Routine? Schedule? Parents of newborns may well laugh at such concepts. But as Nanny Robina explains, it's crucial to at least attempt some semblance of a timed-out day, for the parents as well as the child.
It won't happen right away, but by the three month mark, hopefully your day will start to look a bit more structured.
Wondering how to bring that sense of routine back? We asked Nanny Robina for some advice.
By the end of three months your day should start to look like this, Nanny Robina suggests:
7am Wake baby up and feed
9am Naptime (Approx 45 mins)
11am Feed
12pm Big naptime (2-2 1/2 hours)
2:30 or 3pm Feed
4 or 4:15pm May need a catnap of 15 mins
6pm Start bedtime routine
Note: At the end of the day, try keeping everything in a low key, soothing voice. Bath. Not too much talking or interaction.
10 or 10:30pm Wake up baby and feed. No eye contact, no talking, this should be the last feed of the night.
More tips:
If your baby wakes in the night try to soothe them back to sleep -- at no cost should you lift your baby from the crib. Make no eye contact, just enter the baby's room, shh, then exit within 30 seconds. The point is to just reassure your baby that you're there for them.
If your baby takes to waking up too early, move your baby's bedtime 15 minutes earlier. It could be that your baby is overtired and needs more sleep. A baby often wakes for two reasons -- hunger or can be overtired often due to not enough daytime sleep.
suzanne.ellis@cityline.rogers.com