guidance in setting a feeding/sleeping schedule at 2months - Update in last post

we have been doing at will sleeping and eating ... the good news is the kids are growing and both will sleep a 4-5 hour stretch at night. The bad news is...feeds take 2 hours sometimes and the times they go down at night are inconsistent.

What are some simple steps to establish a schedule? I think we are hitting some difficulties in the early evening because they are over tired....But they usually both go down by 9pm - but the stretch from 5-9 is often brutal - it's not colic...just eating/cat naps/crying. The overnight varies. Becca, who weighs more, generally wakes up once and then is up again b/t 6 and 7. Jake will wake as often as every 2 hours.

During the day...the tend to nap in the early afternoon and eat every 3-4 hours...but occasionally we have the marathon feeds where one feed seems to bleed into the next. The marathon feeds consistent of them taking the first 2 ounces (or 3 in the case of becca) pretty quickly..then they will want to snack before the next feed officially starts. I know one solution for this is to try not to give into the snacking - but it's hard.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Miriam

 

I hear you sister. We are in the samr boat.
With our furst set of twins we had a regement. Every 3 hours. Then let them go at night.

This go we are so messed up. I am BF so it is consrant. I am in the process of drying up my milk. Once that happens we are inforcing the 3 hour feed. It is so hard at first, but it last for 2 to 3 days and mine where on board.

Not much help. Sorry.
just wanted yoy to know that you are not alone.

 

I have no solution to offer but am pretty much in the same boat. During the day it is next to impossible to get my DS to nap anywhere except in his swing and those are catnaps I have however gotten my DD to have naps in her crib the last two days which has helped her going down at nite. We do put them down between 8-9 and they do not go down easily the odd crying episode but eventually she will settle but my DS fights the sleep for an hour or so.

I do believe there is hope though cause last nite my DS did his first sleep thru the night my DD slept till midnite but was not up again until 5am so fingers crossed this is the start of a goooood thing.

 

I'm a schedule nazi and have been with all my kids. They have all slept through 11 or 12 hrs by 12 weeks no matter whether they were breast or bottle fed. I was much more rigid with my first and by the time the twins got here I'd figured out mostly what's important and what can wait! From about 10days to 2 weeks old we started with every three hour feedings. My oldest ds was hungrier so I actually started him on every 2.5 hrs. I picked a start time in the morning and went the specified amount of time all day until bedtime. For my oldest it was 8am, for the twins it was 7am. Until about 4 weeks the last feed of the day was 10 or 11 pm then I'd do the 7 or 8pm feeding and put them to bed, waking them at 10 or 11 before I went to bed. My twin ds needed a bigger nipple size to not take forever to finish the bottle. Once nursing was established, feedings were 30min. Same with bottles. 30 min. The twins napped in the the swings or bouncies until almost 4mos. I'd try to keep them up for a little bit after each feeding and then when they were falling asleep again, I'd put them down (most of the time! sometimes you just have to hold a sleeping baby!). I'd do whatever it took to keep them happy until the next feeding time. It never took even a whole day for them to stop snacking and start eating. Good luck and PM me if you want more details!

 

Up until 3 months old, our only schedule was an eating one. Mine ate every 4 hours--we were flexible to 3 1/2, but that was it. Also, once they stopped eating and 20 min. had elapsed, they were done until the next feeding. I think you are on the right track to stop the snacking--then they will actually be hungry for the next bottle. Also, I would let them sleep whenever or wherever at that time, but if the next feeding came, I would wake them to eat during the day. I didn't establish a regular napping schedule until they slept 12-13 hours a night at 3 months old.

 

miriam,
We are going thru the same thing. Our girls are 9 weeks, and have a very tough time going to bed at night. They eat on a 4 hour schedule thru the day, but will not go to sleep in cribs until 11-12 at night...then they will most often sleep until 5-6 am, but we r struggling with the evenings. We have cut out the snacking...they will sometimes finish the whole 6 oz, but other times they will take forever....and not finish the whole bottle. Our bouncy chairs, and swings have helped with the catnapping..but we still have problems getting them to bed in eves. I'm hoping to just keepputtingthem in crib and eventually they will figure it out.

Hope this helps...it seems our children are all about the same temperament, and having issues...LOL

steph

 

We did feeding every 3 hrs during the day with each feeding not lasting longer than 30min. Then, at night, after they reached 6.5 weeks old we let them go until they cried for food. We fed both of them even if just one of them woke up.

As far as sleeping, we let them sleep in their bouncy seats, on the floor on their tummies (with us watching) or in their swings until about 12 weeks and at night they always slept in the nursery. Then, after 12 weeks, we started putting them down in their cribs for naps. We started the eat, play, sleep routine.

 

I have no set regimine. I'm sooooo not the regimine type. But I do follow the "EASY" way from the Baby Whisperer book. Meaning eat, activity, sleep, you. It seems these two have put themselves on their own schedule. Cate eats more than Maria....Maria is a constant 2to 3 ozs. Never more. Cate can eat up to 5 or 6!! As soon as they give me the signal that they've had enough (let the nipple slide out or aren't actively sucking), I put their bottles away and start the activity phase.

They're pretty much on the same schedule that they've established on their own. I tried in the beginning with a strict regimine, but it really never flowed for me. One is sometimes hungry when the other isn't or finishes before the other, but it never really messes anything up for the day.

I will say that it feels good to know what I have to do next. As soon as they go down for a nap after the activity phase, I get ready for the eating phase and start the E.A.S.Y all over again.

 

I'm in basically the same boat. Our nights are getting easier; about every 3 ights we have a bad one, but they can go 3-4 a stretch now. Daytimes are all about "snackin' and snoozin' "
I'd love to get on a regimine, BUT I'm so worried about 'denying' them food anytime they're hungry; they were low birth weight and I feel like they should eat anytime they want. They're still so tiny!

I'm undecided.

 

So yesterday went well - but last night Jake woke up every two hours - not sure why. We are trying the 3 hour schedule again today and we'll see how it goes. More than the 3 hours, I think the 30 minute rule is helping all of us!