LO's 'routine'

tinkerbeas

I felt like LO (4 wks on Monday) was settling into somewhat of a routine this week - she was pretty consistently eating (EBF) every 2 hours and would eat, fall asleep about an hour after starting to eat, and sleep for about 45 min.  We put her down for the night after her last feeding around 8:30-9:30 and she would sleep until about 3:00, then about 6:00 am.  Well that went out the window today.  My grandparents came to visit this morning and LO slept on and off while my grandma held her, and ended up going 4 hours between feedings.  Also, she woke twice in the middle of the nght last night instead of just once.

I still have a hard time figuring out whether she's hungry, tired, just wants to suck, etc.  I feel like I can figure it out easier if she's in some type of predictable routine.  I know every baby is different, and she'll go through growth spurts that will change her eating and sleeping patterns, but when did your baby seem to settle into a routine?  Eat less frequently during the day?  Also, would you wake a 1-month old to eat during the day?  Any input would be appreciated!  Thanks!

Cejiml

DD is 4 weeks today and I always wake her for her daytime feedings. I let her sleep at night. And we have gotten into a bit of a routine but she went through a growth spurt Sunday thru Tuesday so those nights were really long. She was back to herself last night. She naps really well during the day but we are slowly getting more awake time which is nice.

DavidStamps

We have a 3 week old and our ped told us to wake him to feed up until he reached birth weight, he reached birth weight a week ago so we just let him sleep until he tells us otherwise. For the most part its 2-3 hours, but some nights we might get in 3-4 hours (a blessing!)

As far as a routine, nothing has happened yet. Our DS is up when he is up and sleep whenever he wants to. We try to keep him active and the noise level normal during the day hoping that something will set in sooner or later, but most routines with babies aren't started until a few months. 

twoitalians

Hi, I don't mean to preach this, but have you heard of the wonder weeks? The first one is around 5 weeks. I didn't really believe it, but my LO had a good routine going and then around 4.5 weeks started getting really irregular with his feeding and sleeping and was extra clingy. It's a brain growth spurt that goes on and a lot of babies I guess get fussy around that time because their brain can process a larger amount of their surroundings and it startles them. Just a thought. It could just be part of your LO's growth spurt.

My LO is now 8 weeks and he eats about every two hours, but if he's napping he will go longer. I don't wake him unless I absolutely have to, but like a PP said, you only need to wake them every two hours to eat if they aren't up to their birth weight yet and I'm assuming that at 4 weeks your LO already is. As for at night, DS sometimes will wake up once, sometimes twice between 9pm and 6am.. usually twice. Also, if you subscribe to Lucie's List, there is an email sent out around 7 weeks that explains nap intervals during the day. While not every LO is the same it helped me understand DS's awake and sleep periods.