couple of weeks now and it works well, he generally nods off shortly after being put down.

I'm trying EASY although haven't done much research on it yet, have a couple of Baby Whisperer books here to read but just don't seem to have had the chance! Although I'm very flexible, right now we've just done ESY and will be doing A when he wakes!

I can't complain really but it would be great to have some kind of routine, any would do me right now. Wishing you all lots of luck xx