Not sure where to put in extra feeding???

Question

My baby is 8 months and cause my husband was ill with cancer and we were out of town alot for the last 3 months she never really had a schedule. But now that he's back at work we are starting to get her on a schedule. Before she was nursing whenever. Eating 4 times a day probably 8ish, 1 ish, 6ish, and 10ish. Now I have got her on a schedule where today for example she at 9 and at 12:30, 5 and 7. The first and last feeding she has cereal. The other 2 is meat, veggies, and fruit. But eventually I want her to go to bed by 7pm and sleep till 7. Then 2 1.5 hour naps one at 9:00 and one at 1. So I'm confused at where all the feedings and nursings should go????

Answer 1

Hello,

First I want to say that i am so glad that your husband is recovering. This must have been a difficult time for your family!

Is there a reason that you need your daughter to be on such a rigid schedule? The only reason I ask is some daycare centers are pushing this and I want to be sensitive to your needs.

Babies tend to do best when they are not forced to stick to a rigid schedule. Begin by thinking about your own life. Do you eat, sleep, play etc...at EXACTLY the same time or do you tend to follow a basic routine?

Begin by adopting a ROUTINE which is a basic order of things without strict time restraints. By sticking to this, your child will eventually fall into a schedule. She will be more relaxed, YOU will be more relaxed and the 'natural' schedule will be more likely to stick.

As a newly single mom with four children, I have found that a basic routine will allow us to adapt easier to the 'curve-balls' that life throws us.

I think that your eventual goal of to bed by 7 and sleep until 7 MAY be a bit unreasonable. You may have great luck with the to bed at 7, but, unfortunately, you can not force her to sleep until 7. While many children DO sleep this long, many do not...especially at the age of your daughter. This is where a routine will come in. You will be able to discover your daughters natural sleep cycle and when she is most likely to sleep. It may turn out that she NEEDS to go to bed at 6:30 or she may not be ready until 7:30. On the flip side, she may be ready to wake up well before 7 or may want to sleep later.

As far a feedings go. It is OKAY for you to continue nursing on demand. Try nursing her a bit and then feeding her some solids. If she wants, you can follow that with a nursing. It is best to think of solids, at this age, as a sort of dessert. Children at 8 months are not intended to eat FULL meals of solids..they are more of a snack. Solid foods are a supplement to breastfeeding, not the other way around. It is also okay if she is actually eating more like 6 small meals a day. This is actually the most healthy way to eat. (At this age, a nursing does not count as a meal).

Relax MAMA!!!! Take this time to enjoy your baby as these days will pass so quickly! As long as you are still nursing and she is healthy, you can keep on goinglike you are. Everything will fall into place!

Answer 2

As she gets closer to a year old you'll be able to transition to the traditional 3 meals and 2 snacks per day that most of us have. The meals will fall at the traditional meal times of breakfast, lunch and dinner. The snacks can be worked out between you and your baby. Some babies do better with a snack right before nap time, while others do better with the snack right after they wake up.

I'd caution that too strict of a schedule can lead to a lot of frustration and headaches, so a flexible schedule might be a better way to go. At this point I'd just try to work on getting into a routine by taking cues from your baby and work towards your goals.

Answer 3

Here's a recommendation:

- Start getting her up by 7am, and play for 30 minutes. First feeding (w/cereal): 7:30

Nap from 9-10:30

- Next feeding: 11:30 (fruit, meat, veggies)

Nap from 1-2:30

- Next feeding: 3:30 (fruit, meat, veggies)

- Last feeding (w/cereal): 6:30

- If you need to do bedtime rituals (bath, book, etc.) do them from7-7:20, sleep by 7:30

(Its better to go a shorter increment between meals later in the day to ensure she has a full belly for a 7pm bedtime).

Answer 4

Is she still having a day time nap?? When my 20 month old daughter was that age we went like this: Wake up about 7:30, breakfast food, an hour later a breast/bottle feed. Then a nap. Wake up about 12-1 pm. Lunch then an hour or two later, milk. Drinks of water and some fruit snacks until dinner. Then a bottle before bedtime. :)

I'm sure though in time the two of you will work out what's best. :D

Answer 5

Hi....I have two 11 mo. olds that have been on a schedule since 6 mos.....let me see, at 8 mos, they woke up at 7:30 A.M. and had a bottle, nap at 9:30, up at 11:30 and had "brunch", then bottle at 1:30, down for nap at 2:00 until 4:00 P.M., then early dinner, then bottle at 5:00, then cat nap b/w 5:30 & 6:30 P.M. Bottle at 7:00, bed at 8:00 P.M. Hope this helps......

Answer 6

I have 5 children and I'm afraid your expectations are unrealistic. Sorry but you are expecting your baby to sleep 18 hrs a day. At 8 mo old, it's not going to happen. Let your baby tell you when she's tired or hungry and you'll soon find yourself settling into a natural schedule. It's a lot easier than trying to enforce one that does not meet her growing needs.