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    Nicole

    Thanks for this! I did not schedule my older child (now 26 mos) but with this baby a schedule seems essential to my survival! I’ve sort of gotten her on this kind of schedule already but it’s nice to have this formal schedule to follow. The only problem is that after the 7pm feed my 2-month-old is soo fussy and if she does fall asleep she wakes up before 10pm. Any tips??

    RunInBoise

    Making sure you drink enough water, and having a really nice nursing bra and a nice electric pump did help me out.

    Kara

    We nursed on demand and it worked for us sort of. He was not and still not a good sleeper. No routine will help him unfortunately he got his bad sleeper-ness from me. I say do what works for you, there is no one way to nurse.

    Siahs_Baby

    Be ready to be attached to and on call for your baby for as long as you spelt breast feed. Enjoy the bonding. 🙂

    Svetlana

    Hi I am mom of 3 and breastfeed all of them. The best advise for new mom is: it’s very hard to get use to new baby and nursing could be very frustrating and tiring, but don’t give up!!!! It’s a temporary and it’s a special bond between you and your baby that no one could experience. Plus your baby will thank you later. Don’t fill like you are a milk machine, think of it as a gift you are giving to your baby that cant be returned, but it’s will last forever. Enjoy this special time. As for schedule: every baby is different so some things are going to work for you other won’t, for me, schedule worked for my middle girl, and it didn’t work for my other kids. So we had a plan B. Always have a plan B! Good Luck you are very lucky mommy!

    sharon

    Patience at first is the key because it can be very difficult at the beginning to get on a schedule but once you do things will get a lot easier.

    MHT

    What happens when your baby cries when you put him down for a nap?

    Melissa Lawrence

    Thank you all for your great tips! We are notifying the winner and will post her name here and on our Facebook page in the next few days.

    Andrea

    My baby is 8 weeks old and I feel like I am nursing him constantly (approximately 10 times day/night). So far I have been nursing on demand and I wake up several times a night to nurse him. I am ready and excited to start a routine that will help me rest more.

    I am a teacher and work during the day, so he is with a sitter from 7:45-3:45 during the week. Could you give me a better idea of when he should be napping? If I nurse him at 7 am, he should then sleep around 8:30/9, correct? Then he gets a bottle at 10 am (expressed breast milk). I nurse him again at 12:30 – his sitter lives 1/2 mile from my school. When should he nap in the afternoon? And should I nurse him immediately when I pick him up at 3:45 or can I wait until I’m home at 4:15? What about napping in the evening? Should he be kept awake? Is their a chair or something I should be using to help him sit up and stay awake. He’s typically in his Fisher Price Rock N Play Sleeper. Thank you!

    Melissa Lawrence

    Hi Andrea, congratulations on your baby! I think my schedule for a 2-4 month old baby could be adapted a bit to suit your schedule. You can view a printable version of the schedule here: https://cloudmom.com/baby-feeding-and-sleeping-schedule-breastfeeding-2-to-4-months-old/

    For babies that age, I find that during the day they have a “wake time” of about 90 minutes, so of course every baby is different, but many are ready to sleep again 1.5 hours after they wake up. If you nurse him at 7am, he could go down at 8:30am and then have a bottle around 9:30am and go down at 11am for another nap before you nurse him at lunch. And then take another nap say around 2/2:30 before you pick him up. I always found it was best for my milk supply to nurse as soon as I was with the baby again, but you could try it out both ways and see what works for you! At 8 weeks old my babies were taking four naps a day, so another evening nap around 5/5:30. I wouldn’t try to keep him awake — mine all slept better the more rested they were. And then I would always try to tank them up with a nice long nursing session before bed so they would hopefully sleep longer stretches. Good luck and keep me posted!

    Anonymous

    My daughter got up at 7.15 but I didn’t feed her till 8 cause she is a notorious snacker. She’s sleepy and might want to sleep before 9.30. What do I do? Today is my first day with this. Thanks!!

    Melissa 🙂

    Melissa Lawrence

    HI there — so glad you wrote. OK if you have fed the baby and you think she has had a full feed and she is sleepy, I would put her down but just make sure to feed her within 3-4 hrs… check with your dr but this is really what allowed me to get my babies onto a schedule — for sure, often they were sleepy during the whole feeding and they oftentimes went to sleep right away. LMK how it goes and if you have other questions and HANG IN THERE — every day is on your side!! xo Melissa

    Melissa

    Okay, so she went down for a nap at about the correct nap time but she got up like 30 mins later. Couldn’t get her back down till (she was very cranky in the meantime but not hungry) 10.50am so I got her up to eat at 11.30. She is sleep now and I am planning to get her up to eat at 2pm. The next thing we clearly need to work on is sleep. But I guess one thing at a time?? She will be 3 months on dec 6th so I guess closer to 4 months is a good time to really work on sleep? Do you have anything I could read on that? Btw: thanks for replying so fast! It is great to talk to someone who is pro-schedule breast feeding! I seem to run into all the on demand advice. But I’m still unsure on how to handle sleep and of she won’t go down for a nap or for bed time. *first time mkm* lol

    Melissa Lawrence

    My personal view is that sleep has alot to do with feedings — I am not sure why she is waking up early, but I would really try to make sure that when you finish feedings she is AWAKE AND FULL refusing milk — each feeding might take a very long time, even an hour or more, but it is worth it b/c ideally when you are done you won’t need to feed again for 3-4 hours at this stage. If she is waking up early, check with your dr, but I would assume it means 1) she’s hungry, 2) she has gas or colic — so I would try to make sure she is fully burped and fed and i would also try swaddling her very tight, I have some videos on swaddling that you should check out — I would also make sure the room is dark. These are just my personal views and the things that have worked for me, all the best luck and feel free to write again – hang in there, every day is on your side!!! xoxo M

    Karissa

    This is so helpful! It reminds me of what I did with my second child…but totally forgot about it. My 4th is now 5 weeks old and I’m tired of waking up 2 or 3 times a night…and found your video. I really need to get strict with a schedule with her like I have for my older children when they were infants…I’m finding it more difficult to do so with running around for preschool, Kindergarten, etc.
    Some questions for you:
    -Since you are a mom of five, I’m sure your oldest had school and you had to be out and about a bit…how did you keep a schedule going even if you had to run around a lot of the time?
    -Did you really keep baby up at 10p until 1.5 to 2 hours after feeding, let sleep for 1.5/2 hours and then feed at 1a? Did you sleep while baby slept at that point??
    -How long did you find it took for baby to sleep from 1 to 7/8a?? using your schedule?
    Thanks for your help!

    Karissa

    Thought of a couple more questions. Do you put them down awake?? When do you normally bathe your babies? I’ve always done this at night…just curious if you found a good time to do so to add to the schedule/routine.

    Melissa Lawrence

    Hi Karissa! Congrats on your 4th baby! You are so right that when you have older kids, sticking to a routine whereby you are home and the baby naps in the crib is harder — and one of the things I found was that I tended to be less inclined to take the time to make sure the baby had a full feed b/c I was so crazed and busy with all of the other things I had to do. The basic principle to these scheduled feeding routine which really really helped me is that you don’t let the baby go long stints during the day without eating… you try to make it work to sit down and feed her and keep going until she is very full, awake and wants no more… this is such a tough job at the beginning, I remember sometimes it taking me more than an hour to accomplish this… So in answer to your questions:
    1) I did had to run around alot but I tried to be home as much as possible during the first few months — sometimes I fed the baby while the kids were eating breakfast, while they were getting dressed — I was able to be home alot in the mornings — to be honest with you, we did miss some things b/c I just couldn’t make it all work — when I could, I had the baby nap in her crib.
    2) the schedule at night is for feedings — so for example, if your baby is fed at 7pm and is sleepy at 8pm, by all means put her down, do not keep her awake, just remember to wake her up to eat again regularly b/c in my view this is going to mean that she sleeps longer at night… so she might sleep from 8:30-10pm — then she has a top off feed, then you BOTH go to bed, and at 1am — you wake her and feed *** Some people do not believe in waking up sleeping babies** but I do and it’s the only way I was able to survive and my kids so far are great sleepers!
    3) I remember that 6-8 weeks was really a turning point for me. At the beginning, most of my babies slept from say 10-1, then 1-4m then 4-7 — they would do 3-4 hour stints at night and as soon as they slept, I slept — I have a video on this actually — by around 6-8 weeks, I think a few of my babies definitely went from 1-7 — when I added that 6-8 hour stint of sleep to what I got b/t 11-1am, I was ok … it didn’t always happen, but it did happen…
    4) I 100% put the babies down awake from day one swaddled and got them used to being alone in the crib — they had so many hours of being held and nursed by me that I figured they were getting the affection they needed – ** again, many moms will not agree since this is not attachment parenting, but it worked for me and now all my kids sleep in their own beds which is what my family does **
    5) I bathed my babies in the morning b/c alot of them had mucky eyes and I felt like their bottoms would be mucky until about 18 months, when I then began bathing all of my kids when the came home after their day — around 5pm sometimes earlier! I always bathe them before dinner b/c even though their pajamas get a bit dirty sometimes, it just makes for a more relaxing evening and sometimes I am too tired by 7 at night… what I did with my newbies is feed them in the morning and when they were totally fed and burped, I bathed them and got them all cozy in a swaddle and then put them down to sleep — sometimes this happened when we got back from dropping the other kids at school.

    So, I hope this helps you — none of this is a perfect science but if you can try to get those full feedings in, even if you are out, I bet those nights are going to get better soon. Hang in there and thanks for watching CloudMom — love Melissa xoxoxo

    Maria

    Hi, I too feed my almost 4 month old on a schedule every 3 hours…but when do I know he is ready to feed every 4 hours? Also, my last feed is at 7:30pm. Lately he’s been waking at random hours most of the time around 2:00am where i feed him for about 30 minutes. He goes down pretty well but he’s then up again at 4:00am and then at 5:30am. I have to struggle to keep him asleep till his 7:30am wake time. Any suggestions? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Melissa Lawrence

    Maria, I am going to try and answer your questions in an upcoming vlog — make absolutely sure your baby is getting a full feed, especially if he wakes hungry at night, and is full burped… more coming via a vlog soon — xo M

    Paris H. Hardee

    I’m following your schedule pretty exactly but my problem is he wakes up at 5:45am every morning. At the 1:00am feeding, I feed him from both breasts for at least 15-20 minutes on each side. Feeding him at 5:45am messes up the entire morning schedule and often times he doesn’t want to go back to sleep after that feed. Any advice?

    Melissa Lawrence

    Hi there — I have been thinking aobut your email — how old is the baby? You have to look at what’s happening during the whole day — you have to make sure each feed is a totally full feed, try to keep him/her awake to make sure the baby is full — if the baby is really young, going from 1am-5:45 is not terrible actually. Many young babies continue to eat every three hours during the night. However, my experience has been that when you stick to this schedule, the baby starts to do longer stretches at night… The evening feedings are really important, you should make sure those are really good — keep you eyes out for another vlog about this stage, coming soon. Hang in there!!! xo M

    Nathalie

    Thank you so much for this schedule! My baby just turned 3 months old and we’ve been using this schedule for the past week. It’s been so great. I love that I can now anticipate when she will be waking up, approximately how long she’ll nap for, when she’s actually hungry vs. just wants to nurse for comfort. Right now she is still waking up around 3-4am to feed but goes right back to sleep. I’m hoping with time she’ll eventually not need that extra feeding. Thank you again!

    Anonymous

    i have a 6 weeks old boy, I was breastfeeding him one side each time and breastfeed him on demand before, after I saw your video,I decided to set up a routine to him and begin with schedule feeding. But even I successfully awake him and breast feed him 20 mins each side..when I put him down and sleep..he immediately wake up and refuse to sleep ..and cried until I breast feed him again. If I do so,how could I follow the schedule ? Or should I let him cry until next feeding? I feed him almost every one and a half hour now! Need help

    Amorie

    Sounds like he is just overtired. Feed him when he wakes and be sure he is full. Then get him swaddled and ready to nap 1.5 hours from the time he woke up. Rock him and use a binky if needed until his eyes get really droopy, but not asleep, then lay him down. If he starts to fuss, pick him up and rock again until his eyes are droopy, then lay him down. Repeat until he falls asleep in the crib. 6 weeks is too young to let him cry it out. You may need to rock him a couple of times each naptime for a few days until he gets the hang of falling asleep in the crib. It took my LO two days of rocking like that, and now he falls asleep for naptime like a dream. I just swaddle, give a binky and lay him down and he conks out within a couple of minutes. Sometimes I have to replace his binky a couple of times, so now we are trying without a binky first, and hopefully within a short time he wont need that either. Best of luck!

    Lillian

    What if your baby isn’t tired 2 hours after feeding? Seems like a lot of naps

    Lillian

    Also here it says two, two and a half hour after each feeding but when I clicked schedule it showed an hour and a half. Which one is it?

    Stephanie P.

    Melissa help!! Lol
    My second son has just turned 2 months and I am having an extremely difficult time getting him on any kind of routine or schedule. He has pretty consistently been nursing every 3 hours during the day with the first feeding starting at 730 or 8 am and the last 3 hour feeding at 1030 or 11 pm. After that he will sleep until about 4 am, nurse and then he wakes again at about 6-630am and I just hold him off keeping him asleep with the pacifier until 730. The time he sleeps between that 6-730 period he is very restless thrashing his head around and constantly dropping the paci and me putting it back in…. He sleeps horribly during the day unless I hold himor have him in the sling which is difficult because I also have a 3 year old. I try to swaddle him and put him down in his bed about 1.5-2 hours after his feeding, many time he will fall asleep and stay asleep for about 15 minutes to a half hour and then wakes up crying! I have tried letting him cry, checking on him every 10 minutes. I have allowed him to cry for up to 45 minutes and he still will not sleep! So then I pick him up and he pretty much stays awake until the next feeding bc even if he fell asleep then it’s almost time to feed again! Other times I will just let him sleep in the sling after he wakes up in his bed 15 minutes later until the next feeding because he is so over tired after doing this all day. I’m not sure what to do at this point, I don’t want to let him cry it out for long periods of time but I also don’t want to have to hold him constantly for him to sleep! Any advice??

    Melissa Lawrence

    I am going to try to answer to you in a vlog, so that is coming soon. First thing I want to say is that 2 months is still a very young baby. Some babies at this stage need to eat more frequently than the every 3 hours. When he wakes at 6, I would just get up and feed him, because that paci thing does not seem to be working and you are not getting rest anyway. Focus on this: make sure every feed is a very full feed, don’t stop until he is awake and rejecting more food. Try a bouncy seat with vibration after you feed him. Then, try a tight swaddle and see if you can keep him in the crib until 3 hours or at least 2.5 after last feed. He seems like he (and you) might be overtired. You need to take cat naps whenever you can and get as much help as possible. I wouldn’t worry, this is typical baby stuff! It is going to get better every day.

    Mallory Mendes

    Hi there!
    We’ve been following your schedules since my daughter was born. She is now 10 weeks, but starting at about 6 weeks, she would not wake up or eat for her 10pm dream feed, so we ultimately dropped it at that time. She would subsequently eat at 7pm, wake at 2:30pm, and then again at 7am. At around her 8weeks she went through her growth spurt and things went all over the place. For the last 2 weeks she’s waking in a differrnt scheduke: 7pm, 12:30am-ish, 3:30am-ish, 7am. Any suggestions?

    Melissa

    My 12 weeks old has been really gassy lately an that wakes her up starting around 3am to 6:30am. I nurse her and we put her in swing at 7:30 transfer her asleep around 9:30/10 and dream feed expressed milk 4oz. She will sleep until 2/2:30 and then I nurse again. An hour after that she starts kicking her legs and movin her head side to side. Eventually I have to take her out of the Rock n Play (she is swaddled in the Miracle Blanket) and push her knees to her chest to get rid of gas. Sometimes that is enough and input her back and she goes to sleep, sometimes she’s up again an hour later. Also, she wakes 40-45 min into each nap. We have been letting her nap on her stomach as we get her used to it (she flails a lot and is only used to back sleeping on an incline). She will wake up at the 40-45 min mark and sometimes not go back to sleep but usually because of gravity settle and go back to sleep. I’m not sure the best way to get her to go to sleep on her back swaddled in the crib for long stretches. Any way to make sure she skips past the 45 min mark? I’m hesitant to feed so long before naps because I worry she won’t sleep as long, but you are saying she will sleep longer?

    Cheyanne

    Hi Melissa!
    Just found your website and tried this schedule for my 4 mo old yesterday. It seemed to work out well:) Just a few questions for you. I’m pretty sure he has hit the sleep regression phase and doesn’t know how to put himself back to sleep. I’m not ready to take away his pacifier so I end up going in several times to replace it. Just wondering what you did with your kids? He is going to sleep at 7 p.m. and waking himself up at about 11, again a little after 1 and then last night 2:30 and 6. I let him lay in his crib at 2:30 for ten minutes before i went in, and he finally went back to sleep after I replaced his paci and left the room quickly. Sometimes when I go in an try to calm him by placing his paci back it makes things worse and he starts crying/screaming. I’m not sure he is actually awake when I go in. So when I replace the paci it does actually wake him? The only way to calm him is to offer him the breast. I found that he doesn’t want a feeding and gets even more upset when my milk lets down but when put back in his crib he starts crying and doesn’t seem to be able to fall back asleep? So my question is do I just let him cry it out instead of trying to replace the paci or just continue offering the breast even though he isn’t hungry? Also, what do you do when baby wakes for the day earlier then you want him to? Sorry for a lot of questions. Just having a really hard time at night. My goal is to get rid of a few feedings at night. Thank you for your time!
    Cheyanne

    EAME

    Hello I have 10wk old girl (my second child, my eldest is 3). Im really struggling with a feed/nap routine. She feeds every 2hours during the day and cries +++ if I put her down in her crib to nap during the day. I am really trying to achieve a full feed each time but I don’t think she can be full if she’s turning her feeds round so quickly. Sometimes I feel she wants to feed but I have nothing to give her. At nights she feeds at 7 ( inc 5oz bottle top up) 1-2am, 4-5am and 6-7 am. I make myself to stay awake to push her feeds but am exhausted by the 4-5am feed. I have to collect my 3 year old to nursery school each day at 11 and she falls asleep then in the pram for about 45 mins. The rest of the day she naps when she’s out in the buggy/sling/carseat. I don’t know what else to do. For naps She is swaddled, in a darkened room by 1.5-2hr of first feed. I can go into her but she just starts off again. I fully combine fed my son (boob then bottle at all daytime feeds) and although I’m so pleased she’s breastfeeding predominantly and putting weight on nicely I feel at the end of my tether- Any advice?

    Melissa Lawrence

    Gosh, you are a great mom! My first advice is help. Do you have any family or close friends that can pitch in a bit with your older child so that you can stay home, nap and concentrate even more on the baby? Balancing the two is very hard. You sound tired. Step #1 is for you to get some rest. Then, try to have a nice, quiet place to feed the baby so that you can try to get a good feed. Sounds like she’s gotten used to sleeping on the go, which is fine, but if she sleeps at home and you do too you will get more rest. So try for days like that, especially on the weeekend…. Are you still nursing the 3 year old boy at the same time?

    Nelya

    Hi Melissa, I love your videos! I have a question about the sleeping schedule for this age. So do you put baby for a nap after every 1.5 hrs after wake up time? So when baby wakes up at 10am, feed, then nap again at 11;30am? Baby wakes up at 1pm, feed, then nap again at 2;30pm? It seems that there are too many naps that are quite short.

    Melissa Lawrence

    This is really just a guide and each baby will vary. However 2-4 months is still super young and many babies do not stay awake past 1.5 hours after a feed — mine were already back asleep at this point, so yes, it is a lot of naps. And the naps are short b/c at this stage, you want to feed frequently to make sure the baby gains weight and to start encouraging the baby to get his food during the day, so my general rule is every 3 hours from the start of the feed. With certain babies, they were too sleepy after only that 1.5hr nap so I fed every 3.5 hrs and that worked better. Check with your doc but this is what worked for me. Good luck! xo Melissa

    Jennifer

    Hi. I am trying to get my 10 week old on a schedule but I don’t think she is getting a full feed. She falls asleep every time. She eats about every 1-1.5 hours. She wakes up at 5 am then feeds for maybe 10 min then sleeps until 7 am, then gets hungry around 8:30 and feeds again. I put her down to sleep after her feed but she just fusses and doesn’t want to nap. So I feed her again since she seems hungry at 10 (again for 10 min) and put her down to nap at 11. She then wakes up an hour later, I feed her and her next nap is at 1:30. I keep her up until 4 for her next nap and she sleeps for 1.5 hours after which I try to keep her awake until bedtime of 8:30. I feed her and put her down and she wakes back up at 10 hungry and then sleeps until 1:30 and then wakes up at 5. Is there anything I can do to consolidate and get her to sleep longer. I try swaddling but she hates it and always wants to sleep with her hands up by her head.

    Megan

    I am interested in trying your schedule to get my 2 month old on a routine. Wondering if you set your alarm for the 1am feeding or if you just expect them to wake at this time.

    Melissa Lawrence

    Hi there Megan — this depends on your doctor and what he says. If she feels that your baby is gaining enough weight and eating enough, he may say you can wait at night and see when the baby wakes up. For very young babies, some doctors do advise waking up and making sure to feed them no less frequently than every 3 or 4 hrs. I woke the baby up for the first month or so under my dr.’s advice, and then I waiting for them to wake me up!! Hope this helps! xo M

    Susan

    Hi thanks for sharing all f this info. I’m finding breastfeeding on demand is a little to unpredictable for my taste. My 3 month old son is on a similar schedule to the one you shared for 2-4 month olds except he only naps for 30 minutes for the first two naps. I believe this may be becuase he’s not used to his crib as I’ve only been using it consistently for a week. Up until now he’s been napping in our arms due to reflux. He also sleeps fairly well in a bassinet in our room at night. Do you think his nap times will increase once he’s more used to his crib? Also how can one know when baby is having a growth spurts and when to add additional feedings?

    Bobbi Moore

    Hi! I need a schedule for a newborn. I plan on staying home with my baby from November when I have him til januray 5th. I still going to school so I want to start him on a schedule ASAP! My brother and mother will be watching him. From about 9-3:30 , he willbe with my brother from 8:45-1 and with my mother from 1-3:30. I get up around 7,7:15 to start my day. And im going to be nursing

    Renae

    I guess I am a little confused about how to make this work for a baby…I have a 3.5 month old who I feed on demand. We currently have a fairly consistent schedule of eat, active time, nap- repeat! She eats about every 2 hours, sometimes has longer stretches but not consistently. She eats usually 10-20 minutes and then has no interest in feeding longer, even if she is wide awake. I always assumed this was a full feeding for her, and have measured at a breastfeeding clinic that she usually takes 3-4 oz in this time frame. Is it possible this is a full feeding for her? How can I get her to eat more if not? She stays awake about an hour to hour and a half, then when she shows signs of being tired it’s naptime (we are pretty consistent about putting her down drowsy, not completely asleep). She only naps for about 45 minutes and then is awake and wanting to eat again. How do you get a baby this age to take an 1.5 hour nap?
    For nighttime, we do a bath about 7:30 then swaddle, nurse and sleep. Have to hold her upright for 10 minutes or so after each feeding since she has reflux, then to bed in her crib by about 8:15. Currently she wakes up twice to nurse at night, about 1 or 2 am then 4 or 5 am. I could live with these two night feedings for now, but after that second feeding she ‘naps’ for about 45 min after I put her down then doesn’t sleep consistently. My husband and I take turns putting her back to sleep at this time, then she’s awake for the day about 6:30 to 7. Now that I’ve started back at work part time I would love some input on how to get her to nap/sleep better.

    Annie

    HI Melissa, thank you for your fantastic site! your vlogs have helped me greatly since my daughter was born. She is now 11 Weeks and I have tried to follow your schedule for the 2-4 month old breastfeeding sleeping schedule. However, the first few days were fantastic and she went down no problem. She is a big baby and has a good appetite but in the last week is feeding much more and sleeping less. she feeds non stop in the evening from 6 till about 9 and falls asleep at the breast constantly but when i take her away she wont nap and wants to feed again! it may be another growth spurt but do i make allowances for this and amend the schedule? not that she knows shes on a schedule! she is very happy most of the time even with short naps. i have asked our doctor and local lactation consultant and the answers i get differ so much its almost impossible to know! any help is greatly appreciated. keep up the fantastic work! Supermum!! btw..i haven’t been able to keep to an 8.30pm bedtime, as she just wont sleep. so have put her down at 10.30pm …and she has woken between 4-5am for a feed, then slept right through till 8.30-9am. I have been told this is really good, but have no idea. Thanks for any reply!

    Katia

    Melissa, please share your experience, I am first time mom! Need advice!

    My baby boy is 8 weeks and has been maintaining a good schedule since the day he was born. At first, nursing every 2 hours and now every 3. There was a time few weeks back that I got him used to missing his 3 am feed but was never successful to stretch his sleep until his 6am (he would wake up at 5am), so I figured it was to early for him to sleep through. Now he is distinguishing day and night very well, once I nurse him in the middle of the night it doesn’t take any effort to put him back to sleep! I want to try once again to stop nursing at that 3am feeding, but he seems to eat so much at that feeding although at 12am he gets his full share.
    What is the best way to teach your baby to sleep through the night (12am-6am)? I am thinking of giving a little of supplementation right after I feed him at 12am in hopes he will be fuller longer. Please advise!

    Melissa Lawrence

    Hi Katia!! This sounds like it is going very very well. 8 weeks is still very young! Now, if he is still waking up at 3am – which a lot of my babies did do for a while — I would continue to feed him every 3 hours during the day. At night, I would do even a bit more. If your last feeding is 8am, wake him up and feed him at 11pm. (I think that is what you are saying with the 12am feeding, right). Are you sure he is getting full and is awake and burped at this and all the other feedings? If so, I think you have to just wait… you could try, if your dr and you are ok with this, letting him fuss a bit at 3am and see if he goes back to sleep if you don’t feed him, but he might not be ready for that. I would bet that this month he starts to skip that 3am and you are going to be sitting pretty! LMK how it goes! xo M

    Jenny Chen

    Hi, I chanced upon your video and found it extremely helpful. I’m a FTM with a 2 week old baby who has been gaining weight superbly (430g in the past week alone), so I have started him on the 3 hour feeding schedule this week (my feeding times are exactly the same as your example in the video!). Would you say it’s too early now to start him on a schedule? I have friends who started the schedule for their babies as early as 10 days old and it’s worked really well for them.

    Today is the second day of the scheduled feeds, and last night he woke up spontaneously at 1am and 4am to feed, so I think 3 hour is a good interval for him. I would just like some feedback from you on whether I can/should continue with the schedule, given he’s only 2 weeks old?

    Liisa

    I would like to start this schedual for my 15 week old son. I think he maybe going through the 4 month regression already… My question is what do i do with him if he wakes between 1am and 7am? Keep giving him his soother and trying to put him back to sleep or continue the feeding every 3-4hrs?

    CB

    My little one is 9 weeks old though she was 5 weeks early. She doesn’t eat consistently every two to three hours nor is her feed consistent, sometimes 15 minutes wanting to eat an hour later and other times it’s an hour feed wanting to eat an hour or three later.

    She currently is going through a fussy/gasy phase where she is not sleeping in the bassinet or crib, anytime I put her down regardless of light sleep or very deep sleep she wakes up and cries (with either a toot or burp). I try to give some buffer time (if she’s not crying) if she wakes up to not pick her up in hopes that maybe she will drift off again on her own, though this has not happened even once at this point. So nights are long and tiring since I’ve been sitting up with her so she can sleep.

    It’s hard to know what is actual upset and what is gestationally normal since she was a premie. How can I get her to feed longer and less often and also to sleep in her bed more consistently- especially through the night?

    NJ

    Thank you for the schedule. I think this will work nicely, however, how so you get the baby to sleep without nursing. Do you just set the baby in the bassinet awake. It doesn’t seem to work for me. Thanks for your help!

    NJ

    Also you mention feeding on both sides at the 7 am feed… Do you also recommend this at every feeding??

    Ann Grimmett

    I just came across this, so a little late to the discussion. My baby is 10 weeks old. I have been pretty consistently feeding him every 2.5-3 hours since the beginning. He currently goes from about 11 or midnight for 5 or 6 hours and then sleeps another 2 before waking up. I am trying to figure out a schedule for when I go back to work. In your suggested schedule, were you keeping him awake from the 10pm feeding until the 1am feeding? i.e. His sleep was only 1-7am? Or putting him down earlier and waking him up at 1am to feed? I have read a 3mo old should sleep 8-9 hours. Let me know if you can! Thanks!

    Carly

    Hi! My baby girl is 5 and 1/2 months old. I have had to maintain a fairly strict 2.5-3 hour nursing schedule during the day as per pediatrician and lactation nurse requests. My sweet girl is a “snacker” and only takes full feedings directly from me maybe 1/2 the time! The other times, I have to give her pumped milk in a bottle directly after nursing. Although it is not difficult for me to feed every 2.5 hours during the day (and one dream feed at 10pm), I am finding it so difficult to schedule healthy naps for her! I often have to wake her from a nap to feed, which I am not a fan of doing… Even though she is low in weight (hence all the feeds), she is following her own trajectory. However, even when I tried to space all feedings out to every 3 hrs., she still only took full feedings half of the time! I apprecaite any help you can give. Thank you!