Can anyone give me an example of a feeding schedule for a 2 month old?

Question

My 2 month old daughter eats about every 3 hrs. Her pediatrician recommended getting her on a 3-4 hr feeding schedule. She says that my daughter should be sleeping at least 5 to 6 hrs at night. Well, she doesnt do this because she is conditioned into waking up every 3 hrs for her feeding. Sometimes I get lucky and she goes for four hours. For example: I feed her every 3 hrs during the day, then 10pm comes around, she eats, then awakes around 1a, then 4am, then 7am, etc. Is this a good schedule, or what can I do to get things on better track?

Answer 1

A 2 month old baby will rarely go 3-4 hours between nursings around the clock. Typically, a baby this age will want to nurse 8-10 times a day or more. There may be times of day when it is 3 hours, but then most babies will nurse every hour for several hours (usually in the evening).

A pediatrician is a medical expert. She is *not* an expert at parenting. If you don't agree with the advice she gives you about non-medical issues, then you might want to tell her (respectfully, of course) that you have other opinions and are not interested in her opinions on issues other than medical care.

Answer 2

Honey your baby will determine her own feeding schedule!! My pediatrician told me at two months my daughter should be nursing every 2 hours and eating 2 ounces at each feeding. My daughter had a different plan. She ate 3-4 ounces every 3 hours or so. It sounds to me like you have a pretty good schedule going. Unfortunately it doesn't allow for you to get a lot of sleep. If you are patient though the much needed sleep is on it's way. By the way some docs will say not to try to give babes a schedule because it doesn't work. Congrats on the little one!!

Answer 3

It sounds like a good schedule to me. All babies are different when it comes to eating and sleeping, so you can;t really force your baby to sleep more if she doesn't want to. My son is 3 1/2 months old and sleeps almost 7 hours before waking up to eat BUT this is something new he's developed in the past couple of weeks. In the beginning my son ate every 2 hours, so every 3 hours sounds a little better. What you can try though to get her on a night and day schedule is, when she naps during the day let her sleep in a room where light comes in. If there is light in the room she'll learn to get a sense of daytime. At night keep it dark except for maybe a night light. If she need changing try not to turn on lights. I tried this with my son and i think it worked. He naps during the day for anywhere between 10min. - 2 hours. But come 9p.m. he senses that it's bedtime, and you can try your best to wake him but he'll be in deep sleep because he started his night cycle. Good luck!

Answer 4

That is pretty much the same schedule my daughter had. Our Dr. told us that it doesn't matter what we feed her, when she is ready to sleep through the night, she will. Try giving her a 4 ounces at 10pm and the next time she wakes up. You might be able to make it to where she wakes up and hour later each time, like at 10-2-6 and 8. That extra hour helps. My daughter is 6 months old goes to sleep around 8 wakes up around 2 and at 6. I grin and bear it lol


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Answer 5

Every baby is different. Mine at 2 months was eating every 2-3 hours. They will go longer when they are ready. My doctor told me to try to rock her, walk her, do anything to not feed her until close to 4 hours...sorry but she wasn't having it! You CAN'T put a baby on a "schedule". I was all about the schedule but when you take her to family to leave them for a while they screw it all up and thought I was the silliest person to try for a schedule...just go with the flow and see what happens. PS: Cereal in the bottle will not help her sleep so don't worry about that. Just try to increase the amount of milk ever other week. Mine was eating about 4-5 oz at 2 months.

Answer 6

I have always been a proponent of feeding on demand. If baby is hungry, feed her, regardless of how long it has been since last feeding. Also, it is not at all unusual for her to be waking as she is. I might seek another opinion from a different pediatrician. Some just have their own ideas about parenting, and pass them off on others. I breastfed all mine, and am not sure of your situation, but breastmilk is more quickly digested. Breastfed babies may eat more frequently than their bottle fed peers. I think you are doing fine. It won't be long before she sleeps longer, and I don't think there is a set sleep/wake cycle that a newborn should adhere to. You will have a happier baby if you just follow her cues. Good luck and best wishes!

Answer 7

WOW! That is almost the exact schedule as my daughter, she was born May 7th. She eats atleast every 3 hours if not sooner. At night time she goes to bed at 9 pm and gets up at 1 am to eat, then again at 3:30 am, 6:30 am, etc. until 9 pm at night.

Answer 8

my daughter is 3 months....at 2 i fed her every 3 1/2 hours. after 2 1/2 hours she wanted it so i put a pacifier in her mouth and rocked her and sometimes i would just distract her with toys. she was eating between 4-5 ounces and if i didnt make her wait 3 1/2 hours she wouldnt eat that much. she would sleep about 4-5 hours at night then wake up every 3 after that to eat.

Answer 9

Mom-You don't have to listen to what they say about a scheldule i never went by a schedule with my babies and they are just fine i would give them a bottle when they wanted and at night you can put a little baby cereal in the bottle and( he or she) should sleep through the night my kids always slept through the night i have a 8 month old and a 20 month old my son always wanted 2 8 oz bottled at every feeding so i started to give him cereal they say dont give it to them till they are 4 months but it is perfectly normal for them to eat a little cereal before bed time so you can get your rest to.

Answer 10

Why put her on a schedule? Let her eat when she's hungry and sleep when she's tired. My friend did give me advice on the sleeping, though. Keep her awake during the day except for 2 naps in morning and afternoon, and she'll sleep better through the night. But be warned, it will be a tricky few days. But let her eat when she's ready and eat what she wants. As long as she's gaining weight, you are ok.