First Steps Towards A Routine

If you have decided to try and follow a routine, you are probably feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the advice about the best way to do it. Many moms find, having read all the books when they were pregnant and decided exactly what they were going to do, the reality is nothing like the dream! The problem is – your baby can’t read the book and so doesn’t know what she is supposed to be doing. 

If you are struggling to make your baby fit into a routine don’t give up. It often takes at least six weeks for any kind of routine to take shape. By two months you can put a little more effort into gently nudging your baby’s feed and sleep times towards your ideal, but for the first few weeks it is best to relax and go with the flow. 

A routine to aim for

Any routine should fit in with a baby’s natural rhythms and needs – not the parents’ rhythms and needs! Yours, unfortunately, will have to fit in with your baby’s. Detailed below is a basic outline of a good routine for a baby. Following something similar allows your baby plenty of sleep – at the right times of the day or night – and regular feeds, along with times for play and being sociable. This plan is an amalgamation of many other popular routines, along with advice from new moms.

7.00am: Wake your baby and feed her. Waking her at the same time every day helps to activate her natural circadian rhythms and will help towards her sleeping through the night.  

9.00am: Take your baby to her cot or crib and put her down for a nap. Always change her nappy first so you know she is clean. Newborn babies shouldn’t be awake for more than two hours at a time or they will get overtired and find it hard to settle. Use whatever method works for you to soothe your baby to sleep, but when she is around two months allow her to learn how to send herself off to sleep. Wake her again after around an hour. 

10.00am: Your baby will probably be hungry between now and 11.00am. This is a great time for baby massage, play and cuddles.  

12.00: Your baby will have been awake for about two hours now, so take her up for another nap – experts say this one should be longer, around two hours, to allow her to go into a deeper sleep. It may take time for your baby to fully enjoy this nap but stick with it. Again, make sure she has a clean diaper before you put her down. 

2.00pm: Time for another feed, and a great time for visitors. Your baby will be refreshed if she slept for the whole two hours.  

4.00pm: Many babies need another short nap to get them through until bedtime, and this is a good time to take your baby out for a walk so she can nap in her pushchair or pram. Try to have your baby awake again by 5.00pm so she will go down well at 7.00pm. 

6.00pm: A great way to help your baby to sleep is to introduce a bedtime routine, with a bath followed by a feed in her nursery and maybe even a story (she can’t understand it yet but will love listening to your voice). By 7.00pm your baby should be tired and happy to drop off into a deeper sleep. 

10.00pm: Many parents advise waking your baby between ten and eleven at night to give her a feed. In the early days, she will probably wake up again for another feed in the middle of the night – once or even twice. (Babies tummies are tiny and they can’t take all the milk they need in one go.) Keep night-time feeds very quiet, with the lights down low. 

Remember, this is a possible routine to aim for – don’t expect your baby to be able to do it all straight away, or even for the first few months.

You might also be interested in:

Diary Of A New Mum - Week 8
Time For A Routine
In which I plan the perfect routine for Jessica-Ann and me.

Week 14
Perfect Baby
In which I discover that we have an established routine and how much I enjoy being a mother.

Week 16
Messing Up The Routine
In which Paul and I attempt to go on a picnic - and suffer the consequences!

More about Newborn Babies

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AV Baby content is for information only. If you are at all worried about your baby, please seek the advice of your midwife, doctor or paediatrician.

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