Feeding schedule

[Katie272]

My baby is almost 4 months old and according to his formula needs 5 feeds of 6oz over a 24 hour period. He’s awake in the morning between 8am and 9am for his first feed then his feeds are spaced about 4 hours apart. His last feed means he’s in bed just before midnight then he doesn’t wake me up until the morning.

I want to find a way to get him into a routine where I can get him to bed at a reasonable time but that won’t mean he’ll be waking up several times to be fed during the night. I see people with babies of a similar age and they have their babies in bed by 6pm. How can I possibly do this without missing a feed or having him wake up early hours of the morning?

Have you tried a dream feed I.e. feeding when he's still half asleep? My DD has a dream feed about 10:30 and again at about 2:30 and I put her to bed about 7pm.

My nearly 4 month old has a feed of 6oz at 7PM, asleep by 8 (I try to pop her in her cot .... although right now she is asleep on me). Then she has a dream feed at 10-10:30, usually around 5oz, she wakes at 3:30am for another 6oz, and then is awake at about 6:30am. She rarely goes 4 hours between feeds. She is just a hungry baby.

My first DD was sleeping from 10pm to 6am with no night feed by this age, and we dropped that 10pm feed at 6 months, but every baby is different. Some need more formula than others. Try aim for the dream feed at 10pm and see how that works.

but that won’t mean he’ll be waking up several times to be fed during the night

Laughed hard at this. He is 4 months old. He needs feeding in the night

And for reference, DS was on nearly 3 x what the formula box recommended from day 1.

Just feed on demand and when your baby is hungry

@mouldyhouse101

And for reference, DS was on nearly 3 x what the formula box recommended from day 1.

Just feed on demand and when your baby is hungry

I agree. The tins are just guidelines. My DD drank much less than what the formula tin said, and my 3.5 month old now started on 5oz bottles every 3 hours from week 1! Every baby is different. They take what they need. Just feed when your baby is hungry.

He’s never woken up during the night to be fed except from when I was breastfeeding. And as long as I know he’s had the correct amount of milk during a 24 hour period and is gaining weight well I feel no need to wake him. He’s my first baby and I’m just curious, by looking at the feeding guide which yes I know is only a guide my baby needs 30oz of milk over a 24 hour period. Feeds being 3-4 hours apart. With him waking at 8am for his first feed his feeds are then 12pm, 4pm, 8pm then around 11:30pm. I was just wondering because I know people with similar aged babies who do put their babies to bed around 6pm and I was wondering by whether they must then be up every few hours throughout the night with them.

Yes obviously when I was breastfeeding I was demand feeding then when it came to formula feeding I was worried when I could see he wasn’t drinking the exact amount they recommended but I know he’s gaining weight well and is a happy, healthy baby. Some times he’ll only drink 3-4 oz of his bottle but I’ll always offer him the 6oz. When I first started formula feeding I fed him on demand but then the times he became hungry become regular and this become his routine.

Honestly, the soo er you stop comparing your child to others, the easier it’ll be

Does he wake up to be fed at midnight? What time do you put him in bed?

No he’ll have his last feed at around 11:30pm to midnight and he’s pretty much straight to sleep after that until 8-9am in the morning.

I know it’s different with a baby but as he gets older midnight obviously isn’t a “reasonable time” for a child to go to bed. So I probably should’ve added this to my original post but the main reason for me writing it in the first place was because I’d been told around now it can be possible to start introducing a routine around bed time.

My baby was similar at that age, she had 8/9 hour stretches at 4 months and didn't need a feed. It shifted not long after to waking at 9am, feeds at 9, 12, 3, 6 and 9 then bedtime so slightly better than midnight. Then gradually pulling it back further. Can't remember how many oz she had per bottle but it was definitely more than the box recommended for her age but was pretty much in line with what it recommended for her weight so went with that.

My baby is 6 months and her feeding schedule is 5 feeds per day: wake up at 8.30am, feeds at 9.30, 12.30, 3.30 then a larger feed at 7.30pm and she's asleep by 8pm. Then she'll have one night feed that she wakes for anywhere between 2-5am. She's hungry for all her feeds after 3 hours. The timings can be out by 30 mins or so but I try and stick roughly to them.

Start bedtime routine after feed before the 11:30 one so what's that 8?
Then if he wakes he wakes if he doesn't, bonus.
Will take some time for them to adjust as I'm guessing he naps between 8 and half 11 so keep him awake for 2 hours prior to 8 o'clock then bath bottle and bed

I have a 4.5 month old. If he goes to bed at 7pm then he's up for the day at 5am, so he has his last bottle at 8:30, asleep by 9pm then wakes around 4/5am for another feed and will go back to sleep until 7:30. I have never understood how people can get their babies to bed at 6pm and they sleep through!
I was always told if baby is gaining weight well then don't wake for a feed xxx