Schedule Questions

[jd11365]

I have no idea how to get the baby on a schedule and what that schedule should be. She may want 5-15 minutes on one side and refuse the other...until 10 minutes later when she wants more. On the other hand, if I'm out and about with her on errands, she will sleep for hours. Some nights she will sleep up to 5 hours, others (like last night) she is up every 1 or 2. I usually go to bed at midnight so the middle of the night feedings are more early morning, but I don' t know if this is right either... I would love any thoughts on the matter!

Thanks!

[COElizabeth]

Sounds like a newborn! There is no "right," and Kayla's pattern (or lack thereof!) is common at this age. If you are comfortable with feeding on demand, you can keep doing that, and your baby may fall into a more regular pattern eventually. If you want to try to get on a more regular schedule earlier on, I am sure many will have good suggestions. Just be sure to go with your instincts and remember that a schedule that works well for one baby may not be good for another and may in fact be harmful. And babies need to eat more some days than others, too.

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[Marisa6826]

Jamie your little one is just that - too little yet! The books I read don't even SUGGEST trying a schedule till 12-14w.

Sophie didn't really start to put herself on one till she was about 12w old.

For the first six or eight weeks Sophie was up EVERY night till at least 2am - sometimes till 5am. All of a sudden, she started moving herself backward so that now she usually is out cold by 10. She also takes two really big naps (2 hrs or so) a day. My mother is SERIOUSLY on my butt about her going to bed so late, but as far as Jonathan and I are concerned it's not a big deal (yet!).

As your baby gets a little bigger, her belly will grow and she will be able to sleep longer. Try and go AT LEAST 2 hours between feedings. In the beginning we would give her a bottle everytime we couldn't think of why else she was crying. She would take a 1/2 oz. here, an ounce there. Finally we wised up and got her to stick it out a little longer (usually we would wait till we couldn't stand the crying anymore) and she would take a longer feed - thereby sleeping longer in between. My ped recommends 3-4 hours in between. I would also wake her during the DAY every three hours to eat so she doesn't continue to get her days and nights mixed up. We also wised up and started keeping the apartment bright during the day (lights on, curtains open) and dim at night. Have your DH install dimmers on your lights if you don't already have them. You can also buy these cool lightbulbs that are only 20w on their lowest settings, then have two more much brighter, normal settings. They're called "security" lightbulbs. Target has them.

Try and keep her up for at least 45 minutes after a feed. I know it's hard when they're so little and are milk drunk. We'd sing, dance, bounce her a little on her bobby...You can also wipe her face, hands and feet with a cool wet washcloth. They hate it, but it gets the job done. Make sure you don't have her all wrapped up when you feed her. Uncover her, take off her socks if you need to - it keeps them more alert during a feed. I'd doze off if I was warm, cozy and getting fed at the same time too!

The reason they sleep so well when you're out and about is the the continuous motion of walking, the stroller or the car lulls them to sleep. Sophie is MUCH harder to stretch between feedings when we're home. Today I got her to go three and a half hours at home, but when we're out she can go five!

Best of luck and congratulations!

-m

Edited to say that, yes, when Sophie would hit a growth spurt she would down 2-3 oz. (sometimes 4!) every HOUR. So if your baby is really crying, try the bottle. You will start to learn the I need food NOW cry from the I'm bored and want to graze cry! Promise!

[egoldber]

I agree. I wouldn't worry about a schedule or routine until she is at least 3 to 4 months old. At htis point, just follow her lead. My DD didn't really get on a predictable routine until she was about 4 months.

HTH,

[StaceyKim]

Try to gradually spread out her feedings to about 4 hours apart. Increasing the time by 15 minutes each feeding so it's not so drastic the first time. That's what my pediatrician said to us especially because our baby is very big and can go without food every 2 hours. It only took a day to get him on this schedule and now he eats more at each feeding and can go without for longer. Hopefully he will start to sleep longer in the night soon but it's still early (5wks).
Keep me posted on the progress.

[sparkeze]

IMO, you really don't want to mess with schedules at this point. You don't want to run the risk of not feeding your baby enough when they're growing so much! I mean, if you were trying to double your weight could you eat enough in one sitting? Or would you need to eat very frequently?

I think it's healthier and more comfortable physically to eat small amounts frequently (for adults too!). The only thing I would suggest right now is to make sure she's eaten all she wants to eat before she falls asleep. If she's falling asleep, then waking up to nurse again in 10 minutes, try keeping her awake for awhile longer to nurse more. When she can't really be awoken again, she's probably satisfied. But then again, you never know! Oh the joy of newborns! :)

I think my DS went to a every 2 hour schedule by the time he was 2 mo for daytime, and for nighttime he was sleeping longer stretches by the time he was about 2 mo. But then after he got to be about 4-5 mo, he stopped having long stretches of sleep at night. But that's another thread!