Developing A Routine For A Newborn Baby

Newborn and young babies can be hard to figure out sometimes and it can be hard to diagnose reasons for crying, especially if it is your first baby. Babies may cry because they are hungry, tired, need a diaper change, be sick or they may just need some playtime. New parents may often misread the cry and may just try everything until they discover what works. This often leaves them frustrated and stressed. There is a much easier way to discover why a baby is crying and that is to firstly understand that babies need to have a routine and secondly, to follow the correct routine. If they are following this routine, they will be more happy and cry less. Also, mom or dad will be able to easily determine why they cry when they do.

A popular misunderstanding is that babies routines can vary significantly. They only vary significantly because parents misread their signals, get confused and inadvertently put them in the incorrect routine. This in turn, can affect feeding and sleepingroutines and can make life difficult for the parent.

The proper routine for a baby from birth up to 3 months is a 3-hourly schedule consisting of the following, and in this order:

1. Feeding: Feeding times will reduce gradually as baby becomes a more efficient feeder. When breastfeeding, babies can stay latched on all day, or worse still, all night so mum needs to time the feeds so as to get some sleep and not get the baby into a bad habit.


2. Play: Playtime should always follow feeds, with the exception of night time feeds. Sleep should only follow feeds at night. This is to ensure that baby doesn't fall into the habit of associating feeding with sleep. This is a common habit that babies fall into and it manifests itself in baby requiring to be breastfed, in order to get them to sleep. This would be ok if mum was always there but if she is not there, then sleeping problems can arise.


3. Sleep: Young babies need to sleep every 3 hours, for approximately 45 minutes to an hour each time. Playtime should tire them out and sleep should come naturally. It is best that baby learns to fall asleep in their own cot and not in mums arms. Sleeping in mums arms can create problems where baby would need to be in this position in order to sleep and this is not good for mum!


4. Time for parents: Mum and dad need a break from the 24/7 job of early parenting. Mum especially, is exhausted from the labour and the night time breastfeeds and may be sore from the episiotomy, cracked nipples and contracting uterus. The time when baby sleeps should not be a time for housework or for getting other jobs done (they can be done while baby is awake). It should be a time for rest, pampering yourself, exercising (if allowed) or having an adult conversation (instead of the usual baby-talk). Take time out to be human again and this will help to banish any baby blues.

Once baby wakes after their sleep, the 3-hour cycle begins again. Once the baby reaches 3 months, the pattern may change of its own accord with baby reducing the number of naps but sleeping for longer periods.

To summarize, babies thrive on a schedule and initially require a 3-hourly schedule of feeding, activity and sleep. Sticking to a routine will ensure a content baby and happy parents!

Noelle Leahy is proprietor of Snug Baby Shop, a leading Online Retailer of Baby and Children's Accessories in the UK. Best selling products are Childrens Waterproofs and Hospital Bag for Labour.