How to get your Baby on a Schedule - Mystery Solved!

This article will help you get your 'bundle of joy' on a ritualistic schedule you can work around day and night! What will you get in return? Much needed sleep, a secure and happy child. I have 3 children, so I have had plenty of practice at this!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• dedication
• 1 bundle of joy or multiple
• diapers
• lotion
• bottle
• breast
• washcloth and/or warm bath
• lots of love
• lots of patience

1. The first thing you'll need to know about babies is once they are born they really seem confused. To get them on a schedule is an easy task but it does take dedication from YOU the parents. Sometimes if you really try to write everything down, feeding times, fussy times, bowel movements, the whole 9 yards, it still doesn't make any sense. The main thing to focus on is 'BEDTIME' in the beginning for your baby. Instead of writing all of this down, jot down what you think might be his/her bedtime. What time does your baby go to sleep, in the evening, and sleep for several hours? Let's say he/she falls asleep at 6:30pm and sleeps until 8pm. Then use 6:30pm as the bedtime....this is the secret!!!
2. So if its 6:30pm each evening and you see this pattern, then use this time to your advantage. As I said, you have to be dedicated and clear your personal time to allow for things to fall into place. What you do next is, ok, you pick 6:30pm each evening, now what you do is at about 6:00pm you start getting him/her ready for bed. You either do a warm bath or wash the baby off with a warm wash cloth, hands and face, etc. Change the baby's diaper and I usually use a small amount of powder for dryness. Then you can do baby lotion and last, pajamas. This in total should not take you more than 30 minutes.
3. Lastly, you can feed the baby his/her bottle or breastfeed, whichever you are doing. Finally you can put the baby down for its nap. How does this get the baby on a schedule you ask? Easy!! It works because by being persistant and establishing a bedtime you have just started creating security in the life of your new child. The baby now KNOWS, 'when I get my bath, and jammies and my tummy full, I go to bed'. The baby learns what to expect and when to expect it, this provides security for him/her. You will see the baby getting very UNHAPPY if things go off schedule for a day or so, which is normal for them. Next,this will lead to the baby establishing a 'WAKEUP' time and at that point you can give him/her the first feeding of the day or breakfast(cereal/fruit). Finally, you will further see some additional patterns as the baby starts to get a little older that will indicate, ok, at this time he/she is hungry and this could be a good time to establish the 'LUNCHTIME'. Same goes for the napping, you will see two naps usually for babies, one in the morning after 'BREAKFAST' and one in the late afternoon following 'LUNCHTIME'.

Tips & Warnings

• The main objective here is CONSISTENTLY focus on 'BEDTIME' and getting ready at the same time every evening. This starts the process, and soon you will be able to predict your baby's every need, grunt, cry, or wimper!!! So getting them on a schedule is one piece at a time and eventually it falls into place.