| I agree that you should establish your breastfeeding first before you start thinking about a routine.
You will have enough to deal with without having to worry about sticking to, and making your baby stick to, a routine.
Just follow your babys lead in the beginning.
feed him if he is hungry. The constant suckling brings on your milk and lets baby practice how to feed as well as nourishes him
Remeber that the more the baby sucks the more your milk will come in, so limiting babys eating by forcing a routine onto him , especially in the early days could cause some problems.
As you gain more confidence you should be able to observe and understand your baby's behaviour (is he hungry and really eating? Or is he fussing and needing to comfort suck)
Then you could start thinking about routines.
Maybe you will notice that your baby actually already has his own routine.
The good piece of advise I received was to remember that this is not forever.
(although it will probably feel that way when you are in the middle of it)
I looked through the Gina ford book at the enthusiastic recommendations of a friend.
It wasnt for me.
BUt it worked for her.
I think it depends on the kind of person you are.
Are you into routines and schedules? Then it could be right for you.
But all I could see was my friends life being restricted because she constantly had to rush back home for her daughters nap, or feeding etc.
My baby was also sleeping through from about 6 weeks, so I think it really depends on the child and not necessarily the routine.
I read in the Great Ormond st baby book that sleeping through is a developmental thing. So it will happen when they're ready.
You could try exposing your child to more daylight during the daylight hours, to get his body rhythm adjusted.Open the curtains, take them outside.
I also picked up the Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg.
She also has a basic routine but her approach is much kinder.
Again I didnt really follow it but I did use it for reference.
But my favorite book is Baby Love by Robin Barker.
Everything you could wonder or worry about is covered by the book and its, no nonsense, commonsense.
Good luck with which ever route you decide to take!  |