Experienced Mums sleeps schedule suggestions!

[Foxmuffin]

My baby is 6 weeks old and is pretty easy going. But I’m interested to hear your do and donts.
Currently he generally sleeps 3hrs, feed, then 1-2 hours before morning.
He then naps all morning from around 10-2.
Then he’s grotty, sleeps on last dog walk at 6 and have just managed to get him off at 830.

Are “dream feeds” worth trying? He’s BF but will take a bottle of expressed milk. Am i better to do a dream feed with a bottle or boob if they’re worth it all?

Personally, I’m a big fan of the dream feed but didn’t start that soon. At 6 weeks, DD was up with us until we went to bed at around 10pm, she’d then have a (formula) feed and would sleep through to 6-7am: we were extremely lucky!! Around 3-4 months (can’t remember exactly) she starting going to bed at 7pm but we kept the late feed and made it a dream feed to ensure she slept through to 7am until weaning was fairly well established at around 7 months. If your DS is typically going to bed at 8.30pm you could try a dream feed at 11pm to see if it helps him go a bit longer overnight. However, he’s very tiny, he might not be ready to do longer stretches yet and the dream feed only helps if the sole reason for overnight waking(s) is hunger- it won’t help if it’s comfort related or if he’s not yet chaining his sleep cycles properly.

Thanks Expressedways. He had been staying up with us and having his last feed at 10ish but I thought better to start trying to give him a “bed time” as felt he was getting over tired and then could be quite challenging to get him down. I stand to be corrected though. I will try a dreamfeed. It just seems wrong to try and wake him!

A proper dream feed shouldn’t involve waking him- although as he’s so tiny if he’s the type that needs a nappy change after every feed it may be easier said than done!! That said, there are also schools of thought that suggest properly waking a baby of his age is the way to go to ensure that they take a full feed. Good luck, it’s so tricky deciding what’s best isn’t it?!

If you want to stick with bfing I wouldn't introduce a bottle feed at night until your breastfeeding has settled well for both of you.
I've got 4 (3 ebf, 1 mixed then FF), and all of them, even the good sleepers, have had such a changeable schedule around this time.

My suggestion would be to focus on trying to help him understand day and night with gentle cues - open the curtains in the morning, take him outdoors close to the middle of that day, then at night have darker rooms, lower voices, maybe a warm bath if he likes it.
The rest of the time, just focus on making sure he gets enough feeding and you both get enough rest. It sounds like.maybe he's awake quite a long time in the morning, usually (though not always) babies can't stay up longer than 90 mins or so at this age, could he be getting overtired?
At his grotty time, are you able to just sit on the sofa and feed on and off (and let him nap if he wants to)? And when you walk the dog, is he happy in his buggy or sling, and of not, have you tried the other one? I'm not a huge fan of dummies if not needed, but some mums find they are useful if he's a grumpy baby and breastfeeding is well established and he's gaining weight.

Sounds like you're doing a great job, be kind to yourself. I wish I'd gone with the flow more in the early months with my first, it is so helpful for letting you both learn, and in hindsight the time passes fast, even if it can feel like.forever at the time

At 6 weeks I wouldn't even be thinking about this, go with the flow, feed on demand and don't worry if there's no definite bedtime - that will come x

That’s everyone
Stuckforthefourth, I’m really lucky he goes from boob to bottle with no issue. Evening dog walk is in a sling as he likes that and will just get upset in his pram.
Grotty time is usually let him feed (or suckle which is often all it is) until we get out with the dog.
I’ve read Gina Ford but we’d never leave the house and I like to get out a bit during the day.

Thanks all, am not overly worried just don’t want to miss anything obvious that will help us in the long run. Maybe I am overthinking

*should say thanks everyone!

Note on Gina Ford - I agree she's awful! Trying to limit awake time doesn't need to be any kind of regimented system (with 3 older children my youngest certainly couldn't stick to a schedule), you can do it on the go with slings and buggies too. It's not a requirement, but for most babies, making sure they get frequent sleeps at this age greatly minimises grotty periods later in the day. Some children have very obvious tired signs, for others the time is a helpful rough guide.