Those that follow Eat, Play, Sleep

We generally follow an eat/play/sleep routine. We have set times we want them to eat (every 4 hours), and naps are generally 2 hours after they last woke, so play time falls in between. Sometimes a 2 hour stretch if the nap falls right on schedule and they sleep for 2 hours - other times the play time is broken up between a nap. I don't know how the books say to do this, I'd imagine it's not how we're doing it. But it's been working ok. But how do you do the last feeding of the day? We've had a routine of bath, bottle, bed, which is inconsistent from the rest of the day. Are they smart enough to be confused by this switch? (even though they've been fine with going to bed up until last week). Do you do bottle, then some awake time, and then bed? Just grasping for other reasons why this past week bedtime has been so rough.

Maybe I should do bottle, bath, then bed? But I would think that would wake them up too much...

 

We did eat, play, sleep as well but after the last nap of the day it was eat, play, bedtime routine, eat, sleep so they got a bottle last thing. We figured loading them up on calories at the end of the day may help them sleep better at night. I think the nightime issues are common at this age, it's known as the 4 month sleep regression.

 

yes we did the same thing, sleep, eat, play all day, and for the last bit of the day it would be wake up from their 3rd nap, eat, play, then bath, eat again and then to bed. Our rational was the same thing, try to fill them up on as much food as possible before bedtime.
having said that at ours were sleeping 8-9hr stretches at 3mnths,and then at around 4months they went back to waking 3x/night to eat for like a month- hopefully this isn't what is happening to you guys!

 

We are doing the Play - Eat - Sleep.... it just seemed to work out better for our schedule. I remember reading one book that talked about them not going to bed on a full stomach so they don't get used to having to be full, but that hasn't been an issue for my girls.

I found them getting up in the AM and playing seemed to get them hungry for food and tire them out for their naps.
Good luck on finding answers.

heather

 

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But how do you do the last feeding of the day? We've had a routine of bath, bottle, bed, which is inconsistent from the rest of the day. Are they smart enough to be confused by this switch?


Yes! Don't worry, they won't get confused.

As to why bedtime is rough - they may be overtired if they usually spend 2 hrs awake at a stretch during the day. All babies are different, but that is a really long stretch of wake-time for babies that young.

Try not to fret too much over schedules, routines, etc - as long as your babies get what they need when they need it, they'll be happy!

QUOTE
I remember reading one book that talked about them not going to bed on a full stomach so they don't get used to having to be full, but that hasn't been an issue for my girls.


I disagree with that idea. Babies DO have to be full. It's not a "bad habit," it's a fact. They wake up when they're hungry, so IMO you can either feed them right before bed and get a longer stretch of sleep...or make them go to bed on a less than full stomach and have them wake up earlier. We always fed our babies right before bed, and they are great sleepers.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Jul 22 2008, 07:46 AM) [snapback]888710[/snapback]
I disagree with that idea. Babies DO have to be full. It's not a "bad habit," it's a fact. They wake up when they're hungry, so IMO you can either feed them right before bed and get a longer stretch of sleep...or make them go to bed on a less than full stomach and have them wake up earlier. We always fed our babies right before bed, and they are great sleepers.


Our sttn (more than 9 hours) b/c we fed them later...preferably at 9pm....but DH did 11pm sometimes . Yes, this was a dreamfeed. It worked b/c they only woke for hunger. This tied them over until 7am . We were able to stop this after a while.

Anyhow, the later you can feed them (just before going to bed, maybe) the better. GL!

 

We usually try to do the same thing (or we did when they were 3 months old.) Even if you are doing eat play sleep you can put them to bed for the night right after the last bottle. That is the signal to them that it's night time and not just another nap time.

 

Denise,

We started out on an eat-play-sleep routine and this worked well when they were little (through 3 months adj or so).. but once they started getting more alert, their eating habits changed, so now I concentrate on sleep more; e.g., I put them down less than 2 hours from the last time they woke up and feed them when they're hungry. Lately, it's closer to the middle of that 2 hour awake time, so it's wake-play-eat-play-sleep. But we do give them a bottle right before bed (no playing)... and on bath night, we give them half their bottle, then their bath, then the rest of their bottle. This ensure's they enjoy the bath

I was trying to keep with the wake-eat-play-sleep, but I was fighting to get the bottles into them, so I just decided to wait until they were hungry (so they'd eat the whole thing at once). In the morning, they don't like to eat right away, so that sort of set's the stage for the rest of the day...

hope that helps..

 

We followed that routine with diligence. BUT, for the last bottle of the night, we fed then put them own for bed.

 

We follow that schedule since day ONE! When they were two weeks old, their last feeding was at 10:30 - and I fed them, then put them in their PJ's (nighttime lotion, diaper, etc.). By the time I was done putting their PJ's on they were out!

Now they are about the same age as yours, and their last feeding is at 9:30. I wake them up, feed them, and do the exact same thing I have done since birth. THey have connected that with sleeping. IT works great for us!