I recently blogged about the Baby Whisperer’s E.A.S.Y. baby plan as one option to get your LO on a reasonable routine. This “schedule” works well for babies under 4 months of age.
However, by 4 months, babies are gradually able to transition into longer wake/activity periods, as well as eat less frequently – around every 4 hours. Eventually, by getting baby used to eating every 4 hours, you’re also setting her up for an easier transition to sleep through the night.
Noob Baby, also known as Her Chunkiness, didn’t exactly appreciate a sudden transition into eating every 4 hours vs. every 3. Silly me. I forgot to reveal my plans to her. So, we called together a G4 type summit, and came to an agreement.
We would slowly drag out the time between her feedings each day (tacking on a few extra minutes). After she *dinged* the big 4 (months that is), we began the transition. 3 hours became 3 hrs. 10 min. Then 3 1/4 hrs. 3 1/2 hrs. etc.
At last, she was eating approx. every 4 hours (give or take a few days where I assume she was going through a growth spurt). Her E.A.S.Y. routine looked similar to this example from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer:
4-Hour E.A.S.Y.
E – 7:00 – Wake up and feed
A – 7:30
S – 9:00 (1 1/2-2 hr nap)
Y – Blog Time (I mean … your time!)
E – 11:00
A – 11:30
S – 1:00 (1 1/2-2 hrs)
Y – Party (I mean … take a shower and get out of jammies!)
E – 3:00
A – 3:30
S – Catnap between 5 -6 pm
Y – Really, peel yourself off the computer now so Noob Daddy doesn’t think you’ve been web surfing all day!
E – 7:00 (cluster feed at 7 and 9 pm if going through a growth spurt)
A – Bath
S – 7:30 Bedtime
Y – Chest bump Noob Daddy. Then, catch up on Google Reader, CNN, Facebook, Twitter and a little thing called WoW
E – 11:00 Dream Feed (until 7 or 8 months, or whenever solids are firmly established)
As for us, the Dream Feed never really worked. Noob Baby seemed to wake up at least once at night despite our efforts to pull a fast one on her. Luckily, that changed with our sleep training efforts.
A Ferber follow up post to come soon!
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Thank you for your posts. My son Baby O is almost 6 months and we tried the Ferber method- along with a dream feed at 11 and he sleeps from 7:30- 7 (but fusses from 5:30 and on…) But today is Friday and we started on Monday so that is great! We previously tried Tracy Hogg’s shush patting method but he began to wake up every two hours because he loved being patted! We realized that he was not able to get back to sleep without it.
We tried tracy Hogg’s E.A.S.Y at 4 months as well for a month and it was miserable for everyone- especially since O could only nap for 25 min. at a time, no matter how much shush patting and crying he did. I felt pretty down on tracy Hogg- especially as alot of her breastfeeding facts are harmfully wrong according to my Dr. and nurse/mom. I read that babies cannot regulate their daytime sleep until 5-6 months, and sure enough baby O is naturally sleeping longer. So because of this and the successful night time sleeping, I decided to try it again after reading your blog.
We started the E.a.s.y. this week along with Ferber (alot of changes all at once!) and this is the 4th day. Baby O usually wants to eat every 2 hours and sleep for 45 min, every hour and a half. Now he goes down at 9 and 1 and sleeps for 45 min., cries for 15 and sleeps for another 45. He is not well rested afterwards and totally starving- and breastfeeds for 45 minutes after- if I take away the breast sooner he screams. He then wants to sleep another hour or so before bed. so- I think that eating every 4 hours is not enough for him to take long naps- so today I fed him at 7 when we woke and alittle before his nap and he slept for 2 hours straight!
Since you have read both Tracy Hogg and Ferber, and are a physician, how important/accurate is it to think that a 6 month old should only feed for 30 minutes every 4 hours? Is this something I should transition to? When I pump I only get about 5 ounces- so maybe I am not making enough for this schedule?
Anon – Thanks for posting your comment and reading my blog! First off, I’m not a physician. It’s just sort of a running joke I have with the readers about how I pretend I’m doctor. Sorry for the confusion!
All I give is some advice from my personal experience thus far with mothering, but nothing medically “sound.” I always recommend you speak to your pediatrician as the #1 source.
Now, with that said, I would think that if Baby O is a healthy weight and doesn’t have any special circumstances, he should be transitioning by now to feeding every 4 hours. Around 6 months, babies can start eating the basic solids too (cereal, baby food, etc). You will notice with some extra baby food, the amount of milk he needs will gradually become less and less. Your goal should be to space out his feedings more (at least around every 4 hours) which will be helpful to you too if you’re out running errands, etc.
If he’s nursing every 2 hours like you mention, it sounds like he’s not getting enough milk or he’s become a snacker? You should calculate how much milk he’s drinking overall the whole day. You can find a recommended feeding guide on my blog in the Noob Parents 101 section. 5 ozs may not be enough, but may be too much if it’s every 2 hours or so.
When you start spreading out the feeding times, do so gradually. Maybe tacking on 10-15 minutes from your normal time till eventually you get to around 4 hrs. From what I understand, my goal over here is to start feeding Noob Baby more solids and only 16 oz of milk total a day by age 1. You see what I mean.
As for PU/PD method and shush-pat, that has never worked for us. Noob Baby would have none of that. So I always take what I can from these books and not get bogged down by following each technique if it’s going to frustrate or drain me.
Well, this is just my interpretation of what’s happening. I’d consult with your doc though. Email me if you have more questions! Good luck.
my baby boy wont go to sleep on his own he is only 15 weeks and he is up every 2hrs at night what should i do
Lesley – Is your LO on some sort of schedule or routine yet? Make sure you have some sort of routine each day, with lots of restful naps. Good naps in the day = sleeping better at night. Also, if he's dependent on you rocking to sleep, that may contribute to him waking up at night. He hasn't learned to self-soothe. Also, make sure he's getting enough oz. of milk during the day so he's not hungry either. If the waking is something new, it's possible he's going through a growth spurt or teething. Try giving him a paci during the night and see if he'll fall back to sleep. Good luck!
We recently transitioned to the 4hr EASY and I had a question about your sample schedule/routine…what does LO do during the gap between the catnap from 5-6pm and the 7pm wake & feed…what does LO do from 6-7? An activity?
BTW – Thank you for your awesome blogging; you have been a huge help to us other newbies or "noobies"!
Stacey- Sorry for the delayed response. I've been out of town and just got back. Thanks for reading my blog and grats on being a noob mommy as well! As for your routine, I would use the little time in between catnap and feed/bedtime to do a quiet activity. Maybe just sing lullabies, read some books, snuggle, anything mellow that will help your little one transition into bath/bedtime. Some babies also love a little soothing massage or backrub to help get sleepy too!
Hi there! My son's approaching 4 months now and we've been trying a 3 to 3.5 hour EASY on him for more than a month now. Now he generally sleeps from 730pm to 630am, waking up to feed at 230 or 3am (and sometimes 5am – but not last night, as we put him to sleep earlier, at 7pm instead of 730pm…Wonder if the earlier bedtime had anything to do with it?)
Well, I feed him at 645am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, then "dinner" for him is at 630pm, followed by bath and bedtime (where I top him up with breastmilk before singing a lullaby and putting him into his bed). He's come to expect the 630pm feed and his before-sleep top up, and I guess I shouldn't change something that's working!
The problem we're facing is that his daytime naps are always so short (45min); I always try to wind him down 1h 15 min to 1.5 hrs upon his waking from a nap, since he often also shows signs of tiredness and fussiness. But following the 3.5 hr EASY is impossible IF HE SLEEPS ONLY 45 min! I've often tried shhing him back to sleep when he wakes crying(which is almost always, n kinda with eyes closed and a moody cry) But it rarely works, and it tires me out to be honest.
So if others have experienced short-napping babies…how do u get around this? Right now, my LO takes 3 naps minimum a day (all around 45 min), and cos he naps 1.5 hrs after waking, I have to occupy him for the remainder time (during which he only gets more tired, I believe)…then when it's approaching his feeding time, I usually have to either try n put him down for a short catnap BEFORE I feed him, or just feed him and shortly after, put him down for a nap (N that's not really following EASY anymore, gggrrr)
Any comments?
Tired Babe and Mummy
These E.A.S.Y. routines are so helpful…is there a sample schedule for 9-month-olds and older?
My baby girl had trouble settling back for a nap until I got her to take a paci. She would wake up after 45 minutes, but her cry would be the moody cry with eyes closed mentioned above.) I had to use gripe water (can't live without it) to get her to take the paci. Tiny little drops a few times when she is already tired and she goes right to sleep with her paci while I pat her. She is starting to go right to sleep in her bed with it. I always go in and remove it when she is zonked.
Gripe water (ginger and fennel in water-available anywhere…I get it at New Seasons) works for upset tummies. It is a lifesaver. I keep track of what makes up one "dose" and space it out as needed to get her to take her pacifier. She is starting to take it without it now…
It is also how I got her to take a bottle after weeks of trying. She is ebf but we give her pumped milk at night.
Of course, I sometimes actually need the dose for gas, hiccups, or discomfort. I take it with me everywhere.
Hope that helps!
Can you use this schedule for 9 or 10 month olds? Or is there another E.A.S.Y. Routine for older babies/toddlers?
This schedule works up to/around 9 months. I’d say the difference is that as they hit around 10 months + noobs will eventually drop a nap to about 2 naps a day. Then after 1 yr +, about 1 nap a day. Feeding times will be more similar to adults, 3 regular meals a day of solids after 1 yr with regular whole milk. Hope that helps!
My little boy is 5 months and on a 3hr EASY, which he does very well now after a long time doing annoying short naps (they got better on their own). I think he could now start going 4hrs with just 3 naps, especially as he takes a while to go to sleep for the 4th one and it’s getting shorter…. BUT – at present he only has 5 feeds a day, because I just couldn’t get him to master dreamfeeds. It doesn’t bother him – he doesn’t wake at night and sleeps 7pm – 7am like an angel! But I’m concerned that going to 4hr EASY would mean just 4 breastfeeds a day – is this enough??? I’m reluctant to add a nightfeed as I feel so lucky to have such a good sleeping bubba!
Currently he wakes and feeds at 7am/10am/1pm/4pm and 6pm, bath at 6.30pm, bed at 7pm. I’d like to go to feeds at 7am/11am/3pm and 6pm, to preserve the same bedtime and allow him longer naps and wake-times. But only 4 breastfeeds….eek! He’s not good at staying awake longer than 1.5hrs at a time, so I’m not sure how to arrange things if I keep 5 feeds but go to 3 naps, if you see what I mean.
Any advice?!
Hi Mim- Thanks for posting! Sounds like you have a pretty sweet set up right now. With your noob sleeping 7-7, who can complain?! I’d say don’t even worry about the dream feeds. This is more for those noobs that have trouble getting through those hours at night. It probably is a wise idea to slowly start transitioning your little one to a 4 hour schedule. As he gets older, his belly should be able to take in more and function on the extra calories during each feed. Is his weight healthy? If so, then don’t worry about cutting down a feed to 4. Just remember that you will be increasing the amount at each feeding to make up for it. So he shouldn’t be losing the nutrients in between. I found that moving from a 3 to 4 hour schedule was easiest by going slowly. So tacking on a few extra minutes (5-10) between feedings to space it out a little longer wasn’t too intolerable for Noob Baby. And like I mentioned earlier, he will be a bit hungrier too… so you can up the amount of milk. If he resists to the change, go even slower. Maybe just adding on smaller increments of time in between. Eventually, you’ll be adding in solids to this schedule at around 6+ months, so it’s a good idea to start moving him forward with his feeds
Hope this answered your question. If not, email me and I will try my best!
hello!!! i just finished reading the book. My baby will be 4 months on May 1st. Should i start this easy routine or the one that is for up to 4 months? also, i havent done what the book suggests to do for a few days, to write down the baby’s day so we can understand our baby’s sleep/eating pattern…. should i do this before? cause her days are just so diferent, there are nights that she will sleep from 8pm til about 5:30am, breastfeed and fall back asleep til about 10am and nights that she will wake up around 2am….
very helpful
oh and another thing, can i change the time from 7 to maybe 8:30? cause i have a toddler ay home as well that wakes up at 9 and needs to go to her school.
thanks and i loved your blog
Hi Anon – I’m glad you’ve found my blog and I hope you will stick around
I think if your noob is going to be turning 4 mos. in May, it would be a good idea to start easing her into the 4 mos + routine. You can always start next month of course and just begin with writing down how your/her schedule looks. I think it’s not mandatory, but a really great idea. When I was writing things down, it helped me to identify patterns and sort of evaluate our day at the end of the evening when I had a moment of quiet. You can also start comparing different days, seeing what helps her sleep better, what activities make her restless, etc. Plus, you can look back at this later on..and just revel at the progress and how much “more” sleep you are getting..hehe. As far as the time, being flexible is totally fine. The EASY guide is a loose schedule that you can use as a guideline around your life and baby’s personality. Ours was never identical to the one from the book, but it was a great starting point for me to structure our days more. Lastly, mucho props to you for juggling a toddler and a noob!! I have one toddler-noob who doesn’t let me rest for a second. How do you do it?!
My baby is now 6 months, i would like to start on this schedule, but i also just started her on solids, when do i fit that in this schedule?? since she is still breastfeeding every 3 hours. thanks
Anon–get the Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems book and starting on page 39 is a detailed plan how to get your baby on the 4 hour easy plan. Good luck!