Hello friends! Are we getting any more sleep these days? We hope so! Let’s keep going on our journey back to a lovely night’s sleep with our next Sleep Tip… Keep a Consistent Schedule!
A consistent schedule is crucial to the success of sleep training. It keeps your baby on track for napping, feeding, playtime, and sleeping. Plus, it helps keep the household running smoothly for all involved, because it affects everyone in the household!
So, how do you set up a good schedule and when? Let’s get into it!
When we’re talking about schedules, of course timing is important. Not only the timing of activities throughout the day, but also when to even begin scheduling and sleep training. We recommend that you begin to establish a schedule when your newborn is about 4 months old. At that time, your baby will begin to show their natural sleep schedule.
Take note of when your baby begins showing sleepy signs, such as yawning, fussiness, nuzzling, and rubbing their eyes. At that point, you want to start preparing them to go to sleep to avoid them getting overtired. Once your baby becomes overtired, it’s more difficult to get them to settle down and go to sleep. In addition to the sleepy signs, take note of when your baby shows hunger cues, such as smacking their lips, rooting, and putting their hands to their mouth. Again, it’s important to try to feed your baby once they begin showing these signs and not to wait too long, when they begin crying and are more agitated. At that point, you will need to calm your baby before you’re able to feed them.
As we always say… every baby is different! Even so, there are some general guidelines that can be helpful when looking at your baby’s sleeping and feeding schedule. When thinking about how many hours your baby should be sleeping and how many naps they should be taking, start by considering how much sleep they need within 24 hours based on their age.
Take a look at the following chart from What to Expect’s blog. For instance, if you’re just beginning to sleep train at roughly 4 months, then plan for your baby to get between 12-16 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period. They’ll get 2-3 naps in per day (maybe even 4!) and will sleep at night for a total of about 9-10 hours. That’s in total, folks, not likely to be in one stretch at this point, but hold on! If you’re consistent with your scheduling, you’ll get there!
During your baby’s wake windows (which are simply the times they are awake and not sleeping), be on the lookout for those hunger cues! At about 4-months old, your baby should be eating every 2-2.5 hours. Be consistent with when you’re feeding your baby to start developing that schedule. Generally speaking, a baby should eat about 2.5 ounces of milk for every pound they weigh within a 24-hour period. For example, if your baby weighs 15lbs, they should eat about 37.5 ounces over the 24-hour timeframe. Again, we want to stress the importance of building your schedule around YOUR baby. Your baby may eat more or less often, they may eat more or less than the recommended ounces. Use these figures as ballparks only! If you’re ever concerned about your baby’s weight or the amount they are eating, consult your pediatrician.
Sleeping and feeding are at the core of consistent schedules! Once you start taking note of your baby’s natural schedule and slowly adjusting it to work with your family, you are well on your way to developing a successful schedule for your baby!
There are a couple more things that you can build into your schedule, and we’ll dive into those next time! For now, work on the most important part of keeping a consistent schedule: sleeping and feeding times!
P.S. A big key to your success will be understanding that every baby is different! What your baby needs will be different from what your best friend’s or your neighbor’s baby needs. Remember to trust your gut… no one is going to know your baby better than you!