How to set a feeding schedule for baby?
“Babies eat when they’re hungry, and sleep when they’re tired.”-someone who has never, ever taken care of a baby 😜
Honestly, I was also under this impression before I actually had kids of my own. I thought it would be fairly simple to know when to feed my baby, and if they were tired I thought they would just fall asleep. If you have already had your baby you know by now that it’s not quite that simple!
How often do newborns need to be fed?
Whether your feeding journey includes breastfeeding, formula feeding, pumping exclusively, or a combination the main focus should be to follow the guidance of your pediatrician to ensure your baby is growing adequately and getting proper nutrition.
Waking a newborn may be beneficial if you’re still trying to establish feeding and encourage them to be awake during the day and asleep at night. Feeding on demand is a good practice when establishing your supply, and usually involves feeding every 1-3 hours in the early days. Some newborns may not be so motivated to wake up and eat however, and in this case I recommend waking them to feed at least every 2-3 hours early on. As the weeks progress, some mothers are able to decrease the frequency of feeding, and it’s not uncommon for a child to feed every 2-4 hours by 6 weeks (longer overnight, shorter during the day).
When can I let my baby sleep through a feeding?
Once your baby is back up to their birth weight, it is okay to let them sleep in longer stretches overnight as long as there are no concerns from your pediatrician about weight gain or feeding. I recommend keeping any single nap capped at 2 hours so that your baby stays on track with their feedings. You don’t want them to go so long between feedings during the day that they reverse cycle and take in more during the night.
How to set a feeding schedule for baby?
We generally recommend following a rhythm for feedings during the day as opposed to setting them by the clock. We don’t eat the same amount of food at the same time every day, so it wouldn’t be realistic for a baby to do that either. (If your child has a very easy-going temperament, set feedings may be doable!)
Feeding schedule for a newborn:
Instead of thinking of a feeding “schedule” for a new baby, start think in terms of cues. Look for hunger cues vs sleep cues. Consider when they take in full feedings vs whenever they’re just snacking or not latching. See what their average is (knowing that they may cluster feed or go through a growth spurt so some days may be an anomaly!)
Most newborns have 5=7 naps a day, which would typically equate to 8-12 feedings in a 24 hour period.
Feeding schedule for a baby:
From about 3 months on, a baby may consolidate feedings and eat at more predictable times. That doesn’t mean they’ll eat at 7, 10, 1, 4, and 7 on the dot every single day. It may look something like:
7:00am wake up feed,
Nap around 8:30am
Wake and feed sometime between 9:30-10:30am
Nap around 11:00am
Wake and feed sometime between 12-1:00pm
Nap around 1:30/2:00pm
Wake and feed around 3-4:00pm
Nap around 5:00pm
Wake and feed around 6:00pm
Bedtime top off feeding around 7:00pm
*evening cluster feeds are super common
And that may evolve to a more spread out and consolidated schedule OR you may introduce solids which definitely changes a feeding schedule! That could look like:
7:00am wake up and feed
Optional solids breakfast around 8:00am
Nap around 9/10:00am
Wake and feed sometime around 11:00am
Optional solids lunch around 12:30pm
Nap around 1:30pm
Wake and feed around 2:30/3:00pm
Cat nap around 5:00pm, feeding
Optional solids dinner 6:00pm
Bedtime feeding around 7:00pm
Anchoring feedings around sleep can be so helpful as they do often go hand in hand. It can give you predictability to know they’ll be sleeping and eating AROUND certain times during the day (again, not by the clock, but within certain windows). Not sure what naps and sleep look like with age? Check out these blogs:
What do overnight wakings look like by age?
This month by month breakdown is just a generalization and not a “goal” to be achieved by X month. Every baby is different and will reach different milestones on their own time. Keep your expectations realistic, and personalized to your beautiful, unique itty baby!
0-2 months.
Most parents report multiple night wakings
Total nighttime sleep duration approximately 8-10 hours*
4+ daytime naps (on average, more during the early weeks post partum)
Circadian rhythm not yet developed which means sleep is still disorganized
Sleep occurs in 20 min to 2 hour increments (more if you’re lucky).
Frequent, short naps especially if not being held
Night time sleep typically becomes more organized first and your “long” stretch of sleep may begin to develop (3+ hour stretch after bedtime, frequent wakings after aren’t uncommon).
3-5 months.
Most parents report at least one night waking
Total nighttime sleep duration is approximately 8.5 - 10.5 hours*
50% -- or more -- of parents say longest sleep stretch is at least 5 hours
3-4 daytime naps (average)
Night stretch is consolidating at the beginning of the night (4-6+ hour stretch).
Aiming for a 10-12 hour “night” of sleep (in their crib for that amount of time).
Short naps are still common and developmentally appropriate
6-12 months
Total nighttime sleep duration is 9-11 hours*
Most parents report at least one night waking
2 daytime naps (average)
Sleep needs are lowering a tiny bit; sleep is consolidating and they may drop their night feeds.
10-12 hours of night time sleep, 2.5-3.5 hours of day time sleep between 2-3 naps (more if they’re younger, less if they’re older)
12-24 months
Most parents report approximately 5 night wakings per week (average)
1-2 daytime naps (average)
children are usually capable of dropping all night feeds by this point if they have not earlier, for consolidated night of sleep 10-12 hours
Other estimates derived from review of multiple, international studies:
How can you help prevent day and night confusion for your newborn?
Follow a routine of wake, eat, play, sleep.
Keep wake windows no longer than 45-60 minutes
Waking to feed every 2-3 hours during the day. Feeding during regular intervals during the day will shift more calories to daytime. (The saying “don’t wake a sleeping baby” does not apply here!)
Exposure to daylight first thing in the morning will help to support their developing circadian rhythm
Day naps for the first few weeks can be in a bright room with normal day sounds (once day/night confusion is no longer a concern you can switch to a dark room for naps to help them nap longer)
Make sure to keep awake time bright and interactive (but don’t keep a baby awake all day–this will lead to overtiredness, and sleep does beget sleep!)
At night keep things quiet, calm, and low-stim, use a amber color night light (ex. salt lamp) if light is needed
Optimize nighttime sleep environment by keeping it dark, cool, and a sound machine for white noise.
