7 Week Old Baby

Read "On Becoming Babywise". It works wonders. I've had my 22-month old on a schedule since he was just several weeks old.

I know that there are already other responses that suggest this, but I used the advice from the book Becoming Baby wise. I established 6:00 to be our normal wake time (because of work), and he was sleeping from 10-6 at 7.5 weeks. He is 12 weeks now, and sleeping from 9-6 and I have to wake him up. I did take some of the advice and tweak it to how I wanted it. I would put him down for nap and let him fuss for a little bit, but I never made it the 10 minutes that the book said to.
At 7 weeks my son was taking a nap after every feeding so this was at least 6 times a day. He would be fussier if I tried to keep him awake too long. He would get overstimulated and would have trouble falling asleep. I highly recommend the book!! It has made a huge difference from my first child.

A schedule for what? Feeding or sleeping? Most babies aren't ready for a sleep schedule untill they can go for at least four hours between feedings. I've done in home
childcare for more than 15 years, and it's been my experince that around for months is when they start sleeping at night for 4/5 hours and usually a 40min to 1 hour morning nap then arounf 1or2 in the after noon they go down for alittle longer nap. Just be consistant about the times each day that you put your little one down, and every thing will fall into place. I have noticed that of all the children I've cared for the ones that have a securtity blanket or lovey and have that every time they go to sleep fall into schedules alot faster.
Good luck.
D. F.

Why does she need to be on a sleep schedule to for you to go to work? I would hope that whomever you have watching your daughter would be understanding that she is a baby and sleeps when she is tired. After getting into a rhythm of the new day (you going to work and her going to daycare), she will fall into her own schedule. Even if you were to get her to fall into a schedule now, I doubt that it would stay the same once you go back to work -- both because of the new schedule and because needs change daily. I wouldn't be concerned...when my son was not much older than her, he fell into 2-3-4 schedule on his own (wake, awake 2 hours, nap, awake 3 hours, nap, awake 4 hours, night).

I know it's not always possible to function well on their schedule. Here is what I did when I had to go back to work, I would stay up late like midnight, and feed her just before I went to bed and put her down, then she would wake up about 4 hours later, so your at about 4am, then I had to get up at 6am. When I got home from work I would have dad watch the baby while I took an hour nap. Also, I got my husband to get up with her at the 4am feeding sometimes b/c most times he when in to work later than me or I would go to bed early and he would feed her last bottle to her. About every three days I would hit the wall by the weekend I was exhasted and sometimes in tears. Also, by the time I went back to work she could eat cereal and I would give her a belly bomb before I laid her down and she would sleep longer. Every 7 week-old mother is exhasted! (unless the have a living in nanny!)

I personally believe that our lives should wrap around them, not the other way around. If baby gets up in the night or wakes up early or stays up late, you'll just have to do your best to go to sleep any time baby does and when you are home. You'll need to live with less sleep for awhile. If you are concerned about your providers schedule, don't be. If she's taking infants, she knows they need to take priority. My daycare always stays flexible so that I can put the needs of the youngest or neediest child first. Everything we do changes from day to day as is needed. As they get older, everyone's schedules start to mesh. The older kids have learned that they are not the center of attention and the babies learn this too as they age. 7 weeks is way too early to really manipulate baby. They are going to pretty much eat and sleep when they want and cry loudly if they are not getting whatever they perceive they need at the moment.

Suzi

schedule your day as you need your baby to be scheduled wake up, shower and dress including shoes and then wake baby, starting with getting dressed then feed you and baby in whichever order you want. your day schedule will be totally different from baby when you go to work. expect an a.m nap, playtime, lunch, slight wake time then longer nap, playtime, feeding slightly before your dinner and some playtime. playtime is just wake time as baby gets older, more play less just looking around. you will have to add in feedings as needed and changing is not schedule-able. anyway even if you feed every 4 hrs on demand, some will get skipped as baby gets older. you can encourage wake time during the day without overstimulating so your nights will be sounder. whether you force baby into your schedule or you conform to baby's you will adapt to either way. I do know that whether i woke the kids as I was dressing or dressed them after first feeding basically they had to be dressed and out the door with me to daycare when I was ready and I had to make it happen. This is why you shower and dress yourself first. good luck and once you go back to work a lot of the questions become non issues.

I used "The Baby Whisperer" and it worked great with both my kids. My youngest just turned 4 months and has been sleeping through the night and on a great routine since I went back to work. The book focuses on the 'EASY' routine.
E - Eat
A - Activity
S - Sleep
Y - You
This cycle takes about 3 hours and has you feeding after they wake so that your baby doesn't get in the habit of going to sleep while being nursed/bottle fed.

You will find that just going to work forces you into a routine too. I practiced the week before I went back just to ease both of us into it.

I had to go back to work when my baby was six weeks old. It is possible!
My friends had really good luck with the "Babywise" books. I had really good luck with a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Basically, at seven weeks old, they should be sleeping a lot. During the day, you can do the "two up, two down" philosophy... after the baby has been up for two hours, put them to bed. They should sleep for about two hours. In any case, find something that works for you, and go with it. Try something for a few days before deciding whether or not you like it, because it will take a few days for everyone to get used to it. And let your day care know what the schedule is so they can try to keep as close to it as possible.

Good luck!