Guidance on feeding, sleep, schedules doesnt add up...

Kari234 · July 2013

Hi all!

My daughter is 8 weeks old and I'm generally following the advice below (not too rigidly though):

- feed every 3 hours roughly in the day

- dont let her be awake for more than 1-2 hours

- no more than 4.5 or so hours napping in the day

I'm also trying to follow the EASY schedule (again, not rigidly).

I am especially trying to avoid her getting overtired, but all the above doesn't add up. If I put her down for a nap so she's never awake for 1-2 hours, won't she be overnapping? Also, her naps aren't always long enough to do EASY, it becomes more EASYA (I.e. awake time again before feeding).

Also, she's been feeding more like every 2.5 hours. Any advice?

Thanks!

K

cyprissa · July 2013

With my first, I just followed his cues. I fed on demand and let him sleep when he wanted. He developed his own natural schedule/rhythm around 3 months and it would change depending on milestones and growth spurts.

MrsWindyCity · July 2013

Yeah, I agree, at 8 weeks you feed when they're hungry. I wouldn't keep her up more than 1.5 hours but if she's tired sooner, put her to sleep. And do not limit her sleep - the only reason to wake her up really is if it's been a long time since she's eaten. I wouldn't worry about daytime sleep ruining night sleep at this point so long as there is a clear difference between them (i.e. louder and lighter during naps, quieter and darker at night).

Awake times for us have been similar to this chart: https://www.troublesometots.com/are-you-keeping-baby-awake-too-long/

kelly422 · July 2013

LalaMama81:
Feed her when she's hungry and put her to sleep when she's tired - for an 8 week old probably 3 naps a day. I never followed any kind of limit for naps during the day. Sleep begets sleep.

Yes!

JaysonandKristin · July 2013

2013mommy:
LalaMama81:
Feed her when she's hungry and put her to sleep when she's tired - for an 8 week old probably 3 naps a day. I never followed any kind of limit for naps during the day. Sleep begets sleep.
I've always just followed DS's cues. He tells me when he's hungry and I can tell when he's tired. He made his own routine over the weeks/months.

Great response, Lala...

smrunnels · July 2013

She eats when she's hungry, sleeps when she's tired. Usually in late morning she's up for 23 hours and then naps until early evening, waking up to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours of course. Evening she's up another 23 hours and then we put her in her crib so she will learn it's bed time when she's in her room. She naps in her swing in the living room. DD is 6 weeks.

PrimRoseMama · July 2013

LalaMama81:
Feed her when she's hungry and put her to sleep when she's tired - for an 8 week old probably 3 naps a day. I never followed any kind of limit for naps during the day. Sleep begets sleep.

Yep. You are over thinking. It doesn't have to "add up". It just has to work.

Kari234 · July 2013

Thanks everyone. Part of my challenge is that I haven't been able to spot the 'cues' around sleeping/eating. Trust me when I say I'm looking for them... She rubs her eyes and yawns right soon after she wakes, after she eats, after she's been up for a while - so it's hard to tell when she's tired and when she's not. I also have trouble with feeding cues. Because of this I've been probably trying to follow the advice, especially since we have had a handful of times when she's overtired and really difficult. I may not see any tired 'signs' but then she could stay up way too long. Today, she had 6 naps of varying lengths, but they don't always come early (or she wakes frequently). I definitely don't want to impose something unnecessarily on her but I'm obviously not good yet at reading what she needs...

juliane2004 · July 2013

At 8 weeks, don't let her be awake for more than 80 minutes.

Second Guideline for Awake time for babies
0-4 weeks: 30-45 minutes
4-6 weeks: 40-60 minutes
6-8 weeks: 40-70 minutes
8-12 weeks: 50-80 minutes
3-4 months: 60-90 minutes
4-5 months: 1 hr to 1.5 hrs
5-6 months: 1.5 hours
6-9 months: 2 hours, give or take 15 minutes

pinottoparenthood · July 2013

Kari234:
Thanks everyone. Part of my challenge is that I haven't been able to spot the 'cues' around sleeping/eating. Trust me when I say I'm looking for them... She rubs her eyes and yawns right soon after she wakes, after she eats, after she's been up for a while - so it's hard to tell when she's tired and when she's not. I also have trouble with feeding cues. Because of this I've been probably trying to follow the advice, especially since we have had a handful of times when she's overtired and really difficult. I may not see any tired 'signs' but then she could stay up way too long. Today, she had 6 naps of varying lengths, but they don't always come early (or she wakes frequently). I definitely don't want to impose something unnecessarily on her but I'm obviously not good yet at reading what she needs...

in terms of sleep cues, also look for the glazed eyes. When I catch DS staring into the distance with glazed over eyes, I know it's time to put him down for a nap. It's normal for some naps to be shorter and some to be longer. But I would say at 8 weeks that you probably don't want to keep baby awake for longer than an hour or maybe 90 minutes before it's time for another nap. And you'll get better at learning what your baby needs when... It's still really early and there's definitely a learning curve!

Eta: don't get bogged down with making feedings "fit" into the nap schedule neatly... When LO is hungry, she will definitely wake up and let you know!

NicoleSB80 · July 2013

Kari234:
Thanks everyone. Part of my challenge is that I haven't been able to spot the 'cues' around sleeping/eating. Trust me when I say I'm looking for them... She rubs her eyes and yawns right soon after she wakes, after she eats, after she's been up for a while so it's hard to tell when she's tired and when she's not. I also have trouble with feeding cues. Because of this I've been probably trying to follow the advice, especially since we have had a handful of times when she's overtired and really difficult. I may notnbsp;see any tired 'signs' but then she could stay up way too long. Today, she had 6 naps of varying lengths, but they don't always come early or she wakes frequently. nbsp;I definitely don't want to impose something unnecessarily on her but I'm obviously not good yet at reading what she needs...

I know exactly how you feel. Up until they last couple weeks I really felt like I couldn't read LO at all. Around 10 weeks I started to see her schedule and this started to see the difference in her cues. Sometimes I still go based on the schedule she created for herself. It will get better!

HeartLikeMine3 · July 2013

My baby doesn't follow that guideline at all he's 5 weeks and stays up close to 2 hours at a time!

juliane2004 · July 2013

Daninicole318:
My baby doesn't follow that guideline at all he's 5 weeks and stays up close to 2 hours at a time!

The thing with the guideline is that you use it as a timer to know when to put your baby to bed I agree that babies likely won't fall asleep after 45-60 minutes randomly wherever they are. Instead, after 45-60 minutes, you need to put the baby to bed (awake) and let them fall asleep on their own. This guideline is showing the ideal window of nap opportunity before a baby would get overtired (and therefore be difficult to get to sleep).

cwhitloc · July 2013

At two months, I kept a log of baby activity, feeding, fussiness, naps..etc. I also kept her in lighted areas with noise during the day and dresses her with light clothing. After a week or two, I was able to see her patterns and started putting her to bed before she got tired and was able to get her nap routine down. Bedtime routine was started around then. We just made a simple routine, reading a book, singing a song, feeding. Etc

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Guidance on feeding, sleep, schedules doesnt add up...

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