Most babies crave milk and sleep. It’s part of their growth and metabolism. But both feeding and sleeping should have proper schedules for the sake of the baby’s health. Too much of both can sometimes result to certain problems. So, here are tips on how to set a baby feeding and baby sleeping schedule.
Consult Your Pediatrician
The first and best thing to do is to ask your pediatrician about sensitive matters like feeding and sleeping. These things need a system or program to follow and pediatricians know best about what babies need.
Consult Other Parents
But you cannot be asking your pediatrician these things every day. The most you’d see him or her is once or twice a month. Thus, you may also casually consult other parents who have had years of experience caring for their own babies. Feeding and sleeping are daily activities and sometimes certain issues pop up as you go about them. In these crucial times, asking tips from experienced people around is a smart thing.
Learn When it’s Time to Feed or Give a Bath
Babies cry for a lot of reasons. So, how do you know the baby is crying due to hunger? Simple; try putting the feeding bottle nipple on the baby’s lips and see if the baby would try to suck it. If the baby does—and it’s feeding time according to schedule—the baby is hungry and needs to be fed. If the baby ignores the nipple, you may have to wait till the baby is hungry. Sometimes, though, you may encourage the baby to suck when it’s feeding time.
With bath time, all babies need a daily bath, preferably in the morning. Unlike grownups that smell unpleasantly when they need a bath, babies always seem to smell good. But they still need regular baths to make feel comfortable and cool. [INPOSTLB]
Scheduling Principles
WITH FEEDING: Depending on the baby, some doctors would advise feeding babies every 3 or 5 hours and giving them a specific milk amount. Others would say feed as needed, or as the baby reacts to hunger. The important principle is to accurately follow the doctor’s orders always when it comes to the feeding frequency and milk amount.
However, you might be in a dilemma if your doctor advised the feeding to be done every 4 hours, but you usually notice the baby getting hungry just after an hour or two. The best thing here is to let the baby drink water. Most doctors say breast milk is easy to digest so the baby may crave for more even before feeding time. But formula milk takes more time to digest so it’s not advisable to keep feeding babies with it more than what is prescribed.
WITH SLEEPING: During the first 3 to 4 months, sleeping time should be baby-led. Don’t interrupt their natural sleeping routine. And often, babies tend to sleep in the morning and stay awake all night. In this case, parents should adapt. The best tip here is to have mom follow the sleeping routine of the baby, being both asleep at day time and awake at night time. Better yet, hire a babysitter to watch over the baby when he or she is awake.
Don’t worry. After a few more months, you may try to adjust the baby’s sleeping habit by playing with him or her in the mornings and late afternoons. They might tire out and learn to sleep mostly at night.
