Schedules vs Newborns

Starting out as a new parent(s) you just want to do what is best for your baby but also have time to relax yourself and get things done. I was always told you can't put a newborn on a schedule but I decided that it was worth a try. A few weeks before my due date, I decided that I would make a list starting off with how many times she poops, tinkles, eat, naps and when bedtime was. I made sure I had the list hanging up so my husband would know and put down the times that any of these things would occur and how long her naps lasted.

Trying to set your baby up on a schedule deals with a lot with repetiveness and being dedicated to it. If you deviate from setting the schedule during the first few weeks it will throw the baby off and it will be a longer process. I stayed dedicated in my daughter's schedule, granted it did take a few weeks for her to get settled into the schedule but it worked and now she is 14 months and still on that schedule.

Here's what I did. Starting from the first day my husband and I brought her home from the hospital, she would take regular naps during the day and have her feedings every hour in a half sometimes every two hours. Now, the scheduling isn't really for feeding or naps because those will always vary in the older they get. However you can make certain times during the day where you put them to sleep. My daughter would wake up at 8 AM every morning when she was a newborn and I made sure that she had her first nap at 11 AM. Sometimes she would go to sleep before then but having a time where she could get used to how the day was going to happen helped tremendously. The next set nap time would be around 4 PM, even though she would take "power naps" in between which consisted of 20-30 minutes. The crucial part of the day is when you set a time where you give them a bath and put them down for bedtime. Since my daughter was born she hated to be swaddled; even the doctors would try to swaddle her and she always managed to get out of it. So unlike most parents being able to swaddle their child and they just fall asleep, we had to come up with a different solution for her. Our solution was finding some music that would calm her enough and a very warm bath. Dreamy Lavendar body wash by the Honest Company is amazing. The body wash and lotion helped soothe our little girl. The schedule I made for her is 6:45 PM run her bath water and by 7 PM she was in the tub. We would spend at least 20 minutes in the tub for her to splash in the water and relax from her long days. After she had her bath, we would lotion her down with the Dreamy Lavendar and she would immediately have a bottle with some oatmeal and breast feeding.

I could tell when she was really starting to get tired because she would rub her eyes and pull on her ears as a warning sign for us. Searching on YouTube one day for some soft instrumental music that would further relax her, I found one that she still uses to this day. It is called "Nocturnes" by Candlelight — deep relaxation and sleep. This instrumental is so soothing and the beautiful colors as well as the different patterns being done kept my daughter's attention and she would stare at it until her eyes finally closed. She was off to sleep by 8 o'clock. Every night was the same routine and she picked up fast on knowing when it was time for her bath and time to go to sleep. Having her set up on this schedule allowed me to finish up any chores I needed to do around the house and spend time with my husband, which is very important in being new parents because you can lose yourself and forget to take care of your needs as well. The trick to scheduling a newborn is to not get fustrated and have patience because they will learn.