How do you do a 4-Hr Feed Schedule w/ 3.5 Hour WT's?

[stephanne2]

Hello... I'm having trouble working through our feeding/nap routine in the afternoons and was hoping to get some ideas.  Here's what I'm looking at...

7:00 Wake up
E - 7:30 Nurse, 8:30 Solids
A - 3 to 3:15 hours (not quite at 3.5 here)
S - 10:15/30 to 11:30
E - 12 Nurse, 1:00 Solids
A - 3.5 Hours (includes top-up feed at 2:30)
S - 3 to 4:30

I'd like to get rid of the top-up feed before her 2nd nap (for a few different reasons), but I'm afraid she'll wake early from 2nd nap early due to hunger with our current schedule. With the extended WT, and a 1.5hr long naptime goal... what should that look like timing-wise? I'm just really struggling with the math here.   

Any suggestions?

[*Ali*]

I see from your other posts that she is about 8.5mo, correct?

When you say you want to get rid of the top up feed, would that leave you with only 3 feeds in the day or do you do two feeds in that last A time as well? You don't need to worry about there being 4 hrs exactly between the feeds once they are established on solids at this age. As long as you're fitting 4 feeds in there somewhere that is fine.

What about moving the solids later from 1pm to 1.30 or 2? Then she would be hungrier and probably take more and be fuller for her second nap without the top up.

Or here is a link with example routines to fit it all in. Routines for Solids and Bottles/BF's 6-12months

[stephanne2]

I see from your other posts that she is about 8.5mo, correct?

Yup... 8.5 months!

When you say you want to get rid of the top up feed, would that leave you with only 3 feeds in the day or do you do two feeds in that last A time as well?

She nurses at 7:30, 11:30, 2/2:30, 4/4:30 and 6:30 (before bed).  At NW, she nurses at 3:30 and 5:30 if/when she wakes.

I'll look through the sample schedules again and see if I can find something that works. I'm mainly trying to figure out some wonky naps and to determine whether or not they're affected by hunger--either because she's fed at intervals that are too short and therefore her feed isn't "full" or for other reasons.  But all the scenarios I figure up on paper haven't made sense--I think maybe I'm losing it. lol

[*Ali*]

At this age my DS2 did something like BFs at 7, 9.45, 2, 6.30/7 and solids at 8, 12 and 4.45. His naps were roughly 10-11.30 and 3-4.30. He wasn't eating much at the 8am solid meal so needed that earlier second BF of the day before his first nap.

My DS1 was doing BFs at 8, 12.30, 3.30 and 8 with solids around 9, 1.30 and 5. His naps were 11-12.30 and 3.45-5.15. He ate a big breakfast and could happily wait until after his first nap for the second BF. I started giving the third BF before his second nap because it was just too much to fit in BF, solids and another BF in that last A time and he wasn't taking the BT BF very well.

So I think it really depends on your LO and their naps and appetite for solid food. You do have to be a bit creative around this age I think.