(I'd just like to state for the record that is not a giant dog poo in the corner of these pictures...it's moss that's fallen down from our roof...hahaha! Also this outfit is from a few weeks ago, before the heatwave and the bump got massive!)
How did I get my babies into a routine and how do I get them to sleep through the night? That is the million dollar question I seem to get asked over & over again so I thought I'd address this all in one place so it's easy for you all to find! I'm no sleep training expert by any means but I am a mum of three, soon to be four and I have experienced the dreaded "2 under 2" situation which I'll soon have to deal with all over again! So I like to think that puts me in a pretty knowledgable position when it comes to babies and getting them into routines. I've had a lot of success with getting each of my breastfeeding babies into a routine and all three were completely sleeping through the night from about 8-10 months, that's if you count the "dream feed" which I'll explain later.
So how did I do it? I can tell you right now that it was not plain sailing by any means and it did require effort, discipline and perseverance but in the end it was totally worth it. I completely attribute getting our babies into a routine to me keeping my sanity, especially whilst surviving two under two. When I had Emilia (my first baby) in 2012 I picked up this book, The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford. In it is a strict schedule which include timed feedings & naps according to the age of your baby. When we had Emilia, my husband Jonathan & I weren't on a typical schedule anyway. We worked from home so we didn't have to be up for any particular time...we were quite relaxed and used to just doing what we wanted when we wanted to. Luckily for us Emilia was a very chilled out, easy baby and I breastfed & co-slept with her until she was 8 months old. This is totally against the "rules" of the book, but it's what worked for us at the time and that is fine! At that point, we didn't really need structure or routine as much because we just had one child, flexible jobs and it was working for us.
The one thing I did take from the book though was that a baby of about 6-12 months needs no more than around 2-2 and 1/2 hours of daytime sleep (that is a HUGE generalisation by the way, please refer to the book for accurate timings according to the age of your baby!) and that was the one thing I implemented with Emilia from about the time she started solids. This seemed to work well and little by little she transitioned into her own cot (I started her on daytime naps until she got used to it) and by 8 months she was sleeping in her own cot...by 10 months she was sleeping through the night. What I'm trying to say here is, if a strict routine doesn't work for you that's okay. You can pick & choose elements you like from the book and use them to fit into your lifestyle which is exactly what we did with Emilia.
By the time we had our second baby Eduardo, Emilia was 18 months old and I just knew that with two under two a routine was going to be crucial. So I was a lot more strict and followed the Gina Ford method to a tee from much earlier on. Some of the timings were probably a little different...for example instead of waking up at 7am and going to sleep at 7pm it was more like 8-8 but we made it work and by 6 months Eduardo was sleeping in his cot in the nursery. What really helped me run this routine like clockwork was the fact that using this system meant the two of them went down for their afternoon nap at the same time everyday. For any sleep deprived mama, this is an absolute god-send. Knowing you have those two hours free to catch up on work, laundry, cleaning, or better yet SLEEP!! That was 100% worth it to me. I can't remember exactly when Eduardo started sleeping through the night but I am pretty sure it was around the 9-10 month mark.
When I had my third baby Alessia, Emilia and Eduardo were four and three so they had since grown out of naps. However I knew the benefits of getting into a routine quickly and having a strict sleep schedule so I started her off the same way I did Eduardo. Like with all my babies though, I did what felt right to me. Although the Contented Little Baby Book routines start at two weeks, I felt that was a bit too young so I pushed it out by a few more weeks. By the time Alessia was three months we were in a schedule but prior to that her feedings/sleeping times were a little sporadic. The other thing I never paid much attention were the feeding times, especially in the first six months. As all my babies were 100% breastfed, I would just feed them on demand and whenever they were hungry. The only thing I stuck to rigidly were the sleep times and this is what I believe helped get them all sleeping through the night at quite a young age.
As with Eduardo, Alessia transitioned to her own cot at 6 months and by 9-10 months was sleeping through. Before this happened though, the book encouraged a 10/10:30pm "dreamfeed" which is where you wake the baby for a top-up feed right before you go off to bed. This ensures they do not wake again until morning and you can get a much better night's sleep as a result. I did this with both Eduardo and Alessia and I can tell you it made things a whole lot easier!
I know a baby routine is not for everyone and that is completely understandable! I don't think every mum operates the same way, nor do they need the same things. But for me, I thrive on having some sort of structure in my life and I think the more our family grows, the more necessary a routine becomes. It just helps everything run smoother and it suits our current lifestyle. However like I said with Emilia when we only had one and were a lot more flexible, it just wasn't for us and that is fine too! I hope this blog post helped...to watch the full video on how I put my babies into a routine you can hit play below. Let me know if you have been successful with putting your babies in a routine in the comments! I know I intend on using the same method with baby number four, especially as I'm going to have such a small gap again this time!
Outfit Details:
Maternity Nursing Wrap Top in Blush - Next Maternity
Green Jeggings - Next Maternity (last pregnancy, similar style in navy here)
Blake Suede Ankle Boots - YSL (out of stock)
Written in the Stars Engravable Bar Choker in Gold - Anna Saccone
Perlée Signature Bracelet in Yellow Gold - Van Cleef & Arpels
Box it Bracelet - Louis Vuitton
Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold - Tiffany's
Rose Gold Watch - Michael Kors
Makeup
- Benefit Porefessional Pearl Primer
- Bare Minerals Concealer in Summer Bisque
- Bare Minerals Matte Foundation in Medium Beige
- Bare Minerals Bronzer Warmth
- Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
- Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Love Glow Blusher
- Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder in Moon Glow
- Benefit Browzings in 03
- Benefit 3D Browtones in 02
- Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette
- Benefit Bad Gal Bang Mascara
- Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Iconic Nude
- MAC Honeylove Lipstick
- Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Kim K.W.