When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

My DD is only 6.5 weeks, so I know she isn't supposed to have a schedule yet. However, I am someone who thrives on schedules and loves to plan, so I am really looking forward to when my day resumes having some predictability! I know that kids always change things up, but I want to be able to say, "Alana typically naps at this time, eats at these times, etc." So amuse me...how long should I expect to wait? I return to work right after Labor Day, so should I just give it up and accept that day care will get her on a schedule?

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

It's not 100% set, but around 8-10 weeks we started getting a little predictable. DS would wake and eat, be up for 2-3 hours and then nap. Then repeat. It obviously is altered by how long the nap lasts, because it could be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Bedtime was around 7:00 and hen night time feelings on demand.

When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

6-8 months....my DS was not easygoing. But he did start with some kind of predictable nap in the AM probably at 4 or 5 months.

ETA: Up until at least 4 months we probably actively tried to get him to sleep every 1.5-2 hours (he didn't nap well anyway) and he ate every 3 hours.

Message edited 7/30/2012 6:43:39 PM.

When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

At 3 months, we're still not on a schedule when it comes to times. But at about 6 weeks I started to do the eat, play, sleep pattern which made things much more predictable. I'm a huge routine person, but even that little bit of a pattern has been enough to make life much easier.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

Around 10-12 weeks when she started to sttn

When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

we started eat, play, sleep around 2-3 months but i wouldnt say she had a predictable schedule time-wise until maybe 6m or so when we started feeding solids. even with eat, play, sleep it wasnt foolproof; sometimes shed fall asleep after a bottle and then play when she woke up. for the first few months the baby tells you what and when they need things, not the other way around.
i never really did her schedule by the time of day, more by the amount of time between things (for example, she didnt eat at 12 everyday, instead she would eat 3 hours after her last bottle). she didn't become predictable by the clock until around 6m or so, but she has always been very go-with-the-flow and flexible so we were always able to go out and have her work around whatever we were doing.

Message edited 7/30/2012 9:25:17 PM.

When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

The only thing that is predictible is when DS wakes and when he goes to bed. Other than that it is when he feels like it.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

We did eat play sleep starting around 3 months, but it would change day to day depending on what time she woke up. However, it was basically 1.5- 2 hr awake periods till 6 months at which point it started to be about 3 hrs. It wasn't until 9 months that she started waking up at a certain time, taking a regular morning nap, eating lunch, taking an afternoon nap, etc.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

4 months.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

we've had a tough baby and the first few months were rough. around 4 months we got a predictable night routine down (even though she doesn't sttn, it's predictable... ) her morning nap is kinda predictable and she is more 'readable' as far as when she is hungry and tired during the day, but each day is kinda different. yeah there are patterns, but she's def not a "its 10:30, time for your nap" type of baby

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

By 3 months we had a bedtime routine going. By 5 months he was down to four 7oz bottles every 4 hours and his naps were predictable. Now at 6 mos, we have a pretty good routine going in terms of eating, playing, napping and bedtime. It will come!

I have two older children who are very used to routine in terms of eating and bedtime so I just worked the baby in there. I started rouine as quick as I could with him, but that's because I already have one going here. If this is your first baby, it takes a little more time IMO

Message edited 7/30/2012 10:53:24 PM.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

Took us a while to get a schedule down, about 6 months. It was, well still is, frustrating to me because it seems like wen ever we finally get in to a routine, it changes
I'm trying to lean to accept it, it's not easy.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

12 weeks with DS and 10 weeks with DD.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

Around 4 months DD put herself on a schedule and was very rigid about it. I could tell time by her cues.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

At 8 wks old. She ate every 3 hrs and was STTN from about 9:30-10pm to about 9am. Around 12 weeks is when she started with a predictable napping routine.

Re: When did your LO start to have some kind of semi-predictable routine/schedule?

Around 8-10 weeks. I was getting ready to return to work and put DS in daycare. I figured it would be best to figure out a schedule for him so I started writing down all of his feedings and naps. Turns out, he had pretty much put himself on a schedule. Since then, the schedule changes every few months (less naps and more awake time, introduce solids, etc) but wake up and bed times are always the same.