Breastfed Baby Schedule: 4-6 Months
- May 14, 2012
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hi Mamas!
As your baby starts to get older, you hopefully will see eating and sleeping patterns developing that make it easier for you to follow a breastfeeding schedule and a baby sleep routine. Keep watching for more on how to get baby to sleep and eat on a schedule!
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Baby Feeding Schedule
When your child is between 4 and 6 months old, you’ll want to be feeding them approximately 5 times a day. If you’ve done the math, you’ll realize that you will be breastfeeding ever 4 hours. In this video, I’ve come up with a handy breastfeeding schedule starting at 7am so you can schedule your day accordingly! If you’re lucky, your baby will be fine sleeping after this last feeding at 11pm and won’t wake up again until the next feeding at 7 in the morning! I’ve also drawn up a breastfed baby schedule for both feedings and naps so you can plan your whole day, so keep watching my video for that!
Baby Feeding and Sleeping Schedule: Breastfeeding 4 to 6-Month-Old
Hopefully, by the time your baby is 4 to 6 months old, you’ve gotten in a good groove with breastfeeding and are starting to feel a little more like yourself. And you’re probably wondering where the time went. Those sleepless nights are long, but the newborn months really do fly by. Trust me, I’ve done it five times!
This is the stage when many parents try to institute a daily routine, particularly if you’ve been breastfeeding on demand up to this point. With an infant who is 4 to 6 months old, you might be feeding your baby 5 times a day – approximately every 4 hours. Here’s the feeding and sleeping schedule for babies at this stage that worked really well for me.
This schedule assumes a 7 a.m. feeding, but can be adjusted for whatever time your day begins.
Baby’s Feeding and Sleeping Schedule:
7 a.m. – First Feed
9:30 a.m. – Nap (1.5 hours)
11 a.m. – Second Feed
1:30 p.m. – Nap (1.5 hours)
3 p.m. – Third Feed
6 p.m. – Nap (1 hour)
7 p.m. – Fourth Feed
8:30 p.m. – Bedtime
11 p.m. Final Feed (directly back to bed)
This final feed of the night is sometimes referred to as a “Dream Feed” or a “Top Off” feed. You want to keep baby in her nursery and keep everything dark and quiet. In fact, many babies will sleep right through the feeding, but it’s important to “fill up the tank” so your little one (and you!) can sleep longer overnight.
This schedule may not seem realistic for a lot of parents at this stage. You might be having trouble getting your baby to sleep for a long stint overnight, or go down to sleep in the crib, or nap consistently. You should check with your doctor, but in my experience trying to institute this type of routine results in a child who is well rested and feeds a lot during the day, and sleeps longer stretches at night. I encourage you to give it a try.
People ask me how I survived having five babies in six and a half years, and my answer is that this schedule has truly saved my sanity (and my marriage!).
Hopefully, with these consistent feedings and naps, you’ll find that your baby is able to sleep longer at night with a nice full tummy! Let me know if this schedule has worked for you and your infant!
Comments
Abi
Hi. I love ur videos. I just wanted to ask u, i have a 5 mnth old and am breastfeeding. She was sleeping through the night from about 10.30 to 6.30 from 2 mnths. However she has recently started to wake up during the night once at 1am and then again at 5am waking again at 8am. She falls to sleep between 10 and 10.30pm and i make sure to feed her from both breasts. She also has about 3 naps during the day. Could u please help me!
Melissa Lawrence
HI Abi, can you give me the times during the day that she eats? I am wondering whether you can feed at 7 and then again at around 10/11 and get her through the night that way (this is what I did). Also, it is very common in my view for this to happen b/c babies can go through growth spurts — but sounds like you are on a great schedule!!! Give me some more details and I will try to help!! xo M
Abi
Thanks for the reply! I try do a 3-4 hour schedule but on demand feeding, as i am finding it a little difficult to get her in a steady routine/ schedule for both feeding and sleeping.
Could u perhaps sugest a schedule/ routine if for example she wakes up at 8am.
Thanks again, Abi x
Kristen
Hi,
My daughter will be 5 months next week. I’ve been trying to follow your schedule for breastfed babies 4-6 months and it’s working so-so for me. I’m not usually able to just put her down into her crib for any naps/sleep time. She still requires me to rock her to sleep. In addition, I can’t get her to stay awake from 3-6pm (she starts to get drowsy around 5pm). And lastly, the 11pm feed is never the last one. She always wakes up a couple of hours later wanting to feed even though the 11pm feed was a good, long (15+ minutes) feed. Can you offer any suggestions for me? Thank you so much!
Joanne
Hey Melissa,
I am not sure if you will have time to reply to this and I am hoping you will see this, but I would really need some pointers with the schedule.
I have a 5-month old baby, exclusively breastfed, but I usually offer a bottle of expressed milk before bedtime and when I am away, my husband feeds him.
I am nowhere near having a good night sleep and I have started to put him on a schedule, however he would only sleep if I breastfeed before nap time.
How I would put him down to sleep without having a full tummy, he will cry and scream?
Also, he naps in the livingroom while I cook/clean, and at night he sleeps beside me in the cosleeper.
His schedule is somewhat like this:
7-7:30 – wake up
8 – feed
10 – feed and nap
12 – wake up (although he always wakes up after one hour and I would have to soothe him back to sleep, which doesn’t work at times)
1 – sweet potato with breast milk
2- feed and nap
4 – wake up (same as first nap, I have to work on it)
5:30 – feed
6 – 6:30/7 – wake up
8:30/9:00 – bottle (4oz of expressed breastmilk and breastfeeding too) and bedtime
And then I feed again at 2am and 5am, however he wakes up at least 5-6 times a night, where I have to use the paci to soothe him back to sleep.
What am I doing wrong?
Melissa Lawrence
Did I respond to you yet? I want to make sure you take alot of time with those feedings and make sure the baby is really full, then I would try to make the napping situation as quiet and dark as possible, that will help. LMK how it’s going. xo M
Leigh-An
Like the comments! for me I never wake my baby up! If your baby is hungry she will wake up on her own! My baby has slept through the night since she was 2 months old. She is now 3 months old and has 5-6 feedings a day.
Melissa Lawrence
Leigh-An — you should be doing some of these videos! Keep it up!
Alex
Thanks for all the tips on your site & blog I’m finding them really helpful. My baby is 5 months old and a very content baby who has settled on your suggested 4hour schedule during the day and I can actually say she has responded perfectly….. However after 11pm it’s game on for me and she feeds 2 hourly between 11 & 6 am! Sometimes even hourly! I’m thinking of going back to a 3 hour schedule? What would you do? I think I could cope with 4 hourly around the clock but 2 hourly feeds after 12am is insane, ( I have a 4 y/o too so day time naps are rare.) also, keeping up supply on little sleep is difficult. I look forward to your advice, thank you
Alex
Thanks for all the tips on your site & blog I’m finding them really helpful. My baby is 5 months old and a very content baby who has settled on your suggested 4hour schedule during the day and I can actually say she has responded perfectly….. However after 11pm it’s game on for me and she feeds 2 hourly between 11 & 6 am! Sometimes even hourly! I’m thinking of going back to a 3 hour schedule? What would you do? I think I could cope with 4 hourly around the clock but 2 hourly feeds after 12am is insane, ( I have a 4 y/o too so day time naps are rare.) also, keeping up supply on little sleep is difficult. I look forward to your advice, thank you
by Alex on May 29, 2013 at 2:45 am Reply
– See more at: https://cloudmom.com/baby-feeding-and-sleeping-schedule-your-4-to-6-month-old-breastfeeding-baby-2/#sthash.oxsLbblO.dpuf
Well she’s 7 months now and absolutely gorgeous.however the same night-time feelings are happening , what do you think? Suggestions please?
Othernotes- She sleeps in our room in her own cot, she comes in to our bed for feeds but then wants to be put back.
Meg
Thanks for your posts. you make it sound so simple:-). My 4.5 month baby seems to eat/sleep on her own variation of your 4 hour schedule except that she always eats immediately before naps rather than after. It is the only way I am able to get her to sleep in her crib. in fact sometimes she wakes up to eat more half way through her naps. Is there a reason for your decision to eat after the nap?
Our way seems to work fine in the day but then she wakes up at least every 2 hours sometimes every hour to eat at night! Do you have any ideas?
Melissa Lawrence
Hi Meg, I am going to address your questions more fully in a vlog. I would concentrate on making sure she is fully awake and totally full, burped and rejecting more food. After that, she should (I would think) fall asleep and then wake when she is hungry. Sometimes I gave mine just a bit more to get them to go to sleep, but not a full meal. Are you sure she is getting full feeds? Normally I think babies nap after the feed. I think she might be awakening alot at night b/c she is not getting full enough feeds and her rhythm might not be as good as it could be during the day. But sounds like she is doing great!!
Ruby Romail
Hi Melissa I have seen ur videos and love ur ideas I have 3 and half months old son I am exclusively breastfeeding him.the problem is I feed him on demand so most of the time he asks for feed every hour and a half some time even one hourly. The other problem is he likes to sleep with taking breast in his mouth.i have tried giving him dummy but he doesn’t suck it at qll.is there any suggestions for me.please advice thanks
Melissa Lawrence
Ruby, my mantra is full feeds – keep feeding until they are awake and full, if they dose off while eating you will be back there in 1 hour — more work for mom! I still believe you feed them of course whenever they are hungry, but my personal view is that mine ate better and slept better when I insisted on making sure they were totally full before they slept. What do you think? xo melissa
s
So does that mean you dont comfort nurse give them a snack at the breast? I cant imagine just feeding mine 5 times a day… sometimes hes teething and a pacifier wont do. sometimes he wants a little drink at the breast.. comfort nursing is natural how do you stop that natural urge from your baby?
Melissa Lawrence
Oh no… to me, with babies this age, I spent much of the day nursing them. It could take me a full hour to get them fed, so think that’s 6 hours a day! I would find that when they were finished nursing, they would have a little time looking around and then take a nap. I really believe in following your instincts and doing what is right for you as a Mom, so if you would like to comfort feed, do it! Best of luck with your baby!
Maria
Hi, I have a 4 month old who I would like to try and keep more awake during the day. What does your baby do during the wake hours? My 4 month old is almost 20 lbs and too heavy to carry around. I’m busy with a couple of toddlers and some older kids so I try and keep the baby entertained either in the swing or the bouncy but I’m still holding the baby too much and killing my back! any suggestions on how to keep a baby content without being held. Thank you!
Renee
Hi Melissa,
My daughter is 4,5 months old, and I have been trying to follow your schedule. She goes to bed at night between 8 and 8 30pm, and falls asleep right away, then I feed her at 11 again, and she will wake up at 4 and 6 am for feeds again. I have gotten used to it , and it is really not that bad because my real problem are her naps during the day. She is very alert, has always been, very curious, and is refusing to nap during the day. She usually has 4 naps during the day lasting anywhere from 7 minutes to 30 minutes. I can see that she is tired, however she us refusing to nap. Last week I rocked her, feed her, rocked again, put her in the crib, played music, and more, all this for 1,5 hours and the she slept for 6 minutes. She is cranky all day and so am I haha. I’m exhausted and desperatly looking for an answer. Do you have any suggestions?
Sbeck
Was there ever an answer to this because this is what I’m going through.
AmandaM.
My daughter is 5 months 1 week. I’ve been trying to get her on a schedule but I haven’t had any luck. My first daughter feel into her own schedule that worked great. This little one sleeps well at night so I didn’t bother with a schedule, I just let her do her thing because it seemed to work well for her sleeping through the night. I want her to be on a schedule now and she’s fighting it hard. She won’t sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time during the day. She seems to want little power naps and she’s up again for a couple hours. ow do I get her to sleep longer? Doesn’t seem to matter if I feed her before naps or after naps.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
My daughter just turned 4 months old yesterday. At 9 weeks old she started sleeping 9-9.5 hrs straight at night…this lasted for about 3 weeks and then it changed (as I thought it would) and now she’s going to bed at around 8-9pm and waking around 1-2am or sometimes closer 3am then again at 4:45am-ish. I breastfeed her right before bed, lay her in her crib drowsy but somewhat awake and she eats on demand through out the day. My question is, I have a 2.5 yr old, we are always on the go and rarely home. She sleeps in her vibe chair or in the carseat or in the stroller, I give her the soother and she passes out. I’m not sure how to balance her naps during the day with never really being home? Should I stop giving her the soother? I’m starting to get worn down with her waking up so much in the night time and getting up at 5am. Please help!
Thanks,
Melissa
Miss Ann
Does this schedule apply to a breastfed baby? Currently my son is 16 lbs and 5 month old eats every 3 hours and only takes Abou 45 minute naps and then wakes. Sometimes I can extend it with a pacifier, but not usually. He is nursed to sleep. How do I begin to implement a routine for us? He’s always cheerful when he wakes, but it just doesn’t seem like enough rest. He wakes 2-3 times per night to nurse.
Jessica
I just came across this but I breastfeed my 4 month old on demand. He lets me know when he’s hungry and it’s working out great. He’s happy and healthy. From the research I’ve done, it seems that breastfed babies should always be fed on demand.
Monica
absolutely! Here are resources from people that are qualified to speak on the subject. IBCLCs!
http://www.lalecheleague.org/ba/may99.html
http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/chs/files/resmohrbachermagicnumber2011.pdf
Karolina
I’m an RN and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Feeding your baby on schedule and getting rid of non-nutritive sucking can be a straight road to lowering your milk supply. 5 feedings at 4 months? Unbelieveable. There’s no way most moms can can feed 5 times and keep their supply. Mamas, feed your babies on demand!