How to Create a Newborn Schedule

Want to create consistency with your baby? Learn how a newborn schedule can help your little one adjust to life outside the womb.

Newborn ScheduleAs any new parent can tell you, babies do things on their own terms.

Forget longer stretches of sleep—they’ll gladly sleep in spurts, waking up periodically to eat. Peeing and pooping happen at all hours, no matter how inconvenient to clean. And days and nights are mixed, with no structure in place.

Before you write off the newborn stage as hopeless, rest assured you can still help your baby adjust to life outside the womb. And it all happens with establishing a newborn schedule.

Now, this isn’t the kind of “schedule” you might use for yourself. We’re not talking about sticking to the clock or expecting him to abide by your set times. Instead, focus on simple ways to structure your day so that he can acclimate to his new life. Let’s take a look how:

1. Keep nighttime subdued

In the womb, your baby’s sleep patterns were all over the place. She had no idea whether the rest of the world was asleep or awake. Now, however, you can help her sleep longer at night and stay awake more during the day.

When she wakes up throughout the night, stick to feedings and diaper changes only. Turn on white noise to muffle sounds and light minimal to keep the room dark.

As alert as she might try to be, don’t engage with her so that she can learn to sleep in longer stretches. You don’t have to be “cold” or ignore her, but keep your body language soft and subdued.

Meanwhile, use the daytime to encourage play and attentiveness. This is when you can coo and smile, do tummy time, sing songs, and keep your environment bright. She can then begin to associate daytime with being awake and alert, and nighttime sleep with being dark and subdued.

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2. Feed your baby after waking up

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With a newborn, don’t base your activities on the clock, but rather on a general flow to your day. One of the best ways to establish this rhythm is to feed your baby after waking up.

In Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, Tracy Hogg talks about the “E-A-S-Y” routine, which stands for “eat, awake, sleep, and you” (with “you” being time to yourself while the baby sleeps).

Once your baby is awake for the day, feed him, followed by his awake time. Then, after playing, it’s back to another sleep cycle, followed by eating, and so forth.

3. Have a consistent bedtime and wake up time

A newborn schedule is less about following a strict timeline than it is about following a general flow to your day. That said, two time frames I do recommend you stick to are bedtime and wake up time.

Try to put your newborn down to sleep for the night at the same time every night, even if you have to adjust the activities beforehand. Similarly, have the same “official” wake up time every morning.

A consistent bedtime allows him to get used to falling asleep at the same time every night. Find ways to adjust your early evening activities so you can put him down consistently.

Meanwhile, start your day at the same time each morning, regardless of when he wakes up. For instance, you might have a 6am start to your day. If he wakes up at 4am, continue to keep your environment subdued for the next two hours until wake up time.

4. Create a bedtime routine

Just as you have a general flow to your day to help your baby know what to expect, so too should you have a bedtime routine.

It doesn’t have to be fancy—think of it as doing the same things in the same order every day. Maybe that means starting with a soothing bath at 6:45pm, followed by a baby massage and changing into pajamas. You’d then read a few books in bed, feed him, and put him down to bed by 7:30pm.

Bath, massage, pajamas, books, feeding, bed. Same order, around the same time, every day. These patterns let him know which activities are coming up and provide a comforting familiarity.

Get tips on how to establish a baby nighttime routine.

Baby Nighttime Routine

5. Feed on demand

As much as we wish babies would always eat, play, and sleep in set hours of the day, that’s simply not how they function. You might have some days when they wake up, eat, stay awake for 10 minutes, and go right back to sleep. Or perhaps you’re nursing for what seems like forever, only for your little one to want to eat again 30 minutes later.

Such is life with a newborn.

So, do what you can to get him onto a newborn schedule, but also be open to fidgeting with it, including feeding on demand and listening to his cues. This means feeding him when he’s hungry, regardless of how long ago (or how recently!) he had just eaten.

Conclusion

As you can see, a newborn schedule isn’t about getting your baby on a strict timeline. Instead, it’s about following a general flow to your day to help him better adjust and develop good sleep habits.

Keep nighttime subdued, saving all your active play time for the day. Feed him after waking up from a nap so he’s more alert when awake (and less likely to need to feed to sleep). Create a bedtime routine so he can transition into a long stretch of sleep.

Feed on demand, especially in the first two weeks, to keep your supply up and accommodate his frequent hunger. And while you can keep your timeline flexible, try to stick to the same wake up and bedtimes every day.

It may take a few more months to establish a set timeline for him. In the meantime, do your best to create a schedule that works—even on his terms.

How to Get Baby to Sleep Longer Stretches at Night

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2 Comments

  1. Hi Nina! First time mother here. I found your blog while desperately browsing sleep related problems. My 6 weeks old son simply won’t sleep normally. Sometimes he falls asleep and wakes up 20 min later. That’s maximum I achieved. Other times it’s almost impossible to put him down. He would fight till the end. And when he finally drifts off, the moment I put him down, he is fully awake. Like today I was rocking him for 35 min and he woke up seconds after I put him down.

    Thank you for all the useful articles. My question is about the awake time. Do I count feeding time as awake time? No more than 60-90 min for him to be awake before nap, right? So that including feeding time? Cause he eats for 40-60 min! And nothing I can do about it…

    Thank you so much.

    1. Nina Garcia says:

      Hi Alina! It’s definitely rough when our babies wake up so soon after putting them down. It helped when I used baby gear like wraps, swings, etc instead of putting them down in the crib, at least to buy me some time and get them to sleep longer.

      As far as awake time, yes, feeding time would count as awake time. If he’s taking, say, an hour to feed, check that he’s actually awake and eating (he could be sucking but not actually swallowing anything).

      I hope that helps! Hang in there, mama <3