s/o Bedtime...

Clerk9

My DD lost a lot of weight initially, so she was on an every 2-3 hour feeding schedule for the first 2w.  At her 2w appointment, I asked the pedi how long we had to keep going like that & he said that once there's an established weight gain (which there is...she gained it all back + 5oz. at the time!) you can start spacing out the feedings more.  

 

Now we've backed down to ~every 4 hours (sooner, though, if she decides she's hungry...which she has very much been lately...I think we're having a growth spurt!).  The pedi said he didn't want her going too long without eating...& he used every 7-8 hours as his example of "too long".  (Truth be told, though, there have been a few nights when I've pushed it to 5+ hours...I felt guilty afterwards, but really needed the sleep!)  

 

So our bedtime just depends on how long it's been since the last time she ate/slept.  It's *usually* around 10pm, but I haven't even attempted to institute any sort of routine at this point.  

 

Here are my questions:

1.  When did you start really trying to stick to a specific bedtime?

2.  How long before it's okay to let them try to STTN?  (Or for as long as they'll sleep without waking them up on a schedule?)

 

I'm sure these questions have been asked a lot, & I'm sorry if I'm being repetitive.  I just get so stressed out about this feeding schedule thing & could use a little outside perspective.  (I *have* gotten to the point where I tell myself that if she goes 5 or even 6 hours between feedings once in a blue moon, it's not going to kill her.  Tiny steps of progress.)

 

Sorry I've been such a PW lately, & TIA you for any input.    Have a wonderful day, ladies! 

PrincessDi80

::stalks post::

 

Wildlandwife

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues.  When she started to get fussy, rubbing her eyes, we would start our bed time routine.  She ended up making up her own bed time which is 8-9pm now.  I just listened to LO and eventually we 'fell' into a schedule.

Clerk9

arath1v2:

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues.  When she started to get fussy, rubbing her eyes, we would start our bed time routine.  She ended up making up her own bed time which is 8-9pm now.  I just listened to LO and eventually we 'fell' into a schedule.

This really helps (& makes me feel SO much better)...thank you!

I still plan on keeping track of how often she eats, but maybe I'll ease up a bit on the schedule.    I really do feel like she *should* be letting me know when she needs to eat, but I don't want to be depriving her if she actually needs to eat more frequently than she thinks.  But with the fact that all of her NB clothes are getting smaller & smaller on her, I feel pretty confident that her weight gain & growth have steadily continued.  

Thank you again for sharing your experience!

BONUS QUESTION:  Any EBFers supplementing Vitamin D?  The pedi recommended this at her last appointment, but I don't really trust the guy (because of scheduling, we had to take him instead of the doc we wanted).  I'm not opposed to doing it, but don't want to if it's not necessary! 

rvandiver0705

Clerk9:

arath1v2:

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues.  When she started to get fussy, rubbing her eyes, we would start our bed time routine.  She ended up making up her own bed time which is 8-9pm now.  I just listened to LO and eventually we 'fell' into a schedule.

This really helps (& makes me feel SO much better)...thank you!

I still plan on keeping track of how often she eats, but maybe I'll ease up a bit on the schedule.    I really do feel like she *should* be letting me know when she needs to eat, but I don't want to be depriving her if she actually needs to eat more frequently than she thinks.  But with the fact that all of her NB clothes are getting smaller & smaller on her, I feel pretty confident that her weight gain & growth have steadily continued.  

Thank you again for sharing your experience!

BONUS QUESTION:  Any EBFers supplementing Vitamin D?  The pedi recommended this at her last appointment, but I don't really trust the guy (because of scheduling, we had to take him instead of the doc we wanted).  I'm not opposed to doing it, but don't want to if it's not necessary! 

R had jaundice, and lost almost a pound.  Once she was gaining, my pedi said t let her eat on demand.  We sort of did that, but I would flip if she went more than 4 hours so I would stick a boob in her mouth.  Well, at our growth check on Monday she had gained 14 oz in a week.  Now I feel confident to let her sleep as long as she wants.  Of course, yesterday she ate for almost six hours straight, with no more than a 15 minute break at any time.  

All of the pedis at my office, including my favorite (the SUPER crunchy one), told me to give her Vitamin D.  She said that unless R was outside for a good amount of the day, we needed to supplement.  So, now she gets one bottle a day, and the Vit. D goes into that. 

Wildlandwife

Clerk9:

arath1v2:

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues.  When she started to get fussy, rubbing her eyes, we would start our bed time routine.  She ended up making up her own bed time which is 8-9pm now.  I just listened to LO and eventually we 'fell' into a schedule.

This really helps (& makes me feel SO much better)...thank you!

I still plan on keeping track of how often she eats, but maybe I'll ease up a bit on the schedule.    I really do feel like she *should* be letting me know when she needs to eat, but I don't want to be depriving her if she actually needs to eat more frequently than she thinks.  But with the fact that all of her NB clothes are getting smaller & smaller on her, I feel pretty confident that her weight gain & growth have steadily continued.  

Thank you again for sharing your experience!

BONUS QUESTION:  Any EBFers supplementing Vitamin D?  The pedi recommended this at her last appointment, but I don't really trust the guy (because of scheduling, we had to take him instead of the doc we wanted).  I'm not opposed to doing it, but don't want to if it's not necessary! 

Each baby is different so I don't want to come off snarky.  Just want to tell you that I tried to keep track of when LO was eating and how much at each feeding per the pedi's recommendation.  I found that this just got me more worried and stressed to find that she wasn't eating what the pedi said she should at each feeding.  I would literally freak out and *try* to get her to eat the remainder (if she was doing a bottle).  I threw that out the window and I decided to let her tell me how much she wanted and not try to make her eat a certain amount.  Things were much better   You know your baby best. 

ksulli

I let DD set the eating schedule from the start, but she's a beast of a baby so weight wasn't a concern from day 1. She got on a solid 3-4hr program for a while with 5&6 hrs sprinkled in at night every few days (I had a mini celebration when that happened). Then at 5w she kicked into a growth spurt and a week & a half later is still on the 1.5-3 hr schedule, but they aren't marathon sessions. Here's hoping we back down again.

WearingRed

arath1v2:

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues. 

me too and no vitamin supplement just sunlight 10 mins at a time 2-3 times a day.

Clerk9

 

R had jaundice, and lost almost a pound.  Once she was gaining, my pedi said t let her eat on demand.  We sort of did that, but I would flip if she went more than 4 hours so I would stick a boob in her mouth.  Well, at our growth check on Monday she had gained 14 oz in a week.  Now I feel confident to let her sleep as long as she wants.  Of course, yesterday she ate for almost six hours straight, with no more than a 15 minute break at any time.  

All of the pedis at my office, including my favorite (the SUPER crunchy one), told me to give her Vitamin D.  She said that unless R was outside for a good amount of the day, we needed to supplement.  So, now she gets one bottle a day, and the Vit. D goes into that. 

Our LO had almost exactly the same beginning...jaundice + lost at least 13oz. right off the bat.  I'm glad to hear that Raquel is thriving & it definitely makes me feel better about spacing out our DD's feedings!

Also, thanks for the input on the Vitamin D.  Looks like we'll be taking a trip to CVS this weekend to pick some up!   

Strunella

Three weeks old is still really young.  I would expect to feed every 2-3 hours at that age.  I BF'd on demand for the first 3 months, though by two and half months, DS was sleeping longer...usually 6 hours at least.   In fact, I was concerned that he was sleeping too long at night...and his weight gain was borderline...so they told me just to make sure he is eating a lot during the day to make up for the feeding(s) he wasn't getting at night.

By the time I went back to work at 13 weeks, he was sleeping 10 hours a night (and still is).   But I also had to supplement with formula at that point because he wasn't gaining enough weight.   I've read that babies don't really follow schedules until about 4 months...DS was probably a little earlier than that.  We put him to sleep around 8:00 pm.  Yes, we also gave him Vitamin D when I was BFing.

Clerk9

arath1v2:

Each baby is different so I don't want to come off snarky.  Just want to tell you that I tried to keep track of when LO was eating and how much at each feeding per the pedi's recommendation.  I found that this just got me more worried and stressed to find that she wasn't eating what the pedi said she should at each feeding.  I would literally freak out and *try* to get her to eat the remainder (if she was doing a bottle).  I threw that out the window and I decided to let her tell me how much she wanted and not try to make her eat a certain amount.  Things were much better   You know your baby best. 

Not snarky at all!  If I have "instructions" I tend to obsess over them, so this is what I'm *hoping* to do, too.  Maybe I'll try it out for a couple of days & see how it goes.  Thanks again for all of the great Mommy Wisdom!   

Clerk9

ksulli:

I let DD set the eating schedule from the start, but she's a beast of a baby so weight wasn't a concern from day 1. She got on a solid 3-4hr program for a while with 5&6 hrs sprinkled in at night every few days (I had a mini celebration when that happened). Then at 5w she kicked into a growth spurt and a week & a half later is still on the 1.5-3 hr schedule, but they aren't marathon sessions. Here's hoping we back down again.

Thank you!  ((HUGS)) & I hope your LO takes a little break from "spurting" soon!   

Clerk9

Strunella:

Three weeks old is still really young.  I would expect to feed every 2-3 hours at that age.  I BF'd on demand for the first 3 months, though by two and half months, DS was sleeping longer...usually 6 hours at least.   In fact, I was concerned that he was sleeping too long at night...and his weight gain was borderline...so they told me just to make sure he is eating a lot during the day to make up for the feeding(s) he wasn't getting at night.

By the time I went back to work at 13 weeks, he was sleeping 10 hours a night (and still is).   But I also had to supplement with formula at that point because he wasn't gaining enough weight.   I've read that babies don't really follow schedules until about 4 months...DS was probably a little earlier than that.  We put him to sleep around 8:00 pm.  Yes, we also gave him Vitamin D when I was BFing.

Hmmm...we've done a few weight checks at our local health dept. (the pedi is about 45 mins. away...ergh).  Maybe I'll see if we can do a few more of those before her next appointment (which isn't until her 2m check up in October) to be sure she's gaining appropriately.  Thanks for the warning & all of the great information!

And about the Vitamin D supplements:  the reason I was skeptical (other than the fact that I'm not crazy about this particular pedi) was because he was the first person to say something about it.  Neither the LC nor 2 other pedis had mentioned it at all!  But I will definitely get her started on it now.

Thanks again! 

ashleyrsotomayor

arath1v2:

Once we hit her birth weight, we started feeding on demand.  I didn't wake her to eat and went by her cues.  She didn't start STTN right away but would sleep in 4-6 hour blocks some nights.  In regards to bed time, I again followed her cues.  When she started to get fussy, rubbing her eyes, we would start our bed time routine.  She ended up making up her own bed time which is 8-9pm now.  I just listened to LO and eventually we 'fell' into a schedule.

All of this exactly. Once he was back to his birth weight we just let him tell us when he was hungry. He still feeds on demand, and usually won't go more than 5 or 6 hours max without eating. He doesn't yet STTN by what I would consider STTN, but he will sometimes sleep a 4-6 hour stretch on a good night. We usually start the bedtime routine around 8:30 or 9:00 (it's been bad this week because we have house guests that want to stay up later). He usually nurses for the last time between 10-11, then will sleep until 2 or 3...later if I am lucky...then depending on what time the last feeding was he will be up for the day between 6:30-8. He definitely doesn't have any sort of set schedule yet. I would like his "bed time" to be earlier than 10 or 11 eventually because that's really late for when I go back to work, but right now if he went to bed any earlier he would be up for the day at the crack of dawn. I have also discovered that if we have any errands to run (grocery store, etc.) it works best if we do them in the late afternoon or evening because it tires him out and he sleeps longer. He is usually more awake and active in the mornings and wants to sleep more in the afternoon.

ashleyrsotomayor

Oh...we are EBFing and my pedi said no vitamins. I also have a friend that takes her two LOs to the same pedi and she was EBFing and she never gave vitamins either. But I have two other friends that give vitamins. So I dunno. My mom and MIL seems to think he needs them, but I am going with what the pedi says. Maybe since we live in AZ and we have sunshine 95% of the year he doesn't need it? Obviously since it's 115 degrees outside I don't  take him out unless I have to...but we keep the blinds open and his changing table is right under the window. 

MCH77

I have seen this vitamin D question a few times recently.  I am not doing it (no one told me to too and until recently I never knew of it).  I guess I will start making sure we spend more time outside.  Good to know.