Baby Feeding and Sleeping Schedule Q&A

Hi everyone! I know a lot of you mamas enjoyed reading Daniel’s feeding and sleeping schedule and doing a Q/A on my instagram stories regarding adjusting to life with a newborn, so I wanted to go ahead and publish an updated version of his schedule and write out the Q/A in case you missed it or want to screenshot! Remember, this is what works best for our family and there should be no pressure to feel like you need a “perfect” schedule. Do what works best for you!!

  • Q: Do you use a sound machine for every nap or just bed time?
    • A: We use a sound machine every time we put Daniel to sleep unless he’s sleeping in is wrap on me. Babies love white noise and it helps them fall asleep so much better.
  • Q: How long before you transition Daniel to his own room and his crib at night?
    • A: We are shooting for about 3 months with his monitor!
  • Q: Do you feed him extra at night? Do you do dreamfeeding?
    • A: I’ve never done dream feeding with Sofia nor have I done it with Daniel. I like to wait for him to wake me up and tell me when he’s hungry rather than wake him up myself and disturb his sleeping schedule. This helps us both get sleep through the night.
  • Q: How many naps does he take a day and how long is he awake between each nap?
    • A: Twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. I have a graphic with his sleep schedule at the end of the post that lays his sleeping schedule out better! It changes everyday though, his schedule is based off his natural rhythm.
  • Q: When did he start doing the longer night stretches?
    • A: He started doing longer stretches around 3-4 weeks old, he now does around 8-9 hour stretches.
  • Q: Did you feed on demand at all? If so, how long and when did/will you start a structured schedule?
    • A: Yes we fed on demand especially at the beginning because they need as much nutrients as possible because they lose weight after leaving the hospital. I don’t think the timing of starting a structured schedule is super important unless you’re breastfeeding, but I do a mixture of both BF and pump.
  • Q: Have you tried the BabyShusher?
    • A: We do have the BabyShusher but haven’t needed to use it since we’ve been at home, I’m sure it’ll come in handy when we start traveling!
  • Q: At what point did you start him on a stricter schedule?
    • I think we will start him on a stricter schedule later on, from what I’ve seen they normally start on one around 4-6 months. I’ve never been strict on sleep schedules in the beginning, I’d rather the baby naturally create their schedule. Take it day by day and figure out what works best for you!
  • Q: Does he “cry it out”?
    • A: We don’t do the cry out method, he’ll normally just whine to catch my attention right now. I’m sure when he’s older we might have the try the cry it out method. I did it with Sofia for a little bit so she could learn on her own to fall asleep, but Daniel goes down easier so no need for it.
  • Q: Where does he nap? Curious if naps in nursery support night sleep better than around the house?
    • The first one in the morning is usually on me in a wrap since he’s been in the bassinet the whole night. For the rest of the day I have him nap in his room with the blackout curtains and white noise in his crib. I know it’s recommended for them to nap with light/normal noise so they learn to fall asleep anywhere, but I wanted Daniel to associate nighttime and white noise with falling asleep. This is just works for us though!
  • Q: How do you get your baby to sleep on their own?
    • A: Persistence and consistency is key! It takes time but just don’t give up and it’ll eventually happen.
  • Q: Do you use specific night time diapers?
    • A: No we just use the same diapers, pampers and Luvs!
  • Q: How many ounces is he getting in the day vs the night?
    • Every feeding is between 4-6 oz in a bottle of my breastmilk. If I’m breastfeeding he normally eats a little less because he gets distracted and forgets he’s eating.
  • Q: Do you pump at night while he sleeps? If so how many times and for how long?
    • A: Yes I pump every night around 9-10 pm before bed, then I pump again whenever my breasts “wake me up” for about 30-45 minutes in the middle of the night, and then usually again around 5:30/6:00 am before Diego leaves for work.
  • Q: Do you breastfeeed before bed?
    • A: No I only breastfeed during the day. Before bed he gets a bottle because he eats quicker and gets more milk. I think it also helps him fall asleep faster.
  • Q: What are the number of feedings a day breast milk vs formula?
    • A: Daniel just does breastmilk, we only used formula when he was born for jaundice and then twice when I had mastitis.
  • Q: How do you balance pumping with breast/bottle feeding?
    • A: The mornings are the hardest which is why I try to pump before Diego leaves so he can feed him, and then after that it’s just based off of his natural rhythm. Sometimes I’ll put Daniel is his carseat and rock him back and forth while I pump so it’ll be ready when he’s hungry later.
  • Q: Do you think pacifiers help him with sleeping longer?
    • A: Sofia and Daniel haven’t been pacifier babies so far. Daniel can latch onto it but he doesn’t prefer/need it.
  • Q: Do you wake him up to feed him at night or let him wake you up to eat?
    • A: No we do not, we just wait until he tells us he’s hungry. He’ll slightly cry and then we get up and feed him and put him right back to sleep.
  • Q: Do you do the same routine with him every night before putting him down?
    • A: Yes! I have our nighttime routine laid out in the graphic at the end of this post!
  • Q: At what age did you start letting him sleep through the night?
    • A: We never forced him to sleep through the night, Daniel just did it naturally on his own. If you’re worried you can definitely wake up and check on them and to make sure they’re okay!
  • Q: What did you do differently between the kids?
    • A: Our first difference was definitely our bassinet choice. Sofia’s bassinet had a ton of gadgets and movement/vibrations. We didn’t like her movements because it’s not natural, you normally sleep on a still bed anyways. Daniel’s bassinet is just a plain simple Halo bassinet and it works great! The second difference is we realized that in the middle of the night they grunt/move and it doesn’t necessarily mean they need to wake up. Babies naturally move/grunt when they sleep and once we realized the difference between that and him actually waking up made nighttime so much better!
  • Q: Is there a reason why he goes down at 8 pm as opposed to later?
    • A: With both kids I’ve started bedtime a little earlier just because it works best for us because he sleeps from like 8 pm – 5/6 am and goes right back to sleep after eating in the morning. Whatever works best for you!
  • Q: How did you create a schedule for breast feeding baby?
    • A: I try to do a bottle instead of breastfeeding more just because it allows my nipples to have a break and breastfeeding is very time consuming. Daniel eats so much quicker with a bottle! I created a feeding schedule around his natural sleeping schedule, quarantine has made it easier since we’re home all the time but just sticking to his natural sleeping schedule has worked great.
  • Q: Do you breastfeed sitting up in bed at night or do you recommend a nursery chair?
    • A: Since I normally breastfeed only in the day time we just lay together in my bed and prop my arm up a bit. I feel like my back hurts way more when I’m sitting up and breastfeeding.
  • Q: What does he wear under the sleep sack and which sleep sack does he like best?
    • A: We always put Daniel in a long sleeve onesie, we love the cloud island ones from Target that I linked HERE. For the sleep swaddle we use the dream swaddle because he likes sleeping with his hands up, I linked the swaddle HERE.
  • Q: What size nipple do you get for your bottle?
    • A: We use 1 and 2 sizes. If you’re wondering what size nipple to get for your baby’s bottle, go based off of their diaper size. If your baby wears a size 1 diaper they will most likely need a size 1 nipple!
  • Q: Do you actually sleep?
    • A: Yes now I do! For the first month it was a little hectic and not a ton of sleep due to a newborn sleep schedule, but now he sleeps through the night and the only time I wake up is when my breasts let me know I need to pump!
  • Q: Do you have a newborn first weeks schedule?
    • A: Not really because it’s just eat/sleep/poop and all I can say is just be ready to deal with whatever they naturally do!
  • Q: Will you be making your own baby food and if so will you share recipes?
    • A: I do have a cookbook + supplies to do so, but I’ll probably just end up buying pouches because it’s easier for us and works best with our schedule.
  • Q: Do you pump or breastfeed through the day?
    • A: I do both! We start off with Diego feeding him a bottle first thing in the morning while I pump, then we both go back to sleep. When Daniel wakes up again I feed him the bottle I pumped in the morning, and then I go ahead and pump again. A few hours go by and then I breastfeed right before lunch. I always do a bottle before his big nap, and then breastfeed as a little “snack” in the afternoon. Right before bedtime he gets another bottle while I pump and start the process all over again.
  • Q: When did you notice a change in Daniel sleeping 2 hours a night to longer stretches?
    • A: He started sleeping longer stretches around 6 weeks!
  • Q: Do you ever watch TV or chat in the bedroom after Daniel is asleep?
    • A: No we don’t since Daniel is in the bedroom we try to avoid waking him up. One of us will put Sofia to sleep while the other one goes to sleep in our own bed. It’s hard to catch up on TV/chat with two kids at nighttime, so we catch up during dinner!

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2 Comments

  1. Thanks for a lot of tips here 🙂 We want to transition to own room at 4mo, following Susan Urban’s book How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone. I’ve read it’s good idea to transition and sleep train with this method at the same time.

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