Schedule For a 5 Month Old

[Francine]

I have a 5 month old in care with no schedule what so ever. I have another infant that will be starting mid March at 8 weeks old so I would like to get the 5 month old as firmly into a schedule as I can before then. He is breast fed, Mom and Dad have pretty much gotten him use to napping in a swing ( that is my biggest issue) He sleeps great in his bed at night but not during the day. We have all been working on it but without much luck, he will cry for a few minutes, go to sleep but then only sleep for 20-30 minutes.

I am not a breast feeding expert by any means but I THINK he is getting ALOT! She only pumps so we know exactly how much he eats. I asked her Friday to type out an example of his eating and sleeping for an average day at home. He gets 5 ounces when he wakes at around 6, they give him another 5 ounces before his morning nap at 7:30-8 and another 5 ounces at 10-10:30. That is 15 ounces before 11:00 a.m., isn't that alot??? He continues through the day getting 5 ounces every 2 1/2 hours or so.

So anyway, I would LOVE some help getting him on a good eating and sleeping schedule. His parents will adopt whatever schedule I get him on, they are great people, just first time parents trying to figure it all out.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have for me!!!

[Francine]

Just so that you know, he gets here at 7:30 a.m. and is usually sleeping in his car seat. Right now it is 7:50 and he is awake. On a Mommy Daddy day she would be giving him a bottle right now and putting him down for a short nap but he just had 5 ounces at 6:00 and just cat napped in the car. What would you do with him??

[morgan24]

Just so that you know, he gets here at 7:30 a.m. and is usually sleeping in his car seat. Right now it is 7:50 and he is awake. On a Mommy Daddy day she would be giving him a bottle right now and putting him down for a short nap but he just had 5 ounces at 6:00 and just cat napped in the car. What would you do with him??

I had a reply for you and forgot to log in so after it's approved it will show up, I don't have time to retype it sorry. It's the one where I say I'm from MI also. Sorry

[LaLa1923]

I have a 5 month old in care with no schedule what so ever. I have another infant that will be starting mid March at 8 weeks old so I would like to get the 5 month old as firmly into a schedule as I can before then. He is breast fed, Mom and Dad have pretty much gotten him use to napping in a swing ( that is my biggest issue) He sleeps great in his bed at night but not during the day. We have all been working on it but without much luck, he will cry for a few minutes, go to sleep but then only sleep for 20-30 minutes.

I am not a breast feeding expert by any means but I THINK he is getting ALOT! She only pumps so we know exactly how much he eats. I asked her Friday to type out an example of his eating and sleeping for an average day at home. He gets 5 ounces when he wakes at around 6, they give him another 5 ounces before his morning nap at 7:30-8 and another 5 ounces at 10-10:30. That is 15 ounces before 11:00 a.m., isn't that alot??? He continues through the day getting 5 ounces every 2 1/2 hours or so.

So anyway, I would LOVE some help getting him on a good eating and sleeping schedule. His parents will adopt whatever schedule I get him on, they are great people, just first time parents trying to figure it all out.




Thank you in advance for any advice you might have for me!!!

My babies have a flexible routine, but naps never change. It took some time to iron everything out, but here's our schedule.

One baby is here by 7:15, I feed her rice cereal for breakfast.
By 9:30 she lays down for nap #1
By 1pm for nap #2

All naps are about 2 hrs.

My other baby is here by 8:30
By 9 she eats her oatmeal
Nap #1 by 9:30
Nap #2 by 1pm

This is how our nap routine usually goes, they eat whenever they want.

It took me about 1-2weeks to get them on schedule. They're 4, &7 months.
There was some fussing in the beginning, but we worked everything out. They eat about every 4 hrs, so it's sorta scheduled.

[AfterSchoolMom]

If he eats every 2.5 hours, then he's having about 7, 5 ounce bottles per day, so about 35 ounces...which is totally normal for a 5 month old...especially since breast fed babies eat more often (My 5 month old is formula fed now, and he has about 5-6, 6 ounce bottles per day). I'd say his eating schedule seems pretty good. Does he eat more sporadically at your house?

As far as napping, have you tried white noise? If he's waking up after 20 or 30 minutes it means that something is disturbing him at the end of his cycle and interrupting it. I have a huge, loud fan that does the trick here. Also, does your state allow swaddling? I know some babies don't like it, but it sounds like he prefers to nap in close, confined quarters, so it may help.

If you can get the napping thing down, the rest will follow. My own follows an eat, play, sleep schedule throughout the day.

[Willow]

Since every kiddo is different eating that amount that often might be normal for him. My only concern would be that he's getting fussy, and you're equating that with him being hungry when he's really not. The tricky thing with nursing is that some babies use the breast as a pacifier of sorts. They'll latch and then just sort of sit there content. When he's fussing and seemingly hungry he may just be looking for a way to soothe himself as opposed to actually eating. Are the parents ok with him having some sort of nuk? I'd maybe try that because the amount he's putting down is pretty substantial for his age.

I would gently but firmly discuss the dangers of positional asphyxiation with the parents to get them to stop letting him sleep in the swing. Sounds like they are very receptive and that's great, but it's super dangerous and I wouldn't beat around the bush when it came to the subject. It's not a matter of convenience, or what the baby likes, it's a matter of safety. Would be a good time to reiterate safe sleep practices in general to make sure they also know no pillows, blankets, bumper pads or stuffed animals in his crib. Once they stop doing it at their home it should help him sleep better when he's in yours.

[Francine]

Since every kiddo is different eating that amount that often might be normal for him. My only concern would be that he's getting fussy, and you're equating that with him being hungry when he's really not. The tricky thing with nursing is that some babies use the breast as a pacifier of sorts. They'll latch and then just sort of sit there content. When he's fussing and seemingly hungry he may just be looking for a way to soothe himself as opposed to actually eating. Are the parents ok with him having some sort of nuk? I'd maybe try that because the amount he's putting down is pretty substantial for his age.

I would gently but firmly discuss the dangers of positional asphyxiation with the parents to get them to stop letting him sleep in the swing. Sounds like they are very receptive and that's great, but it's super dangerous and I wouldn't beat around the bush when it came to the subject. It's not a matter of convenience, or what the baby likes, it's a matter of safety. Would be a good time to reiterate safe sleep practices in general to make sure they also know no pillows, blankets, bumper pads or stuffed animals in his crib. Once they stop doing it at their home it should help him sleep better when he's in yours.

He does have a pacifier but doesn't really care much about it and the parent aren't allowing him to sleep in the swing any more. As far as him being fussy and me feeding him because I think that means he's hungry, I don't, I try everything else before I feed him but I do think that his parents might do that.

Somebody else suggested white noise for sleeping, I have an air purifier and soft music playing.

[SilverSabre25]

I don't expect babes that young to have much of a schedule yet. I find that they aren't very consistent until closer to eight months, though everyone is different of course.

What I do go for is routine. I find that routine leads to schedule eventually. Also, I think what you're really looking for here is a good ability to fall asleep on his own, as that will help you the most once the other baby comes.

If he comes in asleep, you need to get him out of the carseat and wake him up (liability reasons--you must make sure he's all right). Then maybe some playtime, then a nap, then a bottle, then playtime, etc. It's very comforting for babies to have a routine of expected events.

if you put them down for a nap with the same routine (diaper change, a quick cuddle and then into the crib with a few tummy rubs, the music turns on, then you leave <--just an example) they will learn to fall asleep on their own easier too. Start the naptime routine as soon as you see the early sleepy cues so that he doesn't get overtired and is unable to self-soothe.

[itlw8]

The things that stick out to me is the bottle before nap. babies that have a bottle to fall asleep have trouble self soothing.

You might try increasing the bottle amount. 6 ounces and then hold off another 30 minutes to get the baby to 3 hours.

eat, play, sleep is the routine that works for me.

[Francine]

The things that stick out to me is the bottle before nap. babies that have a bottle to fall asleep have trouble self soothing.

You might try increasing the bottle amount. 6 ounces and then hold off another 30 minutes to get the baby to 3 hours.

eat, play, sleep is the routine that works for me.

I always do the "easy" method, I never put them to bed right after they eat. Mom and Dad also let him play before putting him to bed.

[Francine]

[QUOTE=AfterSchoolMom;314481]If he eats every 2.5 hours, then he's having about 7, 5 ounce bottles per day, so about 35 ounces...which is totally normal for a 5 month old...especially since breast fed babies eat more often (My 5 month old is formula fed now, and he has about 5-6, 6 ounce bottles per day). I'd say his eating schedule seems pretty good. Does he eat more sporadically at your house?

He doesn't just eat like this at my house, he eats that often pretty much around the clock. He still gets up 2-3 times during the night. I can get him to wait closer to 3 hours here at my house.

[AfterSchoolMom]

He doesn't just eat like this at my house, he eats that often pretty much around the clock. He still gets up 2-3 times during the night. I can get him to wait closer to 3 hours here at my house.

So he's eating 5 ounces 2-3x per night too? Yeah, that is excessive.