When do routines and bad habits start?

Eve - congratulations and enjoy all the warm cuddles and gurgles.

I do agree with the what the other boarders have said here about baby being too young to really set up any routines right now, it is more about demand feeding and allowing baby to sleep when ever and for however long baby needs.

I know I am going to be "tarred and feathered" for making this statement, but bad habits and sleeping problems (usually - not always - but usually) start with the parents and what we do, not the baby.

At some point, and the decision of when to start is a bit contentious - I prefer to aim for between 6 weeks to 3 months start implementing a sleep routine, and some sort of routine.

The earlier it is done, the easier it is for everyone, and baby does not realise he/she is even being put into a routine - he/she just assumes well feedtime, bathtime, good night, okay that is the way it is.

I do tend to keep baby close by for the first 6 six weeks or so and really feed on demand, and do not cocern myself too much about who is sleeping when or where at this stage.

<But I do keep an eye on the "habits" that I am already starting to implement i.e. is baby only going to sleep if I rock baby? is baby only sleeping if room is dead quiet and we all tiptoe around? will baby only sleep if baby is in same cot, same room, same noise level? and so on.

i wouldn't try implementing anything more than a regular time for bathing and the whole buildup to the sleep that baby has after her/bath ... this will later turn into their official bedtime routine. Keep it simple and don't force too much routine but a routine of some kind is definatly important, kids do feel secure if there is some kind of stable routine. Cuddle baby rock them to sleep if needs be, let them sleep with you etc until such time it feels right to start implementing a more strict schedule. I put my daughter into her own cot at 5 weeks old and left her to cry it out and although she did settle on her own for the first 2 years by the 2nd year it started going all downhill again, she is 4 now and has major sleep issues (wakes up atleast 3 times a night screaming and comes to us to climb in). I tried it with my son from when he was 6 months (It didn't work at all and so we reverted back to rocking etc) He started to put himself to sleep in his cot from 13 months no Screaming.

When B was born the only routine we had was that she fed 4 hourly and had a bath in the evening, then bottle and 'bed' and after bedtime we didn't take her out of her room or switched on lights etc.

Only at about 7 - 8 months of age did she start doing the same thing at the same time everyday

I would still cuddle cuddle cuddle Mia (3 years)..... if she'd sit still long enough to let me!!!

Hi

I went on Nef's hypnobirthing course and she showed us a very interesting video.

The guy was saying that the first 3 months of a baby's life should be known as the 4th trimester as baby still needs just as much closeness and attention to grow.

you cannot give a baby too much love before 3 months. after 3 months they tend to become 'mom smart' and know how to get your attention!

as julz says, you can start with small routine like evening baths, followed by feed and sleep.

as for sleep training or specific routine, wait until after 3 months. for now, just cuddle, cuddle, cuddle!!!!

I think my babysense book says that they only start to develop bad sleeping habbits at 4 -6 months of age. Before that age, no amount of cuddling or ways of getting baby to sleep is bad!

Eve I am with Mia there, I also cuddle by LO untill he falls asleep at night and he has been sleeping in his own cot since he came home from the hospital (not because I didn't want to spoil him, but I cant sleep when he is in the bed)