help with evening schedule for 8 wk old

[Grahamsmom]

Hello all,

My son is 8 wks old and I'm looking to get rid of the cluster feeds in the evening (a good idea?) and also to get away from feeding him just prior to bed time.  His typical day looks like this:

E: 7am
A:until 8:30/9
S: 45 mins (I have tried to make it longer, but no go)

E:10am
A:until 11:30/12
S: 1hr

E:1pm
A:until 2/2:30
S: 1.5 to 2 hrs

E:4pm
A: until 5/5:30
S:1/2 hr to 45 min

And I am trying to get away from this, but we currently do:
E:6pm
A:bath etc until 8 (he fights taking a nap for some reason at this time.)

E: 8pm
S:right to bed

DF:11:00

He wakes up once at around 3:00/3:30 and sleeps until 7am. (he has just recently dropped the other feed)

So... how do I get rid of the cluster feedings, or do I not and wait until 3 mos/4 hours? I am scared to on one hand in case he goes back to waking twice, but at the same time the evenings feel so crammed with the two feeds.  And how should I fix the bed time, so that I am not bf and then he goes to sleep right after, or should I worry about that since it is the only sleep he does that way?
He is 8wks and about 12.5 lbs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks ladies!

 

[gpmom]

Here is my 2 cents.  Try and get a 12 hour routine, so if he wakes at 7 bed is at 7.  I would suggest keeping the clusters and the df.  It looks like it works for you.  My dd is 5 months and we still bf and then bed at night.  She sleeps great at naps when they are not like that.  Do what works for you.
Good luck

[Shdef]

I think it looks good

gpmom is right about the 12 hour routine, you can try that with putting him to bed at 7.55, then a few days later 7.50, etc, don't rush it. Cluster and DF looks fine, nights sound good for his age. It's okay to have the feed right before bed if you put him to bed drowsy but awake.

Also, it's normal that there is no other nap after 6, that's fine. Five naps would be too much day sleep.

[Grace's Mom]

I think your routine looks wonderful 

Not all lo's need 12 hours at night so don't worry too much if you can't get your lo to sleep at 7pm, but definitly work towards that (if you get to a 7pm bedtime and your lo starts waking up early for the day then you know that 12 hours is too much).  Most lo's average between 10-12 hours at night...of course, 12 hours is always nice 

**With any routine change, it does take around 3-5 days for their bodies to adjust.  The best thing to do during that time is be 100% consistant, no matter what happens, and after that amount of time things should smooth out.

Just a suggestion....

This is what helped us after the cat nap....
6pm wake
6:30 part 1 of night time feed
Bath immediately following
7pm part 2 of night time feed
Bed....to feed your lo right before bed is just right    Your want as much food in your lo before falling asleep for the night so that he can sleep longer for you....which is good for him and you. 

Congrats on him dropping one night feed already.  That's wonderful.

Melissa

[Grace's Mom]

Grahamsmom

How is your little man doing?

Melissa