Feeding Schedule Question

Hello girls,

I have a question for you guys regarding my 5 month old twin boys. They are on a schedule of feedings since they were born. Right now they eat every 3.5-4 hours during the day, and they do not wake to eat at night.

My question is : can I go longer stretches now during the day? I mean, can I move this to every 5 hours? The problem is that they just don't want a specific bottle (the 5:30 pm one), and they are not crying to be fed at all, it's just that I have them on such a tight schedule and I'm just feeding them. Right now they get 5 bottles/day with 7 oz each. Can they get 4/day w/maybe 8 oz? They are not on solids just yet...

Thanks!

 

Five months is when we moved to four bottles a day but not more than 4ish hours apart. We also had started solids at just after four months. I always did solids with the bottles and once they were eating well twice a day they weren't as hungry at the feeding after the solids. That's when we switched to four feedings a day at 8, 12, 4 and 7:30 with solids at the first three for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Not sure that helps you at all but that's what we did!

 

They are waking up at 6:30, so that's their first bottle. I work 8-12 and our au pair feeds them again at 10:30. So, their current schedule is:

6:30
10:30
2
5:30
9

Not to be rude, but I want to go to bed after the 9 bottle since I get up at 5, and there's just no other way to make this work, I guess until they start solids (I also have a 22 month old daughter and I just don't remember her schedule at all...)

 

Sounds like you could get away with dropping a bottle. Here is a link to TS'ers schedules by month. You might get some ideas from it. It is in a sticky at the top of the FY forum.

 

Thanks for the link - I will examine it fully after work today!

I was thinking of this schedule - how does it sound?

wake/drink bottle - 6:30
bottle - 11
bottle- 3:30
bottle 8:30
very soon I'll add solids - they just don't seem ready yet.

 

You can do 4 a day with 8 ounces. I did... and that was enough formula for mine. I was also at that time giving 2 solid meals a day.

 

I hear about going to bed as soon as they do! I'd feed my two, put them to bed at 8, get my older ones in bed and I'd hit the hay as soon as everyone was asleep! Do you're guys only sleep 9 to 6:30? Maybe that's the difference....mine were sleeping 8 to 7:30. Oh well, just trying to help!

 

Have you tried putting them down any earlier? I bet they'd be okay to sleep longer. My guys were doing the 6a, 10a, 2p, 6p schedule and going to be around 7pm. We wake at 6a and do it all over again. The way we transitioned was to literally start waiting for them to act hungry. They "told" us that four hours would work and they definitely wanted 8 oz in each bottle.

I'd try:
6:30a
10:30a
2:30p
6:30p

And put them to bed around 7-7:30pm, depending on the length of your bedtime routine. We do all of that after the bottle at 6:30p (bath, lullaby, prayers, snuggles, then bed).

Are they napping between the 5:30p and 9p current feeds?

Trying to help! I do the early morning routine as well and going to bed is a priority around here! LOL

 

Well, the only thing about feeding at 6:30 and then putting them down at 7:30 is that they get the bedtime bottle right now in their room - this is how I got them sleeping through the night at like 11 weeks or so. It's a whole routine thing, so I need to feed them in their room and put them right down. Worked for my DD too. Only she slept through at 6 weeks!!!!

I think I might try:

6:30
11
3:30
8:30

 

QUOTE
You can do 4 a day with 8 ounces. I did... and that was enough formula for mine. I was also at that time giving 2 solid meals a day.


I did this too