Right oh- This is the baby whisperes routine for an average 4 week old baby- i have copied the text from her book called the babywhisperer solves all your problems- by Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau.
This book covers all sorts of things and i personally am happy to call it my lifesaving bible- it helped with so many worries and probs with DS and some friends also used it and it worked!!!! definalty worth a read if you have time
i do not want to offend anyone with this but its the routine i am trying to follow- it worked brilliantly for DS so am doing it again for DD.
E 7.00 FEED
A 7.45 NAPPY CHANGE, SOME PLAYING AND TALKING, WATCH FOR SLEEPINESS
S 8.15 SWADDLE AND LAY BABY IN COT- IT MAY TAKE 15-20 MINS TO FALL ASLEEP FOR 1ST MORNING NAP
Y 8.30 YOU SLEEP WHEN HE SLEEPS
E 10.00 FEED
A 10.45 SEE 7-45 ABOVE
S 11.15 2ND MORNING NAP
Y 11.30 YOU NAP WHEN HE NAPS
E 1.00 FEED
A 1.45 SEE 7-45 ABOVE
S 2.15 AFTERNOON NAP
Y 2.30 Y NAP OR AT LEAST REST
E 4.00 FEED
A 4.45 SEE 7-45 ABOVE
S 5.15 CATNAP FOR 40-50MINS TO GIVE ENOUGH REST TO HANDLE BATH
Y 5.30 DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
E 6.00 1ST CLUSTER FEED
A 7.00 BATH AND INTO NIGHT CLOTHS, LULLABY OR OTHER BEDTIME RITUAL
S 7.30 ANOTHER CATNAP
Y 7.30 YOU EAT DINNER
E 8.00 2ND CLUSTER FEED
A NONE
S PUT HIM RIGHT BACK TO BED
Y ENJOY SHORT EVENING
E 10-11 DREAM FEED AND CROSS YOUR FINGERS TILL MORNING
NOTE- Whether a baby is breast or bottle fed, I advise the above routine- allowing for variations in times- until 4 months old. The A time will be shorter for younger babies, and get progressively longer for older ones, I can also recommend turning the 2 cluster feeds into 1 (at around 5-30 or 6pm) by 8 weeks. Continue to dream feed until 7 months- unless he?s a great sleeper and makes it through on his own.
One way of insuring that your baby eats enough is to increase his intake during the day, before 11 pm- By ?tanking up? as I call this strategy you get more food into his tummy, which in turn, enables him to sleep through longer stretches at night. Tanking up is also great for growth spurts, those 2-3 day periods when your baby eats more than usual.
Tanking up consists of 2 parts cluster feeding, which is done at two hour intervals in the early evening, at 5 and 7 or 6 and 8:and the dream feed which is given between 10 and 11. With the dream feed you literally feed the baby in his sleep .You don?t talk to him, or put the lights on. It?s easier to do with a bottle you just wiggle the nipple into his mouth and that will activate the sucking reflex. It?s a little more challenging if you are breast feeding. Before you give him your breast, stroke his bottom lip with your pinkie or a dummy to get the sucking reflex going, either way, at the end of the dream feed your baby will be so relaxed you can put him down without burping.
Some infants are harder to tank-up than others, they might take early evening feeds but not the dream feed, if that describes your baby and you have to choose one, concentrate on the dream feed only Don?t bother clustering, for example, you feed baby at 6, give bath and do the bedtime routine, and top her off at 7- she will probably only take a few ml/ounces. Then at 10 or 11 try to give dream feed, but never later than 11 pm, but don?t give up after one or two nights. It unrealistic to think you can change a baby?s habits in less than 3 days, and for some infants it takes as long as a week. There are no miracles here, but persistence usually pays off.