6th month old schedule

ok so i know a lot of you are on solids at this stage but we are still incorporating them into the schedule.

our boys' require 2 1/2 hours of playtime inorder to burn off enough energy to want to eat and it's much easier to feed a tired, worn out baby (in my case) then it is one that just wakes up from a nap and is wide awake (hence the reason the first feed of the day is by far the worst). the boys' eat ever 5 hours, anything sooner than that and they don't want it. so i've established this schedule...

me,wake up at 4:30am give them their prevacid, prepare bottles, etc.
5am wake boys' up to eat
6am nap
7:30 am wake up to play
10:00am bottle
11:00am nap
12:30-12:45pm wake up to play
3pm bottle
4pm nap
5pm - solids
5:30pm - bath
6pm- nap
7pm play/relax time w/mommy & daddy (when he's home)
8pm bottle
9pm bed

DH is all in a fuss that i need to rearrange the schedule so that when he "helps me" he doesn't have to get up at 4:30 even though he can go RIGHT back to sleep after he's done...but nooo he says to start at 7am and keep them up until 11pm.

so what do you guy think?

is it too much to ask that, since this routine works (really well i might add & gives DH and i some alone time after the kids go to bed) that i have him get up in the morning and let me sleep in once every other month???

 

I try to get my DH up at 6:30 for the babies (we're both home with the boys). Today was tough as he went to a basketball game & was up until 1:30am last night. I would say that because you have to live with them 'off schedule', he should be able to suck it up and go with it every once in a while. Obviously, easier said than done. What would he do if he had to report for work at 5am? Get up at 4:30? Raising your babies is a job like any other and sometimes you have to punch in pretty early!

Side note: Would it help to give them more sleep at night, so you could have longer, more consolidated naps during the day?

 

Why is it that you have to wake them and feed them at 5 a.m.? At this age you should be able to get them to go 12 hours at night, possibly with a feeding in there if they wake on their own. I would be concerned that the 5 a.m. feeding might create a night waking habit that will have to be broken later. Hopefully when they start crawling they'll have more of an appetite for eating. Have you look at the 6 month schedules in the FY handbook? I always found those helpful.

 

ITA! I say stick with what works if he wants the schedule readjusted he needs to realize how that will impact you and them when he's not around. Plus once every other month...I don't think that's too much to ask IMO.

 

My opinion (not that I have anymore experience than you do) would be to try one day of where you completely let go of that schedule. The night before try to watch for their cues when they're ready for bed. When you start to hear them in the morning, get up, give them their prevacid. Then get yourself ready for the morning. Once you're ready, prepare the bottles and begin to feed them. Then just let them guide you through the day. If the formula intake worries you, then don't go longer than 5 hours from their first feed. Maybe they'll only do 3 feeds, 5 hours apart. Even three 7oz bottles is still 21oz a day. Let them play or whatever they want until they nap.


I know my boys have no problem going 12 hours straight of sleep during the night. Ours are the same age, although mine are way behind yours because of the adjusted age. Put them to bed at 8pm. See what time they get up. If they start waking around 7:30, take that time to get their medicine, get yourself ready and prepare the bottle. Then do an 8 bottle, 1pm bottle, 6pm bottle, and if you have to get in more ounces you can try a dream feed at 11pm. But I honestly wouldn't wake them.

I don't know how much of that makes any sense, but you're always looking for new adjustments to your schedule, so if it were me I would totally just try to start fresh. If it doesn't work at all then heck I can always go right back to what was working.

 

the problm is they take 3-7oz a feed, it's not consistent which is why i have to continue to offer the 4 bottles. we are still throwing up sometimes and often only taking 4-5oz a feed. the docs don't want them down to 3 bottles aday yet, they say they are too young and i tend to agree especially since their feeds are so unpredictable. they tend to wake up on their own around 8am if i let them but then the rest of the day is shot. they have a problem queing you with signals of hunger which is why i've always been to regimented on the bottles and offering it to them every x amount of hours. i did go 2 days once to see what would happen and they ate 2oz, didn't care about food.

they take nice 2 hours naps which is GREAT for me.

AmberG i dont see how waking them up in the morning could create a problem later on,could you explain more thoroughly as to why you thin that? the 5am feed is a dreamfeed only it's in the morning instead of at night. just curious why you think it would cause problems.

thanks for the tips and suggestions though ladies!

 

I am thinking you may want to get them to sleep earlier and they may sleep later. I think the average about of sleep at 6 months is 11 hours (not including day time naps) and by looking at your schedule, they are getting 8 (plus an hour and a half an hour later).

You mentioned your dh suggested starting at 7am but then keep them up until 11. Why would they have to stay up until 11?

 

so they get 4 bottles a day. if they took them every 4 hours then it wouldn't be an issue or if they consistently took in 7oz in 3 bottles no biggie but the average is 3-7oz every 5 hours. when we were on an every 4 hour schedule they would outrigt refuse bottles all together.

and we don't like, or i should say i don't like, the idea of puting them to bed earlier b/c they would never see their dad and know who he is. he gets home at 6:30-7pm from his part time job and then is gone for 24 hours every 3rd day with 15min to say bye to sleeping babies when he works at the part time job. so we keep them up and feed them at 8 (7:30 when i a home alone b/c it takes 1 hour w/1 person) so that daddy can spend time with them. i realize this can't be a forever thing but for now it's working and the boys are happy and aren't sleep deprived at least don't appear to be - no crankyness or fussing all the time.

i don't know, they go in for their 6 months on the 2nd, i'll check with the ped and see what he thinks.

i think a lot of the problem is that DH is still adjusting to the "wait i don't have ME time anymore?" thing

 

How's their reflux going? On average, how many pukings would you say you have a day? Ours are just now getting over their reflux...finally!!!! :Clap: We still have a puking or two every 2-3 days, but nothing like it was. And my are still on 5 bottles a day because we haven't had great luck with solids (just started feeding therapy and keeping my fingers crossed). I think keeping yours on 4 bottles a day is good for another couple of months until they are taking more solids. As far as the schedule goes, I would say that you do what works for you. 6 months is a weird stage because they are transitioning in so many ways that when you think you have a schedule down pat, something comes along to change that. A big development spurt, teething, you name it, your babies will always have a curveball that throws your schedule for a loop. I say do what works for you, but keep in mind that over the next few months, your monkeys are going to go through such development that naps, feedings, everything will get all out of sorts. Keep your chin up through all of that. It's a challenge, a lot of patience will get you through. Especially with pukers Boy, do I know that. Good luck!

 

well when we first started trying solids, about 3 weeks ago w/peas, they puked the peas up so i stopped for a week and the throwing up eased up. we went to squash (heard that was easier to digest) but river would still throw up his last meal (well at least 2-3oz of his 7oz bottle) so i took the squash away about 4 days ago and he's still having night barf fests we're some of his bottle comes up. the good news is, it's not the squash so i can restart that...they liked it too, so YAY. the other good news is that since the prevacid increase i have noticed that over the last few days the pre-feeding hissy fits are starting to improve...they aren't figting the bottle as long or as hard as they were *fingers crossed & knock on wood*.

i know i'm in for a treat w/scheduling and i know BIG adjustments are going to come right now this routine works. i get em' up, put em' back down they sleep and i wake em' up, ware them out (they eat TONS better when they are tired) and repeat until bedtime. daddy is feeding alex who is not at all interested and i fed river who ate his full bottle but then threw up a coule ounces

i think a lot of river's throwing up is that he's just not burping...like at all. so i think maybe burps might be gettng caught underneath his food and then when a burp wants to come up it pushes all the food up?? i don't know. i position him upright after his feeds for 30 minutes, i gently burp him for a good couple of minutes....i don't know.

his throwing up and their lack of consistency in wantng to eat enough is what makes me so set on not dropping a bottle, even though i don't think they'd care.

our RN agrees with me not to drop to 3 bottles until they are really consistently eating solids and they aren't so we're gonna keep on truckin'

thanks! and i'm so happy your reflux is under control! that's awesome!!!! :clapping:

 

abbey does that, the not burping well and when she burps some food comes up with it...we call her "goddess pukapelli"...she really gets a kick out of the goddess part, she seems to realize it's a step or two above "princess"...anyway...i say stick with the schedule if it works..you may find as they eat more solids they'll want less in liquids...jack is a lazy boy and would rather drink his meals than eat..he's just now getting to the point where he'll eat pretty much hassle free...abbey is the one with the reflux, but not to the point where she needs meds for it (they were prescribed, i never used them after talking to some other moms (one a doctor) about them)...tell the hubby to suck it up and go with your schedule because you are the one that is with them day in and day out...me, i'd hate to get up at 4:30 in the morning, however i know it's easier for me to stay up until 4:30...once my hubby switches to 3rd shift (it means a full time position and a raise so he's doing it) he'll be the one to do the middle of the night tending and i'll be heading to bed no later than 1 so i can get up in the mornings with them...

 

The 5 a.m. feeding isn't a problem right now, but from what I've learned from "sleep experts" it could as babies get older. It did become a problem for my LOs. They had been STTN from 3-6 months. Then they starting waking to nurse during the early morning hours when they were 6-10 months. For DS, it was only one feeding, which wasn't so bad. But for DD, she started waking and wanting to eat every 20-60 minutes during the early morning hours. I ended up night weaning them at 10 months because I was so tired of getting up with them. I'm not saying this will happen with your babies. You might just be able to stop the dreamfeed and they may never wake at that time ... it's hard to say. As they get older a night feeding may become a habit, rather than something they need for nutrition.

 

Oh, I so remember trying to figure out if the burps were causing all the puking or if we giving them enough time upright after their bottles, or maybe we were feeding them too much at one time......After numerous reflux meds, tons of different techniques, more bottles with less formula, less bottles with more formula, and on and on, I now know that only time helped all the reflux puking fun. Only when the were able to sit up really well and really when they started pulling up and standing up assisted, did the reflux pukes start to fade away. The only pukings we have now are situational. For example when the gag themselves with toys or their own fingers, when their extra drooly and some gets caught in their throat, and unfortunately when they eat solids But we're working on that.

I honestly believe scheduling will become easier once most of their reflux issues start to go away. It's easier for us now. I know it will seem like forever in some ways, but in about 3-4 months, you should start to see improvement. And then setting schedules will get a little easier.

 

By, 4 months, mine were doing 12 hours per nite, 6p to 6a. It made for a MUCH more scheduled day where I could even GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! I would DEF try to stretch nighttime sleep and fix that up and then work on daytime naps (less naps and for longer) and you'll be set!!

Good luck!!

My DH works two jobs and the babies' sleep comes first He has to see them when he sees them

 

IMHO, you are overthinking this. At this age, you don't need to worry too much about how much they are eating each day. They will eat when they are hungry (assuming no sickness). I would give them a few days of letting THEM set the schedule. Sit back and observe and tune into their hunger and sleep cues. I bet you will find that they will sleep more at night and eat more during the day (expect a day or two of less eating. They will "make it up").

Also, I would NEVER wake them up with 2 exceptions: 1) in the morning, whenever the 1st one wakes, I would go ahead and wake the other one to try to keep them more in sync with each other and 2) I would wake them in the late afternoon/early evening ONLY if it seems that by them sleeping too late it will cause them to stay up too late.

It seems to me that your LO's are staying up way too late (they should be in bed no later than 9pm for the night) and getting up way too early (I would aim for a 6:30/7:00 wake up).

I completely understand the stress over the reflux, though. Both of mine had it for the 1st 6 months or so. My DD had it really bad. They were on 2 different meds/each and every feeding for awhile there was a battle and very stressful for both me and them. At some point, though, I started realizing that the more I stressed, the more they stressed. Reflux SUCKS. But, it will get better. And it seemed that right around the time I started relaxing more about how much they were eating and when, the reflux started going away. Maybe just a coincidence.

Bottomline, though, your kids pick up on your stress and worry and will react to it accordingly. If you think of it this way: a human will die from lack of sleep sooner than they will from lack of food. i.e., sleep is extremely important to your babies' health and well being. And, it is prefectly normal if they have a day or two, here and there, where they don't eat as much. Your DH will have to make time for the babies around THEIR "schedule", not his or yours. As your children grow, obviously, this can change a little. But, for now, IMO, this is the way it needs to be.

 

dblyblessed, i tend to disagree with you but i appreciate your opinions...my question wasn't really about how their schedule was just was it to much to ask DH to get up every once in a while to help out w/the morning feed. but thanks for your thoughts!

frostyfamilytwins, it's funny you should mention the "situational" throwing up...mine are teething and throw up gooey gross gobs of spit and like to shove their entire hands down their throats hittng that gag reflex and blah out it comes.

AmberG, i'm assuming you breastfed? i'm not sure we'll run into this problem since the boys' are bottle fed but i'm talking out of my butt because i dont know untl it happens.

ivfbound0708, DH and i talked about it and as long as the babies are happy, healthy and getting enough sleep (which they are) we think it's essential that he spends time with them, even if it's only an hour a night when he's home.

oh and just fo everyone knows - the kids ARE in bed by 9pm and are back in bed after the 5am "dreamfeed" as soon as they are done with the bottle.

 

I don't think there is any problem with them being up that early for a bottle and go right back to sleep. I don't think I'd want to get them up that early for solids. I just don't consider solids to be that important. My boys are about 7 1/2 months old and they definately do not sleep through the night. Some of us just are not that lucky. I don't wake them up for a feed. However, I also don't deal with babies with reflux problems like you do. So as far as that goes, do what works. Do I think he should get up and help. Absolutely.

 

I wanted to thank you for posting your schedule. I don't know that we are quite there yet, but it gives me a good idea to start off with once I start noticing readiness.

I also struggle with the idea of getting the boys to bed early enough but giving them enough dad time in the evening. Mine gets home at about 6:15, and it is *very* important for us to get some family time in, and considering that I'm home all day, I don't much care how late it shifts their morning schedule. They're in bed about 10:30 to 8:30 right now, (with about 3 wakeups for nursing) and take two weak naps at some vague point during the day. Our problem is that we'd like bedtime to be 9, but they get some sort of supercharge after that nursing session and want nothing more than to smile and coo for the next hour - sleeping is not happening. Oh well.