Is This Crazy? Baby Nurse Plans to Start Schedule

Hi,

My LO's are 14 weeks old (and were born at 36 weeks). Dalia is just at 12 pounds and Jonah is at 15! Both are capable of sleeping a 5 to 6 hour stretch though this certainly doesn't happen every day, isn't necessarily at night, and definitely is never at the same time. Other times they can eat every 2 hours, every 3 hours, every 4 hours...you name it. And feedings can sometimes be extremely drawn out and fussy. We are lucky enough to have just hired a baby nurse thanks to my concerned inlaws (both of us were extremely sleep deprived and constantly sick with bad colds/flu). But I want to make sure her ideas aren't crazy or bad for the babies.

We will have the night nurse for about a month. She is experienced with multiples but used to being there 24 hours a day, she'll only be with us over night. She saw immediately that our lack of schedule is making us all nutz...and she wants to start them on a 4-hour feeding schedule. She says that she will have worked out exactly how much they need to eat and will only give them a certain amount of time in which to eat it. At night she will let them sleep as long as they will, to see if they'll start sleeping through. In the daytime she will write out a schedule for me to follow, including naps and feedings and playtime. Obviously I won't expect to follow it to a T, but she says that this will make everyone happier, including the babies. I am wondering though if this will be too difficult, if I will have to deal with crying babies who want to eat an hour before the scheduled time or who didn't finish their bottles and want more too early. Is it cruel to force them onto a 4 hour schedule? Honestly it sounds amazing. And the thought of having someone write out what I should be doing and when is very attractive, since I feel like we are just treading water all day trying not to drown in he craziness of our non-schedule.

What do you think? Is a 4 hour feeding schedule okay? Is it okay to limit the amount of time they have to finish the offered food?

Thanks!

 

we hired a sleep consultant when our girls were about 3.5 months old & a large part of what she did for us was writing out a daily routine/schedule. it was a life saver for us! it wasn't a 4 hour schedule though (i was BFing), so i can't speak to that. but we had a scheduled wake up time in the morning, a window of time to put them down for their first nap, nurse on waking, followed by a window of time to put them down for their second nap, etc & a scheduled bedtime. she even included nursing windows at night that really helped us clarify when they were waking for hunger, or whether they just needed soothing, and when they were ready to sleep longer. i sort of thought of the routine as our daily goal - it was what we were working towards, but if for some reason on a given day we didn't make it (babies were hungry earlier than expected, or needed to sleep earlier than expected, or only slept for 30 minutes, etc) than we just went with the flow & tried again the next day. it wasn't long though until they were thriving on the routine. i think your baby nurse has a good idea, but also, trust your gut. if it seems like too much, maybe ask her about setting a 3 hour schedule rather than a 4. remember, they're still your LOs. but don't be afraid to try her ideas either - they might just be what makes all the difference. GL!

 

My boys came home from the hospital on a 4 hour schedule. Even at a week old, if we tried to feed Marcus early, he would just eat enough to top himself off, and then wouldn't eat for another 4 hours! Keep in mind that the 4 hour schedule is a guideline, and I would feed them up to 30 min earlier if they were looking for it. But, when you fill them up, you will find they will actually eat better if they wait the interval. Basically, you are allowing them to get hungry, so they learn the difference between hunger and the need to suck (which should start getting less at this point). I found that waking them to eat during the day really helped! My ped told me in the hospital, to never let them sleep through a feeding during the day. I say to go for it, she really sounds like she knows what she is doing, and in a month you probably won't need her anymore, because they may just be sleeping through the night.

 

My oldest was able to handle a 4 hour schedule, basically from the beginning, but the others were on a 3 hour. Having a feeding schedule is a great start in developing the rest of your schedule. GL!

 

Sounds great! We were on a 3 hour schedule until around 5 months! From the beginning I fed them every 3 hours even if they weren't hungry...I would feed them earlier if they were crying for it. Always always always I feed them at the same time...even now I plan on doing it for the next baby too, wake them to eat every 3 hours (or sooner) and then at night let them run the show Ours were STTN at 7wks

 

Mine are about the same age and they naturally went to an every 4 hour schedule. They now take 5-6oz every 4 hours and then an 8oz bottle at bedtime. They also sleep for an 8 hour stretch at night now. Believe me, I am not changing a thing, except trying to make their bedtime just a little later because 7pm bedtime = 3am waking, 8pm=4 am and 830-9pm they wake at 5am which is much more civilized (and my husband's problem). Also, it sounds like your babies have their days and nights mixed up still they need to do the long stretches at night and the short ones during the day. A schedule will help with that.

 

Our babies are on a four hour schedule and have been for a few weeks now. They each take between 4.5-5.5 oz at a time with some supplementation throughout the day if need be. They are both sleeping four to five hour stretches through the night.
During the day, we started the eat, play, sleep routine just last week and it is the BEST thing we have done. The routine of it is amazing and our babies seem so much happier.
Good luck to you as you!

 

I think that is great to have that help!
I do think my kids were doing a 4 hour schedule by 3 months. (Started at a 3 hour schedule out of the hospital)

 

I agree with Sharon, if I needed to I deviated from my schedules 30 minutes either way..usually I tried no more than that. If they were super fussy then I would feed them a little early, if they were sleeping, I might let them sleep thirty extra minutes..a little deviation will not throw the whole schedule off and your babies should be able to tolerate a 4 hour feeding schedule by now. Also, do wake them at the same time or try to feed them as close as possible to keep them on the same schedule..it really is a life saver.

 

I think you will be pleasantly surprised with following a schedule. I would ask if she could help you with a 3 or 3.5 hr schedule if you think that would be better... I bf'd and was pretty much on a 2 hr routine until closer to 4 months, but during that last month it seemed like their naps lengthened a lot and we got to a 4 hr schedule pretty quick after 4 months or so.

I've said it other places, but The Baby Whisperer has some great ideas too... she has several schedules all worked out in her book and though she calls them "routines"... she still recommends following a certain order and trying to do it a consistent intervals. Though I never did make my twins hold off food for an hour if they were hungry... we tried to just feed then and then go back to the schedule...

Again, I think that the schedule of what to do when will be helpful to you! I need to do that again, I feel like at almost 18 months we just haphazardly get through the day... good luck to you! And lucky you to be getting night time help. Hopefully she'll have you on a schedule soon and maybe even sleeping through the night!

 

Following a schedule made our lives so much easier. We would wake both babies every 3 hours to eat and stuck to that until they were probably 6 or 7 months old. Not the waking them up at night part, but the 3 hour feeding schedule during the day. DD slept through the night at nine weeks and DS didn't make it through the night until he was 4 1/2 months old, but he was only taking one night feeding by that point. Even now, we try to follow a schedule and it gives us more freedom because we know what to do and when and then we have free time to go and do as we please. It made getting out of the house with infant twins possible. I think you'll enjoy a schedule but don't forget you are the mother and to trust your instincts. Your babies will let you know what they like or if they are eating enough, often enough. Good luck and enjoy the help! Get lots of sleep!

 

that is so great that you have some help coming in!! the schedule is a great idea but i also think that it might be better to try for a 3 hour schedule. we were on a 3 hour sched until 7-8 months. i always wanted to try to get them to eat the majority of their calories during the day so they could sleep better at night and it worked great for us, they were STTN by 12 weeks. 4 hours between feedings always seemed like too long to me and my LOs just couldn't tolerate it.

good luck and enjoy the rest you are about to get!