Advice & Info #2: Do babies need a schedule?

Start a routine, don't force a schedule.itll only make u and baby miserable. Keep a routine and baby will start her own schedule eventually. Follow babies lead:)

Somewhat

The only thing I scheduled was bedtime.  Ever since my son was about 2 months, he's had a bedtime routine and is in bed by around 8 pm (earlier if he's super tired and a little later when he's not).  The rest of the day, he's pretty much made his own schedule.  I'm pretty sure that my daycare provider has put him on a schedule that is convenient for her, which pisses me off a bit...but he doesn't seem to be harmed by it.

Yes babies need schedules. My kids all had schedules bx I thought that was the thing to do. Recently a friend of mine called me at 3 am bx she was awake and bored, I asked why she was awake and she replied that her 1yr old daughter was still awake. I realized that schedules are what is best for the family. If not a strict schedule, the child needs to learn boundaries early or this will happen to you. Transitioning to a non nocturnal life could be very difficult for baby otherwise, and in turn be very very hard on mommy

 I have always let baby pick their own schedule. My DD falls asleep every night at 8 and I did nothing to make it that way.

I didn't bother with a schedule until 6 months.  My son made his own schedule and I try to follow it as well as I can.  He normally eats at 9, 12, 4,7,and 9.  If he is hungry and 11 I feed him.  I would say the only important thing is to start a bedtime and morning routine and stick to it.  If you can nail down a bedtime routine it will be a lot easier for baby to know when night time, and bedtime, is and will help with a daytime schedule.

dd has been pretty good at night, especially these last few weeks. its during the day that she's unpredictable. i want her on one especially because i work from home but i won't force it

my ds1 started sleeping tru the night when he was 2 months old :) 

and ds2 has only waken up once every night to eat since he was born :)

theyre 2.5 yrs old and 6 months old . and they arent on schedule . to eat and sleep they will be once they start attending daycare and pre school this summer but other than that . i let our daily lives be spontaneous (sp?) i have seen how theres always something that comes in our way and kinda ruins our "schedule" so why worry then ? lol

I don't have a schedule...  I eat when I'm hungry, why should they be any different? Both of my boys have slept thru the night (with a few exceptions, not enough to complain about).  I do keep normal occurances during nap time (tv on, vaccum, not whispering, no black out curtains) but bed time (usually between 9-10 depending on how restless they are) is dark and quiet, they both go to sleep within 10-15mins of laying down.

My children all have been on a routine since they were about 6months old. I nurse on demand but my 8 month and my 3 older boys eat breakfast at 830 then snack time at 10 lunch at 12 snack at 230 dinner at 5 baths at 630 bedtime by 830. We have found having 3 ADD children a set routine helps them to know what is next so they dont get anxious and lose focus as often!