Below is the most average schedule for the month.
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Feed
9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Put down for nap
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Feed
12:45 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Put down for nap
2:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Feed
3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Put down for nap
5:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Feed
7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Put down for nap
8:30 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. Feed
9:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m. Bedtime
Eating: 5 feedings in 24 hours.
Number of Naps: 4
Duration of Naps: The first 3 are anywhere from 1.5-2 hours. The 4th nap is only 45 minutes to an hour. If she's still sleeping at an hour, we wake her.
Length of Waketime: The 1st waketime is close to an hour and 15-20 minutes. The next 2 waketimes are 1.5 hours. The waketime before the last (4th) nap is closer to an hour and 45 minutes or 2 hours.
Hours of Sleep at Night: 10.5-11 hours of sleep.
Worth Noting:
-Soon after she turned 4 months, we cut down to 5 feedings. 6 feedings had just turned into to many for her, almost causing her to "snack feed" and not take full bottles.
-A lot of the time, she wakes or stirs at the 45 minute intruder during naps. I'd say 95% of the time, she goes back to sleep.
-Last month, she was swaddled with her arms completely out. And as of 5 months, we have switched her over to the sleep sack. She kept getting her body out of the swaddle so it was time to make a change.
-A few days after turning 5 months, she started eating rice cereal once a day. She had a few mornings of early waking (anywhere from 6:30-7:30) and some bad naps, so I took that as my cue to start.
Hi Claire- when starting the rice cereal, how did you start? My little one has had early morning wakings in the past several days. Did you give it at night before bed? Mixed into the bottle? She usually sleeps at 8pm, with DWT between 7-8am. She is 4.5 months, and we've never done a dream feed for her, so was thinking of trying the rice cereal first. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lisa! When I start rice cereal, I just pick one feeding of the day to do it. So, for me, I started with the morning feeding. I feed the bottle and then the rice cereal after. (I've mixed with both water and formula - either is great. And I do a little splash of apple juice to make it a little more appealing. :)) I definitely think the wakings could be due to needing solids! Let me know what you try and how it goes!
DeleteAnd to clarify - I don't put the rice cereal in the bottle. I spoon feed it and either use leftover formula from her bottle if there is some or I use water. :)
DeleteThank you for posting this schedule! I have a five month old and cannot establish a schedule with him. So I have a few questions!!
ReplyDeleteDo you put baby in the crib for every nap? Do you put baby down for nap at the scheduled time even if she isn't acting tired? If that's the case, then would you let baby cry it out until they fall asleep? What's the 45 minute intruder?
Sorry if this has posted more than once.. I've been trying to post a comment, but not having much success. Thank you very much in advance for your words of wisdom!
Also, the naps I do get my son to take are only 20-30 minutes long. Is this where the intrusion could come in handy?
DeleteHello! Yes, I put my babies in their cribs for all naps. I usually go by waketime at this age, rather than a scheduled nap time. Let me know if that doesn't make sense. :)
DeleteIf babies cry when we put them down, that either means they are overtired or aren't tired enough. However, it's usually the overtired issue. So I'd actually cut down waketime the next time around to see if that helped. If that doesn't help, then I would add waketime to see if that helped.
The 45 minute intruder is a change in babies' sleep cycles that sometimes causes them to wake. On Becoming Babywise talks a lot about it - if you don't have the book, I highly recommend it! It's great information to have.
If your son is taking 20-30 minute naps, I would suggest examining your waketime. What is it at right now?