Sample Babywise Schedules for 5-9 week old baby. Newborn sample schedules to get baby sleeping well and on a consistent routine.
Sample schedules are always popular and helpful for parents implementing a schedule for their newborn. These are sample Babywise schedules for your 1 month old baby–the second month of life.
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As you enter the second month of life with your Babywise baby, you will be focused on adding more of a schedule.
The days of ignoring the clock are over.
Time to focus on having some consistency and getting baby to be more awake during the day.
Do not be mistaken; babies this age will still have very, very short awake times, but they should be able to stay up a little longer than they did last month.
Before you go further, please be sure you have read My Sleep Hierarchy For Newborns. You need to know what your primary and secondary goals should be for a newborn so you keep priorities straight. It will make your newborn life much less frustrating!
Also, if you are working on sleep training, you must read my post Sleep Training: The Four S’s.
Post Contents
- Schedule Month Two Overview
- Month Two Sample Schedules
- Sample Schedule 1
- Sample Schedule 2
- Sample Schedule 3
- Sample Schedule 4
- Sample Schedule 5
- Sample Schedule 6
- Sample Schedule 7
- Our Full Summaries
- Get your Babywise books here
- Sample Month Two Schedules from Readers
- Schedule 1
- Schedule 2
- Schedule 3
- Schedule 4
- Schedule 5
- Helpful Schedule Posts
- READ FURTHER SAMPLE SCHEDULES AS YOUR BABY GROWS
- Babywise Schedules for the First Year
- Babywise Sample Schedules: The First Month
- Sample Babywise Schedules: Two Months Old
- Sample Babywise Schedules: Three Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Four Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Five Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Six Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Seven Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Eight Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Nine Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Ten Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: Eleven Months Old
- Babywise Sample Schedules: 12-15 Months Old
Schedule Month Two Overview
During this second month, aim for the following:
- 8-10 feedings per 24 hour period.
- Feedings should be 2.5-3.5 hours apart typically (but always Feed Baby When Hungry, even if that is early). The time intervals can vary. For example, your first interval can be 3 hours and your second interval 2.5 hours.
- The first Growth Spurt happens around 3-4 weeks old. Expect baby to eat more often during this time.
- 6-8 naps per day. The last nap might be very short (30-45 minutes long).
- Naps are 1.5-2.5 hours long.
- Baby can be allowed to sleep longer stretches at night around 6 weeks old. 7-8 hours is okay.
- Baby might start sleeping 7-8 hours at 7 weeks old. Many babies do not do this until older, though.
- Start simple Independent Playtime at 5 weeks old.
For a full year overview, see this post: Your Babywise Baby: First Year Overview.
>>>Read: Baby Playtime Activities By Age
Month Two Sample Schedules
Here are our schedules we used as a one month old:
Sample Schedule 1
Around four weeks, the schedule I had created for Kaitlyn started to change. She had different plans than I did.
At four weeks, we were still working on waketimes, but had all but one or two down.
7:30–nurse
8:30–nap
10:00–nurse
11:00–nap
1:00–nurse
2:00–nap
4:00–nurse
5:00–nap
6:30–nurse
7:30–nap
8:30–nurse then bed
She continued with the two night nursings.
This schedule continued for a while. Some days, the 10 AM nursing would be 10:30. Also, some days the 4 PM nursing would be 3:30. Around 8 weeks, she dropped one night nursing. Around 9 weeks, I tried to force a dreamfeed at 10:30, but she would not wake up.
Sample Schedule 2
For McKenna, her schedule stayed pretty much the same. I had noticed by then that McKenna didn’t eat well if it was sooner than 3 hours:
7:45–nurse
10:30–nurse
1:30–nurse
4:30–nurse
7:00–nurse
10:00–nurse
I still woke her twice in the night.
Sample Schedule 3
6 Weeks
Kaitlyn’s schedule stayed pretty much the same. Here is McKenna’s six week schedule:
7:15-7:45–nurse. I changed our 30 minute window to this.
10:30–nurse
1:30–nurse
4:30–nurse
7:00–nurse
10:00–nurse
She woke twice in the night for the first half of 6 weeks old, then went down to once a night.
Sample Schedule 4
This is our daily schedule that we aimed for at 4 weeks old.
7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30–feed
11:20–nap
1:30–feed
2:20–nap
4:30–feed
5:20–nap
7-7:30 (time varies here)–feed, then bedtime
10:00–dreamfeed
Then night feed(s).
Typically, a night feed happens between 2-3 AM and then she wakes close to 7-7:30 AM. Sometimes she wakes as early as 1:30 AM.
Sometimes, she will wake another time at 6:00 AM. When this happens, I try to do the one side feeding and then get her up at 7:30, but if she wants two sides, we just do two and I let her go a little more than three hours for her feeds during the day so she can be on a normal schedule.
Sample Schedule 5
5 weeks old
This is our daily schedule that we shoot for. Our first feeding varies the most. It typically ranges between 6:30 and 7:30 AM.
7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30–feed
11:20–nap
1:30–feed
2:20–nap
4:30–feed
5:20–nap
7-7:30 (time varies here)–feed, then bedtime
10:00–dreamfeed
Then night feed(s). Typically, this happens between 2:30-3:30 AM.
Sample Schedule 6
6 weeks old
This is our daily schedule that we aimed for.
Our first feeding varies the most. It typically ranges between 6:30 and 7:30 AM.
She is now old enough to do 2.5 to 3.5 hour intervals between feedings, so if she is sleeping when the time comes up, I let her sleep up to 30 minutes longer.
She will eat better if she wakes on her own, and if not, those extra thirty minutes can often be enough to get her interested in eating.
7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30–feed
11:20–nap
1:30–feed
2:20–nap
4:30–feed
5:20–nap
7-7:30 (time varies here)–feed, then bedtime
10:00–dreamfeed
Then night feed(s). Typically, this happens between 2:30-3:30 AM.
Sample Schedule 7
7 weeks old
7:30–feed
8:20–nap
10:30-11:00–feed
11:20–nap
1:30-2:00–feed
2:20–nap
4:30-5:00–feed
|5:20–nap
7-7:30 (time varies here)–feed, then bedtime
10:00–dreamfeed
Then night feed(s). Typically, this happens between 2:30-3:30 AM.
Our Full Summaries
You can read a full summary and breakdown of every week by following these links:
- McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Five
- Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 5
- McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Six
- Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 6
- McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Seven
- Newborn Summary: Week 7
- McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Eight
- Newborn Summary: Week 8
- McKenna Newborn Summary: Week Nine
- Brinley Newborn Summary: Week 9
Get your Babywise books here
Sample Month Two Schedules from Readers
Below are some sample schedules from readers:
Schedule 1
8am – wake up & eat (4 oz)
10:30 – bottle
11:30/12 – nap, if I can get him to go down
1:30 – bottle
2:30 – nap
4:30 – bottle
7:30 – bottle
9 – bottle, then in bed by 10
3 AM- wakes up and eats 6 oz. This isn’t “scheduled,” but he is waking up at the same time every night for this last bottle.
We’re still working on our schedule. Especially naps. Sometimes he just won’t go down, and CIO isn’t an option.
Schedule 2
7:30 am – eat
8:30 am – nap
10:30 am – eat
11:30 am – nap
1:30 pm – eat
2:30 pm – nap
4:30 pm – eat
5:30 pm – will take a catnap usually wakes up a little fussy – will usually have to hold – may feed early
6:45 to 7:30 pm – eat
Bed by 8 (if eats at 7:30pm)
10pm – Dreamfeed
wakes at 5am for “night” feed – start day at 7
Schedule 3
7:00am – eat
8:00am – nap
10:10am – eat
11:10am – nap
1:20pm – eat
2:30pm – nap
4:30pm – eat
5:40pm – nap
7:00pm – eat, bed
10:00pm – dreamfeed
(MOTN feeding ~4am?)
Schedule 4
7:00 wake & nurse
8:00 nap
9:45 wake & nurse
10:40 nap
12:45 wake & nurse
1:40 nap
4:00 wake & nurse
5:10 nap
7:00 wake & nurse
7:45/8 bedtime
10:00 dream feed
Then usually wakes around 3:00am to eat.
Schedule 5
6:00 Wake/nurse/diaper change/wake time
7:00 Nap
9:00 Nurse/diaper change/wake time
10:00 Nap
11:30 Nurse/diaper change/wake time
12:30 Nap
2:00 Nurse/diaper change/wake time
3:00 Nap
4:30 Nurse/diaper change/wake time
5:30 Nap
7:00 Nurse/diaper change/bedtime routine
8:00 Down for bed
10:00 Dreamfeed/diaper change
Middle of the night – will usually wake up at 2-3:30am
Total wake times 50-75 minutes per cycle. We put her down for a nap when she starts to show signs of being tired (yawning, not engaging with us or toys, bringing hands to month/eyes).
Helpful Schedule Posts
- Sleep Training: The Four S’s
- Adding Waketime to Your Newborn’s Day
- Hunger Patterns
- Nursing A Newborn: Keep Baby Awake!
- Fussy Newborns and Mom’s Diet
- Newborn Evening Feeding Schedule
- Reader Sample Schedules: 0-12 Months
- Baby Whisperer: Growth Spurts
- Babywise Instructs Parents to Feed Baby When Hungry
- Baby Growth Spurts: Everything You Need To Know
READ FURTHER SAMPLE SCHEDULES AS YOUR BABY GROWS
Babywise Schedules for the First Year
This is a compilation of sample schedules for baby's entire first year!
Babywise Sample Schedules: The First Month
Sample Babywise Schedules for your baby’s first month. Babywise newborn schedules to help you get baby sleeping and eating well. Starting early creates a great routine for your newborn.
Sample Babywise Schedules: Two Months Old
Sample Babywise schedules for the third month. Babywise schedules used for baby’s third month of life. Baby 2 month schedules.
Sample Babywise Schedules: Three Months Old
Sample Babywise Schedules. Babywise schedule for the fourth month. You are looking at weeks 14-18. See what schedule other Babywise babies followed.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Four Months Old
Babywise Sample Schedules: The Fifth Month. 5 month old Babywise sleep schedule. These are real schedules used by real Babywise moms.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Five Months Old
Babywise Sample Schedules: The Sixth Month. 6 month old Babywise sleep schedules. Babywise schedules used by real Babywise babies.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Six Months Old
This post gives sample schedule Babywise schedules for the seventh month. The seventh month of baby’s life comprises weeks 27-31. Baby is six months old moving to 7 months old. These are Babywise 6 and 7 Month Old Sample Schedules.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Seven Months Old
Sample schedules for a 7-8 month old using the Babywise method. This is the 8th month of life. Baby schedules for 31-35 weeks old.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Eight Months Old
Sample schedules for an 8 month old using the Babywise method. This is the 9th month of life. Baby schedules for 35-39 weeks old.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Nine Months Old
Sample schedules for an 9 month old using the Babywise method. This is the 10th month of life. Baby schedules for 39-44 weeks old.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Ten Months Old
Sample schedules for a 10 month old using the Babywise method. This is the 11th month of life. Baby schedules for 43-48 weeks old.
Babywise Sample Schedules: Eleven Months Old
Sample schedules for an 11 month old using the Babywise method. This is the 12th month of life. Baby schedules for 48-52 weeks old.
Babywise Sample Schedules: 12-15 Months Old
Sample schedules for 12-15 month old pretoddlers using the Babywise method. Know what milestones to expect and how to shift the schedule for your young toddler.
This post originally appeared on this blog June 2017
Hi! I have so loved your blog over the years with all of my babies, so thank you for all the help. Our third baby girl is currently the one causing me all the trouble! She's had to be flexible as I'm a full-time working mama. She used to be with a nanny who had 2 other kids at home and a busy schedule, so she adjusted to catnaps here and there. She is 7 mo old and still waking at night as often as a newborn. I've always catered to her at night, since I feel bad to make her be flexible all day. Some nights she sleeps until 4:30a, sometimes 1am. She has no consistent pattern of waketimes at all. I'm to the point where I'm so exhausted I can hardly function anymore. We just got a nanny for her who will be in the home with her so she can, for the first time in her life, have an individualized schedule. That being said…I don't know how to get her there! Right now, her bottle in take is so sporadic and her naps are inconsistent, she's just a mess! How would you recommend adjusting her to a set schedule? After searching some of your other posts, I already think I am going to start waking her at a consistent time every day. I think that will help get us started…but any other advice you could give as far as CIO or any other suggestions would be helpful. Currently, she eats about 2 ice cube-sized portions of solids a day and is doing some baby-led weaning foods as well. I'm nursing her about 4oz per feeding, totaling about 25 oz in a 24-hr period. But she's eating all through the night typically, so she's just a mess. Ayayayyy I'm overwhelmed posting this to think of the road ahead. But I'm so desperate at the same time!
Hello! It sounds like you have a task on your hands! But it is doable. I have some posts that can help. For sleep training, if you go to the blog index tab and look under "cry it out," you will see a lot of posts. Starting at the same time each day is a great place to start. Work on your eat, play, sleep pattern. She should have 2-3 naps each day. She should go to bed about 11-12 hours before you want her up in the morning. You might consider a dreamfeed (you can find that under the blog index as well). She is okd for it, but since you are having night waking, it might be a good help. Good luck!
Also, see this post:https://www.babywisemom.com/2013/02/starting-babywise-late-guide.html?m=1
Hi! You're blog has been an amazing asset, so thank you. Questions. 1. Our baby boy was 2.5 weeks early. He's now "10 weeks old" but not where most 10 weekers are. Here is our typically schedule…7am wake and 7pm bed (3 hour feedings until 4pm when he typically clusters every 2 hours before 7pm bedtime). He's waking around 1:30am then again around 4:45-5:30am. We've tried the pacifier and rock, a quick nurse, etc but he still is so fussy until his 7am wake. We avoided a DF because he would still just wake 3 hours after at 1:30am, regardless. I randomly tired it again the other night and it was successful! Slept 10:15pm until 4:45am. But, when we tired it again last night it didn't work! Why does he do so well during the day and is still waking up so much at night???
Sorry, one more. He still has to be swaddled for naps and bed but he wants to break out of it all night. Any suggestions? He is an animal so he needs to be contained but all he wants is to get his arms to his face. He does take a pacifier but we battle putting it back in all night.
Hey Calli! Do you think he is hungry in the night when he wakes? If so, a consistent dreamfeed and/or cluster feeding could work well. For the swaddling, I would leave him swaddled. That is common behavior, so I would just leave it. You could try unswaddling him for night if you want and see how he does. Some babies can unswaddle at night be stay swaddled in the day.
Hi Valerie, thanks for you blog! I seriously reference it ALL the time! My 2nd/3rd babies (twin girls) are 14 weeks old tomorrow (but 3.5 weeks early). They started STTN at 11 weeks old and pulled it off for about 10-ish consecutive nights. Then one woke at 2am one night and I fed her. She has since woken at 2am every night since! I had been doing a dreamfeed at 9:30/10pm their entire lives and with that they had been getting 6 feedings per day (NOT counting MOTN).I have tried giving the paci at night wakings and some intermittent CIO, but nothing has helped. Plus, all my children have been skinny babies and so I worry that maybe they need to still eat MOTN? Or am I promoting eating at night out of habit?Also, I've tried playing around with the timing of the dreamfeed the past few nights. Several nights I did it at 12am and she woke around 4am. Last night I skipped the dreamfeed entirely and she woke again at 2am (I feed at 6:30pm, then put to bed right after). I thought maybe the dreamfeed was causing the return to night wakings, so that's why I've been experimenting with it.So my big question is: what do I do with the dreamfeed? I really don't want it later than 10pm because then I am going to bed too late. Skipping it entirely again may work but then I am truly dropping a feeding and will that hurt the chances of STTN in the long run?I'm so confused about what to do with the dreamfeed and how to return to STTN!Thanks for any input!
Hi Valerie! My little one is 5 weeks now and I've been trying to get down a schedule that works for both of us and our family. I feel like I'm always waking him up from his naps especially in the evenings where I'm trying to fit in all 8 feeds so I'm feeding him every 2-2.5 hours. However, I'm reading this current post about sample schedules for the second month and I'm counting only 7 feedings in a lot of them. Is that ok at this age? I feel like he may do better with 7 feedings at this point because he won't be as sleepy during feedings and may take more of a full feeding and have better waketimes because he's waking up on his own. This is my current feeding schedule: 7-7:3010-10:301:004:006:30 8:3011MOTN which is around 3-4 amI feel like the time between 6:30 and 8:30 feed is tough because by the time he falls asleep, I'm waking him up to eat again. All just to fit in the 8 feedings. what do you think I should do? I don't want to go back to (2) middle of the night feedings though. I need sleep! Haha
Hi Valerie,
First of all a big thank you! Your site has been a great help
My five week old had a great routine : he drank three hours. And sometimes at night every four hours. Now for two nights he started to drink every two hours at night; but during day he follows the 3 hour routine
What should I do?
I also started to pump two days ago to build a stash for the future. I started to wander that mayne he isnt getting enough milk due to my pumping. I pump one hour after lunch breastfeeding
Best,
Hello! I would try not pumping and see if that is the change that has led to more frequent waking. Is sleep during the day still the same?
Hi Valerie
Thank you for this great post. I am keen to start sleep training my 7 week old. However, I have two older boys so i need to be mobile to do school runs and other trips and activities. I am currently carrying the baby in the sling for the morning and afternoon nap to enable this but worried it will interfere with the sleep training. I wonder whether you have any suggestions on how to get around this? Also would you suggest I get her used to the schedule first by helping her get to sleep for naps or go straight to sleep training at same time?
Thanks so much.
Ela
Hey Ela,
I have this post that will help you with school disruptions: https://www.babywisemom.com/how-to-maintain-sleep-schedule-amid-disruptions/
For the schedule, you can really do either way. I prefer going straight to sleep training just because otherwise you are training one way and then training another way. But if you feel like it is best for you to help her sleep first so she is used to the schedule, go for it!
Hi,
I am trying to get my 5 week old down for his first nap but he never wants to go down. He wakes up. I feed him 3-4 oz. I burp and change his diaper. He’s awake for a total of an hour before I put him down. When I do he just lays around and then eventually starts acting like he’s hungry again. The result is me feeding him two hours after when I originally fed him and him never taking a nap. What should I do?
Have you tried a shorter waketime? It might be that he is overly tired and can’t sleep. Check out this post: https://www.babywisemom.com/optimal-waketime-lengths/
Valerie-
How do we know when it is best to be on a 3 hour schedule vs 2.5 hr (or combo) schedule ? We are 6 weeks old and waking twice a night. Doing a 3 hr schedule but maybe we should stick to closer to 2.5 hr until we drop that second MOTN night feeding ? We have Made it until 3:30 a few times but not consistently
Hello! If baby is sleeping until the 3 hour mark, that means it is working well for baby. But you can try doing some 2.5 hour intervals and see if that helps nights. You can also do cluster feeding or a dreamfeed if you are not already.
https://www.babywisemom.com/cluster-feeding/ and https://www.babywisemom.com/basics-of-dreamfeed/
Loving your website thank you so much! I am on my third and trying to refresh myself. I did have a question. For the last feed around 7/730 that is the bedtime feed do you feed that one in in a dim room nice and quiet and put right to bed for the night? Some schedules I see they treat it like a “nap” then at the later one make it bed time. I usually feed when they wake up from the dinner cat nap, awake time including bath and bed routine then feed in the rocking chair in the dark until they are sleeping or done BF and I make that one the going to bed one then sneak back in for the dream feed a few hours later. Is that still ok or should I switch and feed for the last evening feed and keep awake a bit so baby goes down awake? I always thought for some reason the bed time one was nice and quiet and relaxing now I forget! Thanks.
Hi Stephanie!
I did that feed different ways with different babies. A couple I had a nice quiet feeding and then right to bed. A couple I had a feeding, then waketime, then bed. It worked great both ways. I would make that bedtime for sure, not a nap, but you can do it quietly or have waketime.
Hi Valerie! Writing this in the wee hours of the morning praying for some advice from you. Been using your blog with my first who is now 3 and now my second baby is throwing me for a loop. My first was sleeping 7 hours at 8 weeks old but we are at week 8 with my second and she is still waking twice at night. She doesn’t act ravenous so I’ve just been offering one side and she’s content with that, but doesn’t eat the best for first morning feed. She has dropped to one feeding sporadically and at one point had dropped it for a few nights in a row and I have no idea what changed. She falls asleep and stays asleep completely independently. She takes 5 1.5-2 hour naps everyday on her own and if she misses any she’s hard to get down for the night due to being over tired. We wake consistently each day at the same time and have a 2.5 hour schedule to try and fit as many feedings in as possible. My dream feed time isn’t super consistent but usually between 10/1030. Is this normal? I feel so discouraged and don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Any ideas? The only thing I can think of is maybe her schedule getting disrupted 2-3 times a week for outings and missing a couple naps those days? Should I play with the dream feed? I go back to work next month and really want to get a full nights rest. *crying*. Please please help me
Hello! I would say one feeding at night is very normal for that age as well the dreamfeed. With two happening along with the dreamfeed, I would try to figure out why. So that is the trick…WHY is she waking. That determines how to proceed. Is she hungry? Is she overly tired? Is she overstimulated? Is she not getting enough stimulation in the day? Is she cold? Is it it a habit? Is she hungry? I would have you start with this post and pick out what you think the “why” is. If you can’t tell for sure, pick the top three you would guess: https://www.babywisemom.com/nightime-sleep-issues-revised-and/
Hi Valerie,
I have a 7.5 week old (born3 weeks early so I don’t know if I need to adjust). We have been doing babywise for the last 3 weeks or so. I’ve got his wake time at 7am and then his first feed is about 715am and then we go 2.5-3 hours for feedings and he naps in between. Wake time is usually 1 hour to 1 1hr 15 min. I cluster feed him at 4(BF), 6 (bottle) and then I am trying to figure out a bedtime. He nurses to sleep and I aim for him to be asleep by 815/830 (but sometimes he doesn’t fall asleep until 9pm). I don’t do the dream feed yet, I usually just go to sleep when he does. But I’d like to start doing the dream feed around 10/1030 and hopefully get a better night sleep. He naps about 45 min to 2 hours four times a day with his last nap wake up at 6pm (he falls asleep in his bassinet for all but last nap that he’s in the baby carrier). Am I doing his bedtime too late? If so, how do I adjust to keep the bottle but still nurse him to sleep? He sleeps anywhere from 3 hours to 5.5 hours the first stretch of the night and then wakes up 2 times to nurse before 7am.
Hello!
I had three babies born 3 weeks early. You do need to adjust expectations back to a younger age, but it isn’t as clear-cut as three weeks back unfortunately. If a baby is born at 39 weeks, people rarely adjust. Also, you never know how spot-on accurate the due date was. My 3 born 3 weeks early all had their due date moved later, so were they really 2 weeks early?
If you are cluster feeding and feeding to sleep, then I would do the 6 PM feeding, then feed again at 8 and have that be the last feeding before official bedtime. Then you could add a dreamfeed. With cluster feeding, I think that bedtime is fine. If you want to aim for a bedtime in the 7 PM hour instead, I would adjust earlier intervals to feed more often in the day so you cluster feed at 5 and 7 instead of 6 and 8.
Hello,
I have a 4 almost 5 week old and I’m trying to get him on a schedule somewhat! He doesn’t seem to like going down for naps during the day. He’s only staying asleep for 30mins to an hour. How can I get him to sleep longer? What do I do when he wakes up before the next “scheduled” feeding?
Hello! I have a couple of posts for you:
short naps: https://www.babywisemom.com/naps-troubleshooting-revised-and/
Wakes early but isn’t hungry: https://www.babywisemom.com/what-to-do-when-your-baby-wakes-early/
Wakes early from naps: https://www.babywisemom.com/waking-early-from-napswont-fall-asleep/
If baby wakes early from a nap and is hungry, then you want to feed your baby.
Hi Valerie,
I’ve got a 5 week old (big, over 12 lbs) boy and we’ve been following babywise since 2 weeks old. Starting 1 week ago nights have suddenly been a disaster and he’s waking up multiple times. Yesterday we had a great day, 3 hour feeds and good naps. The last nap, we did a catnap from 9:30-10. Then gave a 4 oz bottle and he went down easily. He slept great until 2. I nursed him for under 10 mins in his quiet, dark room and then he went down pretty well. Then he was up at 3 and would not go back down. Was really difficult to settle. I was able to push off the 2nd feed until 4:50. That was a little bit longer of a feed, around 15 minutes but not nursing vigorously. He only slept in his crib for an hour and we had to get him at 6:30. Any suggestions or things I should try differently? Just so frustrated and disappointed and would love to go back to 2 consistent wakeups.
Thank you!
Hannah
Hello!
Some things to consider. Is he able to fall asleep independently? Does he rely on any props or anything to help him fall asleep? If he does, he might be struggling to transition at night without those props.
I would also consider if he is too cold at night or uncomfortable in some way.
He could also be on a growth spurt and hungry, so you might try feeding him right away and see what he does. If he takes a full feed, it is probably hunger.
Hi Valerie, I have an 8 week old and his schedule is very similar to these (40-50 min wake window and two hour naps). My challenge is that after his 6:45/7pm feeding he will not go to sleep. He will lie in his crib without crying, but awake. He will fall asleep if we pick him up and hold him and then his nights are a complete challenge. He will often not sleep in his crib till after 12:30am. Before that time if put down in his crib he will cry. Unless in arms he won’t fall asleep. I’ve tried pushing his wake window during the day but that overtired him and his naps are an hour maybe hour and a half and it doesn’t change what’s happening at bedtime. Any advice?
This sounds like witching hour! Check this post out: https://www.babywisemom.com/witching-hour/
Hi, Valerie!
Thanks for this post. How do you navigate Merge 1 when you have a toddler? It seems like you can’t avoid the baby eventually waking at the same time as the toddler, which results in one of them not getting fed when they’re used to. I am currently triple feeding and trying to get my 4 week old back on the breast, so I HAVE to have my mornings with him alone. Thanks! Leah
If you are concerned about mornings, I would either shift the baby’s first feed to be before your toddler gets up or have your toddler get up and then go to independent play during baby’s first feed (so possibly move baby’s feed later).
Thanks! Part of my problem is that my newborn usually wakes himself up around 4 AM to feed and isn’t hungry enough Before 6 AM to feed so that I can stretch his night a little longer and have his morning start at 8 AM. If I feed him after six then I end up running into my toddler’s wake time around 6:30a-7a. We’ve tried pushing the toddler back, but she’s always been a very early riser and 630 is already sleeping in for her. Do you have any tips on what to do for the newborn?
Thanks so much! We really appreciate the help.
I have a post!
https://www.babywisemom.com/5-6-am-night-wakings/
Hi Valerie! I have been following your blog religiously and was hoping you could give me some insight on night feedings/wakings. My baby girl is nearly 5 weeks old and I have her on a schedule almost exactly like the ‘2 Month Sample Schedule 1’ posted above (She has been gaining plenty of weight & having plenty of poops so I was comfortable moving her to this timeline). She does great during the day but her night feedings are confusing. I give her a nice big feeding at 7:30pm before bedtime and then I’ve been waking her to feed at 12am and 3:30am (we then start her day at 7am). I am always waking her up from a deep sleep at 12am so she doesn’t eat much and then for her 3:30am feeding she wake up right on time, ready to eat & nearly wide awake. I’m confused because with one time she seems like she could sleep longer but the next she can’t wait another minute.
I noticed you don’t list out night feeding times. Should I just wait until she wakes up on her own and not schedule these out? If I do keep them scheduled, I am a bit worried that eventually she will be waking up to feed out of habit and not necessarily hunger.
I appreciate any insight!
Katie
At 5 weeks old, you can just let her wake on her own at night.
At her age, she will definitely still need at least one night feed. I would recommend you try a dreamfeed and feed her more starting sometime between 10-10:45 PM and then let her just wake on her own (for a night feed) after that. https://www.babywisemom.com/dreamfeed-fa/