Nighttime Feed Routine?

Buy a book called "Babywise." It teaches how to regulate feeding schedules so that babies will sleep better. It works like a charm! My son slep thru the night at 10 weeks (breastfed) and my daughter 8 weeks (bottle fed). They're also both great sleepers and sleep in their own beds without a fuss or complaining. Good luck.

Sounds like he is ready for a little baby food about an hour or so before bedtime. Check with your dr, but ceral or veggies should do the trick. It has worked for me with my 3, as well as many day care kids and grandkids. Good luck.

My litte one turned 4 months today and we are going through something similar. Her naps are just 30 minutes long too, but thats another story!
Between 6:30 and 7 PM is a good time to go to sleep. You should expect 1-2 feedings a night. I thought we were doing great until about 5 days ago she's been waking 3 times a night and I'm starting to think that I need to see if she'll just go back to sleep on her own (crying or not). I've been reading "Healthy sleep habits, Happy Child" I checked out at the library and it's been really helpful. Based on actual research from a doctor, not opinions from a mom who has a few kids.
I am also nursing and it seems she prefers eating for about 5 minutes every 2 hours. I'd like it to be longer but feel like I need to feed her if she's hungry! Keep track of how much they weigh and if it's on track at your well-child visits & if hes not a big big baby then don't worry about it!
For bedtime routines, I'm just don't feel like giving her a bath at night everyday so I don't; lots do and that works. I incorporate a short book & a couple songs. Feeding & changing can be part of it. I don't think it matters except just pick a few things you like and keep it calm & consistent.

No other food for baby until 4-6 months. My first daughter threw up everytime I gave her rice cereal, which I started on the day she turned 4 months, so this time I'm waiting a bit longer.

BTW someone said that formula takes longer to digest because its cows milk! No it's not!! It does take longer because it makes larger lumps in the stomach, but thats not a reason to switch to formula.

Good luck!

Feeding on demand is far better than scheduling.....he will let you know when he's hungry and when he needs comfort and go by HIS cues. He's not on formula. Babies go through growth spurts as well when they want to eat more frequently. And I would ignore any advice from "sleep trainers" especially (what good advice they may have can be found elsewhere, and just because a baby MAY be able to sleep 12 hrs straight dosn't mean they SHOULD), and I second The Baby Sleep Book, Good Night, Sleep Tight, and maybe contacting LLL for advice.

My son is 11 weeks this week and I was told that he will go through a growth spurt at 3 months. My son, like yours, has been sleeping 4-6 hour at night (so, 1 middle of the night feeding) and I am so glad to finally getting some sleep. I remember the 6 week growth spurt where my son was wanting to nurse every hour to hour and a half. So, I am already mentally preparing myself for this next spurt! Hopefully, this will only last a couple of days and he will get back to sleeping 4-6 hours! Good Luck!

Hello A.. congratulations on your little boy. I'm sure he is the joy of your life. My daughter is almost 10 months, and we still are not on any type of routine. She didn't sleep well until about a month ago. She was breast fed up until 2 weeks ago, and I just fed her on demand. If your son wants to eat every 2-3 hours, then let him eat every 2-3 hours so long as that works with you. You need to do what works for you and your family, and not worry so much about what the doctors, friends, family and books say. I know you were looking for some concrete advice, but the best advice I can give, it to do what you feel is right and works for you.

Hi A.! Congrats on your baby boy. I have a 5 month old boy so I know what you mean about "the joy of our lives"! Our little guy keeps us smiling.
Unfortunately, with all the info out there on babies and sleep, there's a lot of bad info. There are no two babies alike. I have 2 kids and they are complete opposites. My first never slept through the night until 18 months and our second slept 6-7 hour stretches at 2 months. However, our second now wakes frequently since about 4 months because he got 2 teeth at 4 1/2 mos and now is working on 2 more. I highly recommend borrowing or buying Dr. Sears' The Baby Sleep Book! I am reading it right now and it is so very helpful. Good luck! Try not to listen to other mom's sleep experiences with their kids. They don't have YOUR kid. I had to learn that with my first because everyone that had advice for me was sure that it was something I was doing wrong not that I had a high need baby. R. Midwife Mom of 2 Happy to be at home full time since 2005!

We followed a babywise, parent directed feeding schedule, which takes into consideration timing and hunger cues. Our son is 4 months old now and is a great night sleeper. He's usually down by 9pm and sleeps until 7. Sometimes he wakes up once during the night but not to eat, only to get re-settled. He has a harder time going down for naps (typically cries for up to 15 minutes) but then sleeps for 1-2 hours. I have been having trouble producing enough breastmilk, but we are still trying and just supplementing with formula as needed. He eats between 5-6 ounces at a feeding 4 times a day... usually 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm, then bedtime by 9pm. Between each feeding he gets a nap for a total of about 5 hours of napping per day. Each time I put him down, I dim the lights, read a story and sing a lullaby so he gets the idea that it's time to sleep. I will agree wtih everyone who said that every baby is different... your baby needs to be part of your world without the world revolving around him. :) My son is not an efficient breastfeeder, so it takes him up to 15-20 minutes on each side to get full (if I have enough milk!) If you're worried about milk supply you can breastfeed and then pump in between each feeding. Hope it helps. Enjoy your little boy!

I am a mom of 7 and I believe ..let the child tell you what his/her needs are. Just go with the flow. May be just going through a growth spurt becasue they grow so fast when they are that little. Make sure you are keeping your diet healthy and good to produce mik that will be healthy for baby and let him tell you when he needs sleep and when he needs to eat. Schedules for infants are so hard to do and really not worth it. Baby will let you know what his needs are we just have to listen =0)

He might be going through a growth spurt which would be one reason why your DS is eating more and more often. My 3rd child was also BF and would eat every 2-3 hours for the first 5 months... so you may not get additional sleep for awhile... although you may... each child is different! I never really had a bedtime routine because my evenings were always different each night... although with our first child we kind of had one (after having #2 and #3, routines just kind of went out the window!) BF- I always fed each child until they fell asleep or stopped eating themselves.

Sorry, this may not have helped you, huh?

One thing you can try is to "fill 'em up" before bedtime. In the late afternoon start to feed him every hour/ hour and a half. When my son was about that age this seemed to get me an extra hour or two of sleep. My son didn't sleep through the night until after he was 12 months. I hated the question "does he sleep through the night yet?" Just rember-you aren't doing anything wrong and you aren't a failure if he doesn't sleep through the night! Every baby is different.

Hi A.,
I recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It really helped us determine the bedtime that was natural for our daughter. She now goes to bed at 6:30 and wakes up about 6:30-7:30 every day. She is a little over a year and has done this since 5 months old. She was also breastfed on demand. I have also learned that once we think we have things figured out it changes due to changes in eating, teething, etc but usually within a little bit of time they fall back into their old routine. Hang in there and before you know it he will be sleeping through the night.

We have four children and I breastfeed with all. Yes, you are encouraged to space out your babies feeding times but each child is so different as a mother it is really not possible to follow the same routine with each one.
My youngest who is 4 now, would feed constantly day and night. I would pump and store my milk for her during her naps. Sometimes I would not have enough milk during feeding times and I would simply warm up the stored milk.
As for the night time routines, that's a tough one. Unfortunately, parents have to survive on limited sleep for the first couple of years. Get as many power naps for yourself as you can because you won't get a full nights rest with kids. Simply knowing your babies sleeping patterns throughout the day will help you with what to expect at night. So if you notice your baby took more or longer naps beware, chances are you won't be getting much sleep.
The night time feedings were always shorter at night because they drift back to sleep. For the first couple of months I would sleep with my babies, it was easier to breastfeed them at night. After a couple of months I would try to let them sleep in the crib bedside so they would get used to their own space. If your little one is extra fussy at night after feedings, it may be gas that's making them uncomfortable. With our youngest, we used baby gas drop relief and it really helped. Just a tiny drop.
I also used a baby DVD on soothing methods helpful for my babies. It helped me with using "white noises". Vaccuum, fan, shushing, humming, etc. Even holding your baby for a nap time and exaggerating your breathing almost like you're in a deep sleep ..but not loud snoring..your breathing will put them to sleep. I did this with my kids from birth thru toddler years. They fall right to sleep. Makes me sleepy too.
Good Luck

This is what I do for a living. I help parents and babies with sleeping issues.
You will get a lot of people writing and telling you this is normal and continue to feed on demand etc. It is normal because people are letting their newborns determine their own schedule. They are assuming that every cry is a cry for hunger. It starts when they come home from the hospital and pretty soon the baby is conditioned when he cries that he will be fed. It becomes habit not need.
Babies can sleep for 12 hours straight from 12 weeks on. Many babies can do this at 8 weeks. Yes, even totally breastfed babies. My youngest totally breastfed baby was 5 weeks when he slept through the night.
It has a lot to do with rountine and breaking old habits.
If you want me to help you I will do it at no charge just contact me at ____@____.com
N.

It sounds like your son is going through a growth spurt, which usually happens around three months. I wouldn't worry about it too much both of my girls went through the same thing. Most babies aren't ready to sleep through the night(6 or more hours) without eating until about 6 months. After that when they wake to eat it is more out of habit than nutritional need.

congrats for breastfeeding!! listen to her not the clock. 3 months old is a growth spurt time. great advice can be found at www.mothering.com - go under the "discuss" tab and then scroll down and there are a number of b-feeding forums

I am having a similar problem with my three month old so I can't really suggest a solution. I just wanted to say that I breast feed on demand as well. I will not tell a hungry baby to wait to eat. Also I wanted to let you know that pediatricians recommend not giving ANY baby food until at least 4-6 months of age. The department of health says the same thing but really suggests waiting to the six month mark at least. My three month old is my third so I know that it goes really fast. Enjoy your baby as much as you can and don't deny him. You can't spoil the really little ones.

If there's one thing that your going to learn with your first child is that children have personalities and minds of their own and each and everyone is different. He will sleep when he's tired and eat when he's hungry.

Did you by any chance just go back to work? This happened to us when I went back, which was also when he was learning to roll over (also supposed to disrupt their sleep). From what I read, this is common when you're breastfeeding because the little one discovers he can get it 'straight from the tap' at night. We hadn't changed routine really, but it got more rigid when I went back to work (Dad was home), and we just stuck with it, making sure that he got two good naps in during the day. He eventually got better after a few weeks (when we were about to go completely crazy). Swaddling also helped (we had to resort to doing it after my son went to sleep because he hates it). And although this may not help you fix it, it did help me to talk to my friends and hear that it's completely normal and it will pass!

sounds like he's going through a major growth spurt. They go through the major ones at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Keep feeding on demand, and he should go back to normal in a week or two, (sometimes a little longer).

I breastfed on a schedule so my girls would get fuller during the day & then be able to sleep longer at night. My first one slept 6 hrs. a night from day one & then went to 8 hrs. by 6 weeks old & 12 hrs. by 10 weeks or so. My others woke up twice a night at the beginning, but by about 8 weeks were only waking up once a night. So the way I did it was to feed them every 3 hrs. during the day..... start timing from the time he wakes up. You can schedule naps that way as well. Then by the time it is 8 or 9 PM you would be able to do your last feeding & then let him sleep as long as possible. When he turns about 5 months he may start to go 4 hrs. betweens feedings. My girls for sure were doing 4 hours during feedings during the day when I started feeding them solids. So good luck... blessings on your little one!

Congrats! What a joy :)
My little girl is 4.5 months old and she sleeps 12 hours a night! I might be a lucky one I guess!
I have her on this type of schedule~ sleep, eat, wake....all day long. So after she wakes up I feed her after I change her diaper. Then she is awake for about 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours (I don't watch the clock...just look for her cues). Then she gets kinda fussy/irritated so I lay her in her crib for a nap. She might cry for a min or two, but then she'll sleep. Then back to the same routine....when she wakes, I feed.
With my 1st daughter I made the mistake of thinking when she was tired, she was hungry so I'd feed her...then she'd fall asleep and only eat a bit. Then she got used to eating to fall asleep.
I breastfeed my baby about every 3-4 hours now. Try this for about a week & I bet you she'll sleep longer at night cuz she will be used to putting herself to sleep.
Trust me...my 3 year old is still having sleep issues! My 4 month old is a great sleeper now :)
Good luck & if you have any further ?'s feel free to ask :)