0-3 month easy question

[mummyd]

My lo is now six weeks and I have been trying to do easy since birth.  We are about 2 1/2 - 3 hrs between feeds and then short awake time if I can manage (still falls asleep a lot while bf), then sleep time - anywhere from 45 min - 2hrs.  Do you try to stick with the same time of day every day for the routine, or see how the day goes?  I know easy is a routine, not a schedule and we should look after the baby's needs. 

Also wondering what some of you did at this young age for the evening routine.  Do you wake them to do the cluster feeds?  I find that if he feeds at about 5 - 6pm he needs another sleep before another feed and bath/bed.  Sometimes if I wake him he does not feed as well and then does not seem to be content for the bed time routine, so I again try to feed before bed.  Do these short feeds help, or are they "snacks"?  I have been waking for a df which doesn't seem to be making the night sleep any longer.  LO still gets up about every 3 - 31/2 hrs at night.  I don't have him feed at exact times thru the day, as I go by when he's hungry, but try to do the activity then sleep after.
From what I remember from DS #1 we had to wake him a lot for evening routine the first few months. 
 

[* Paula *]

At such a young age, I would just start the day from when your lo wakes for the day.  Our DS used to have a 5:00 am waking for a feed, and we would treat this as a night feed and then put him back to bed and start our day at around 9:00 am.

If you lo is not feeding well at the cluster feed as he is tired cause he needs to sleep I would not worry too much about the cluster feed at this stage, you can always concentrate on it when he starts having a little longer A time.

Getting established on an EASY routine, I would feed your lo when he is due for a feed i.e. every 2.5 hours or if he can go to 3 hours then keep your lo on a 3 hour routine.  This way you are ensuring that they are taking majority of their calories in the day time, which will eventually start reducing the night wakings.

With regards to the DF - your lo does not have to be awake for this feed - it is better if you feed your lo asleep - as this will not disrupt his sleep pattern.  It is still very common for your lo to wake up every 3 - 3.5 hours during the night for a feed.  He is still very young and his tummy is very small and can only hold small amounts.  As he gets bigger he will start taking more per feed and this will in turn help him go longer at night.

HTH's

Paula