Photo by Peat Bakke
There are so many things I wish I had known right after having Noob Baby. I remember so many people telling me to “sleep when the baby sleeps.”
At the time, it sounded like a no-brainer.
Well when the Noob Baby invasion was finally upon us, all wisdom and logic went out the window. I was so enamored with this 24/7 pooping machine, that when she was asleep, I just ogled and cudded her like a big fat dummy noob! Truth betold, I tried to sleep when she was sleeping, but then this madness descended … and I felt like I had to clean, had to do the laundry, and whatever other domestic task Martha Stewart would be proud of.
I was so go-go-go, that I didn’t realize I could take control of our day and actually start carving out a routine.
I was just … on call. Sure I was keeping logs of when I was feeding her and when she was pooping, but I certainly didn’t realize that her eating, then staring at visitors, and finally napping in her bouncy seat was a baby routine in itself starting to emerge.
After reading Tracy Hogg’s book, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer
In this post, I’ll share what I learned from Hogg’s book about getting a 1-4 month old on an E-A-S-Y routine. Also check out the EASY for 4-9 month olds. And I’ve also created an EASY Cheat Sheet that includes 4 side-by-side schedule samples that range from 4 weeks to 1 year. It’s a great free printable you can keep referencing as your little one gets older!
And one really important note: Take this as a loosely designed routine, but one that you need to adapt and shape to work with your noob. If you get too Type-A psycho on the time slots, you will drive yourself crazy. A-hem… guilty as charged. Trust me when I say that you will probably never have an identical EASY routine. That’s ok. Just try and keep with a predictable E-A-S-Y pattern, and you will be ok! Now breathe…
E is for Eat
Just plain old eatin’ time. Take a look at Hogg’s Feeding Guide for an idea of how much to feed at each age.
A is for Activity
After eating, try to encourage your little one into some activity time before falling asleep. This may be especially hard to do for the super noobie babies; but as they hit the 1-month mark, it’ll be easier to keep them awake for a short time before napping. Activities for newborns can be as basic as cooing, staring at a toy, diaper changes, singing lullabies, bath time, and hanging out with visitors. Just keep it limited — too much activity and you will have an overstimulated noob who wants nothing to do with naptime.
S is for Sleep
Sleep is the precious time when our little ones grow and develop their brains. Naps can range from 20 minutes to 2 hours (after the first few months). Good naps during the day will actually help baby sleep better at night. Contrary to popular belief, keeping your noob up late won’t make her sleep longer! I just pray you don’t have horrid Nap Town mishaps like me!!
Y is for Your time
After baby is asleep, you get sacred time to do whatever you want. I strongly suggest you take a nap and recharge, too. But if your “house” is looking more like “the city dump with upgrades,” then by all means … wash dishes, scrub the spit-up from your clothes, and quickly push the take-out boxes under the couch. Oh yeah, a shower might be called for, eh? Count backwards from 20 (because that’s all the time you have before the noob is up again, seriously.)
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
For the first month, you probably won’t even try to get a routine going, but after you slowly emerge from your zombie-chrysalis, you will be begging for some predictability! Here’s an example from Hogg’s book of what an E.A.S.Y Structured Routine may look like for a 4 wk-old. Heed the words … Be flexible.
Typical E.A.S.Y. Routine for 4 weeks to 4 months
E – 7:00 – Feed
A – 7:45 – Diaper change. Some playing, talking. Keep an eye out for sleepy cues
S – 8:15 – Swaddle and lay baby in crib. May take 15-20 min. to fall asleep.
Y – 8:30 – You nap.
E – 10:00 – Feed
A – 10:45 – See 7:45 above.
S – 11:15 – 2nd morning nap.
Y – 11:30 – Your time.
E – 1:00 – Feed
A – 1:45 – See 7:45 above.
S – 2:15 – Afternoon nap.
Y – 2:30 – Your time.
E – 4:00 – Feed
A – 4:45 – See 7:45 above.
S – 5:15 – Catnap (about 40-45 min)
Y – 5:30 – Your time.
E – 6:00 – 1st Cluster Feed
A – 7:00 – Bath, bedtime ritual
S – 7:15 – Another catnap
Y – 7:30 – You eat dinner.
E – 8:00 – 2nd Cluster Feed
A – None
S – Put baby right back to sleep.
Y – Enjoy your time until the Dream Feed (between 10-11).
This routine assumes baby doesn’t have special needs, isn’t below birthweight, etc. that may require more frequent feedings.
For babies older than 4 months, see Hogg’s EASY for 4-9 months. Don’t forget to print out my free EASY Cheat Sheet to use as a reference guide!
Have you tried this or another routine that works for you? I would love to hear about it.
Want your own copy of The Baby Whisperer’s book? Share the love and buy it here:
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Hi, my little girl is 6 weeks old. She has getting herself into a great morning routine, which is almost identical to the E.A.S.Y steps. The problems start later on in the afternoon. We begun establishing a bedtime routine a few days ago. Bottle at 7, bath at 8 (which she loves – being a water baby!) then bedtime. Shes following this really well. Do u have any suggestions of how I could work around this? She’s a good sleeper so maybe we could try stretching her cat naps into one……….worth a go!
Thanks
Hi Sarah! Thanks for your comment. Not sure what your question is though? You mentioned about how you need suggestions on working around a problem. Can you shoot me an email with your question again?
Sorry did that not make any sense. I’ll try again.
On an afternoon I can never make out what Gracie’s need is. We havent yet worked out what cry signals which. Whether she’s tired, hungry, over tired, wanting to play etc. So I was looking on the internet for some guideance of what kind of afternoon a 6 week old might have, which is when I came across E.A.S.Y. As Gracie’s morning folllows this almost identically, I would like to try and continue it through the rest of the day. Matter is of having already established a bedtime routine. I was just wondering whether u had any advice on how I could follow the EASY steps but also keep the bedtime routine as it is. Maybe just have the five EASY steps, rather than six. Putting the two cat naps together. But then would I have an over tired baby or whatever?
HELLO!! thank you for all your help with establishing a routine. My 13 week old just moved up to 4 oz every 3 hours, should I still wait until the 4th month to move her to the E.A.SY. schedule for 4 hour eat?
i do give her an extra 2 oz at 5:30-6, then we do bath and she does her night time botle about 7-730. I think i will drop that once she goes every 4 hours to eat, what do you think?
Jenna – I think it depends on how much our LO is eating. If she’s chugging down more now and can go a longer stretch without eating (longer than 3 hours) then you could potentially start transitioning her to a 4 hour EASY. I think the idea is that usually at 3 months, their tummies aren’t able to hold that much anyway, so they’ll still get hungry before 4 hours. But, you should experiment and see what makes your daughter happy! Also, you may still have to keep some sort of nighttime bottle just so she can sleep longer at night. Again, play around with that a bit and see what schedule works best for you both!
1st…i love this website!!
I wasnt planning on dropping the nighttime bottle, i meant dropping the cluster feed, but when i do she takes her night time bottle and the wakes up 2 hrs later. It is still the best way i can “fill her up” since she wont take more than 4 oz at a time. the book says i should have dropped the cluster feed….but onthe other hand i dont do the dream feed ( didnt work for us). do you think it is ok? Maybe when she goes to a 4 hr she will not need the cluster and will just take the bedtime bottle. How did you do the 4 hr feed? sis you follow the instructions in the book to get your kid on it?
Thanks for your comment Jenna! Dream feed didn’t work for us either. There are actually quite a few Baby Whisperer techniques that didn’t work with NB (dream feed, shush pat, etc) but I still love her strategies and routines. Anyway, once you get your little one taking more milk during the day (and that also comes with age and stomach capacity), she will start sleeping for longer stretches. At 4 months, I slowly started tacking on a few extra minutes in between feedings till eventually she didn’t fuss when we were feeding every 4 hours. It was a gradual transition stretched about a week long.
Thank you for this article! If I had brought another parenting book into the house, my husband would probably have a conniption. Luckily, I got the gist of the Baby Whisperer book right here and have been doing this routine (with a few tweaks here and there for out little one) for weeks now and it’s made all the difference in the world! The hardest part was getting her to stay awake for a little while after feedings, but once that hurdle was over with, it’s been great. She still has her off-days, like Easter when there was house-hopping, as well as a lot of people for her to deal with. But I’ve found that as long as she has the same bedtime routine, she sleeps just fine and it’s like a reset button for her. Thank you for this!
Thanks for your comment Emily! I also try to stop purchasing all these parenting books. You should see how many books I check out from the library though
I say it’s all in the name of parenting and blog research!
Hi! I have been using the EASY plan and it’s been wonderful but I’m wondering how to get my 7 week old to go from a 2 hour schedule to the recommended 3 hour? She wakes up hungry exactly 2 hours after every daytime feed. Like clockwork…you could set your watch by it. She sleeps really well at night however. Sometimes as much as 7 hours! Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated?
Dominique – Congrats on your noob! And truly, enjoy those 7 hours at night! Most moms would give at least one kidney to have that
The best suggestion for stretching the daytime feeding is to offer a little more milk if you can so she’s getting her tummy fuller. You’ve probably already thought of that, but when they’re still at this young age… there isn’t too much you can do. The reality is they have small tummies that will grow as they get older, but until then, feed when the noob is hungry. Make sure you feed till she’s full and not just till she falls asleep or dozes off. Of course, you don’t want to fill her up so much that she spits up, but you catch my drift. I’d say that you don’t have to get too caught up in the hours if you know that she’s not snacking but eating well each time. Hope that helps! Best to you.
Love your blog! My 11-week old breastfed baby had started lasting about 2.5-3 hours in the day between feeds, and 3.5 hours in the night. However, last 10 days or so, she has gone back to less than 2 hours – day or night! At night, she does one 3.5 hour stretch, but otherwise it’s pretty much 2 hours or even a little less! Any ideas?
Shwe – Thanks for finding my blog! I hope you subscribe as well! As for the change in feeding time. It may be that your LO is going through a growth spurt and needs to eat more. Does she eat more as well as eat more frequently? You can try adjusting so that she is getting more milk at each feeding and perhaps that will compensate for a growth spurt and for the increased hunger. I’d say just experiment a little with that for a week and see if it helps. Good luck!
introducing solids….
I am sure this info is in the book, but i cant seem to find it. how do you keep a schedule when you are feeding solids. we are still on the 3 hr schedule ( she is only 11pounds at 4 months) so i think we are gonna wait another month to try solids ( even though my dr said i could start now)…but i am stressing about her EASY….can you help
Thank you for the E.A.S.Y schedule! I’m following it for the morning and evening part. Currently reading “secrets of the baby whisperer”. =)
Pauline – Thanks for your comment. I hope you find some useful information from the Baby Whisperer. I find her books to be very practical and useful!
Hi Noob Mommy,
Great website! There used to be a baby whisperer forum, but it’s now gone. I’m desperate for some advice. With my first son, I bought the book when he was 8 months and it worked so miraculously well that I swore I would use it on my second baby. Well, my second son is now 2 months and it hasn’t been working so well. Maybe because he’s not ready for pick up / put down yet. I am little confused about the EASY routine. In the book, it said not to cluster feed past 8 weeks unless going through a growth spurt, which means the feed is at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 11. So here I am, trying to put him on a 3 hour routine, but he gets tired after his catnap (wake around 6:00pm) and he has to wait for a whole hour for the next feed (7pm). Is that right?? I tried that a few days, and he was overtired by the time I finished the feed and bath. He woke up in 20 minutes as if he had a power nap and refused to sleep altogether!! I am a little confused with Tracy’s book regarding this. Should I just keep doing it until he “grows out” of it…I mean he should be able to go longer A time as he gets older right? And also, I hate to say it, but with my first born, spending my whole entire day getting him into a good sleeping habit was OK. However, I’m really flummoxed right now juggling with 2 kids’ routines!! Any advice??
Hi Noob Mommy,
I’m glad I stumbled across this blog. I have the Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems Book, but unfortunately haven’t had the time to finish it (as baby came earlier than expected and I am in the midst of the first few weeks at home – aka: “the fog of war.”) I have a 10 day old I’m trying to start on EASY. He was a good sleeper at first, but I think he may be going through a growth spurt now. The thing is, the growth spurt seems to only “happen” at night. He loves to eat and snooze happily during the day. I wake him up to feed him as recommended by my pediatrician (he was 3 weeks early) on the EASY schedule. We haven’t yet instituted the catnap or bath time as he is so out cold he can’t be roused much of the time (and he doesn’t need a bath daily.) At night, however, our little snorfler becomes a fussy hungry hungry hippo of a baby and demands feeding every 2 hours despite an extra tank-up beforehand. What do you think? Is it possible he is just backwards on his circadian rhythm? We have no idea how to adjust this. : /
Thank you in advance!
Hi Infant pwning me
Great name by the way! Sorry to hear you’re getting pwned. I know the feeling … actually, I think I’m still losing this battle at 3 yrs now. You have yourself a little nooborn preemie on your hands, which means that it’s a little too soon to get caught up with the EASY schedule. It’s definitely admirable and intelligent that you have a routine and structure planned, but since he’s still so small and born early, it may be too soon to expect him to stick with anything predicable right now. Newborns also eat a lot in the first month or so. Every 2 hours is definitely not unusual. In a month or so, you can start to revisit the EASY plan but adjust it back for a preemie. If you get a chance, flip through the book for more scheduling and preemie info, because Hogg does address some of those issues in there. Best of luck to you! Congrats on your new family member.
Hello,
Thanx for posting all this info.
I have a few questions:
1) during the day if your baby wakes up before the 3 hour mark do you feed even if they don’t seem hungry or do you play with them until next time slot?
2) my baby will wake up between 5-6am on some days to eat and then goes right back to sleep. To keep her on the schedule do I wake her up at 7am or let her sleep and start schedule from time she wakes up?
3) if I wake her up do I try and feed even if it’s only been 1-2 hours so she can make it till next feed at 10am?
4) what if my baby wakes from nap but doesn’t seem hungry, what do I do? Lately she will get up but only take 1.5-2nd….she is 3.5 months.
Thank you!!!!
Hi Tani – Thanks for posting on my blog. It sounds like with all these questions, the best advice might be to be flexible and adjust to your little one’s needs. Use EASY as a general guideline but make adjustments based on how your little one is responding. The post I did today addressed these same concerns you have because many parents have the same questions! I don’t suggest interrupting sleep unless your baby is underweight (your ped will tell you that). If she’s sleeping well (especially at night) let her be because you will be begging for that sleep time in a few months! I also don’t recommend feeding unless your noob is hungry or it’s around the appropriate feeding time for her age (around every 3-4 hours). If it’s long past 4 hours, then go for it. But if it’s just been an hour, don’t do it … especially if she’s not showing signs of hunger. You may inadvertently train her to be a snacker if you feed her when she doesn’t need it. You can always offer a paci if she needs that sucking time. As for waking at 5-6 am, it’s up to you. You can experiment and see how the early wake time affects her overall schedule and day. I remember we used to feed and go back to sleep and it didn’t affect her morning nap (around 9-10ish) at all. It is typical for younger babies to take an early morning nap soon after her “breakfast.” Hope these suggestions help!
HI! Question- my 11 week old follows the EASY schedule in the morning, however, his naps are never longer than 40-45 min! Any suggestion on how I can increase the time he sleeps? Also, he still often falls asleep immediately after I feed him Usually while I am burping him, he falls asleep. In the morning, it’s hard to get him to do an activity. Again, suggestions??
Also, when you cluster feed, should I be giving a little less milk than normal feeds? (I am exclusively pumping and Bottle feeding)
I have Hogg’s 2nd book, which answers all the questions, but not the first. I’m wondering what she suggests for feedings at night. My first son, I woke every 3 hours during the day and 5 hours at night. He was over 8 lbs, so I wonder if I shouldn’t have been waking him at night? I am due in a month with second son and want to be prepared, but can’t seem to find anything that says to wake a baby at night. Is that because she doesn’t recommend waking at night at all, just feeding when baby wakes?
Rebekah – If your little one is at a healthy weight and gaining well, then there isn’t really a need to wake him at night if he’s full and happy. That’s in my opinion of course. If he’s getting enough to eat during the day and your check ups with the ped are good, I’d say to enjoy your night time rest. Congrats on noob #2!
Hi there! I am so thankful to have found your site. I am trying to implement a routine for my almost 4week old daughter. For the past four weeks (am I too late) she has done remarkably well with sleeping and nursing, however I feel like it is time to get into a groove. Right now my daughter nurses around 8:15/8:30pm and in bed and asleep by 9:30 (with a few times of shhhhing and patting) and then wakes around 1:30/2:30 am and then not again until around 6:30am. I feel extremely blessed to have her doing so well at night- that was her idea so I have rolled with it. She seems to be on more of a 4 hour nursing schedule and seems to need her nap around 1 hour and 15 min of waking (watching her cues). She then nurses around 10:30am and then again around 2:30 or 3. Often times she sleeps longer in these nap periods- should I wake her to keep her on this routine? As for her evenings, she nurses around 6:15 and then around 8:15. she is often fussy during this 2 hour span. Should I have her cat nap and then wake her at the 8:00 feeding if she sleeps longer? I don’t feel like I need the dream feed. I tried it one night and it seem to create more problems- she was gassy because she was so asleep for the feed that I could barely keep her head up to burp her. Since she is doing so well at night…is it ok to skip the dream feed? Can you talk a little more about what is “ok” habit wise for putting them down in their crib “awake?” I have been using the 4S’s from Happiest Baby on the Block and it seems to work very well for her. I have tried Baby Wise with my first child and almost had to burn that book- I can only let them cry for so long. Thank you for your advice and thoughts in advance.
Hi Maddy! It sounds like things are going really great with your routine! As long as your ped has cleared your little one with healthy weight gain, then the longer stretches may be fine for now. Obviously, if she’s not gaining enough weight, then you probably will have to wake her up from her naps and make sure she’s eating at least every 3 hours or so. Like I said, if things are going well and she seems happy, you should be relieved. You don’t need to wake her up for the dream feed if it isn’t helping much anyway. Honestly, the dream feed didn’t do much for us either. As far as habits go, that’s a tricky one. Yes, in the long run the 4S’s could develop into sleep crutches (needing to be rocked or need a pacifier), but if that works now and you are ok with breaking those habits later – get your sleep and enjoy that now. If the idea of breaking those habits later freaks you out, then you will need to start putting her down semi-awake now and let her cry *a little. According to Ferber, you shouldn’t do any CIO until 5 months of age. For me, I needed that sleep so badly I was willing to rock NB until about 5 months, at which point we called it quits for the sake of our backs! Good luck!
I just found out about the baby whisperer book and am going to order it today. My daughter is five weeks tomorrow and we are having the hardest time getting her to sleep at night. Last night I didn’t get to sleep at all until about 4am. I am starting to worry about how I am going to go back to work next month. She does not want to be put down. I can feed her, burp her, change her, swaddle her, give her a paci, lay her down and she screams until I pick her back up. I tried letting her cry for a few minutes but it doesn’t seem to do any good so then I end up picking her back up and in the end she ends up sleeping with us which I really don’t like because I am afraid she will get rolled on.
Do you have any recommendations on how to lay her down in her own bed at this age? Thanks!
Nicolle – I have to be honest, we totally didn’t know what we were doing the first few months with Noob Baby. She refused to sleep in her bassinet and crib, so she ended up sleeping in her bouncy seat and swing for the first couple months. I thought she’d be a hunchback. Does your LO enjoy the rocking motion? Does she like tight spaces like her bouncy or car seat? Does she prefer to be propped at an incline? If she really fusses a lot (particularly after a feeding) and doesn’t want to lay down, it may be reflux. But it could be that she just wants to be held tight and cuddled (like the womb feeling). Continue with the swaddling and paci, use white noise if that soothes her … and last resort … consider rocking *a wee bit*. As Dr. Karp says, the 5′s is what newborns really need and are accustomed to. You can be a hard ass and let her cry a bit or you can accept that she’s still young and you’ll have the willpower to break her of any bad habits in a few months. Sorry it’s not the most “prudent” advice, but I strongly feel that the first couple months are all about trial and error and lack of sleep. I personally don’t believe in cry it out until at least 4-5 months age. Good luck!!
Hi Nicolle,
We had the same problem(s) with our now 7 month old daughter. She would sleep happily between us in the big bed but would scream bloody murder when put in her own crib. We tried many things (letting her sleep in her pram, putting a hot water bottle in her crib, swaddling). Eventually the thing that saved us all from going insane was a co-sleeper. This is a crib or cot with only 3 sides which you can attach to your own bed. Our little madam slept in there happily as she was always close to me and yet she had her own space. Brilliant for night feeds if you are breastfeeding as well. And the ideal way to ‘train’ your baby to sleep in her own bed before actually moving her further away.
It may not work for you but thought I would suggest it!
Great site!
I read the secrets of the baby whisperer months before my little one arrived. I read everything I could on getting a baby to sleep in anticipation of the sleepless nights, then got given the sleepiest baby in the world! She is now 10 weeks old, and does the EASY routine pretty well. I have just started her on formula though, and now I’m confused as to when to do the feeds. The tin says she should have 5 feeds a day, but on EASY and breastmilk she’s been having 6 or 7. We normally do 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 6pm, 11pm and usually 3am, although she has slept through the night before. My other query, is how long she should be awake for. It says that you can expect your baby to take up to 20 minutes to fall asleep, but Danica can often take 20 seconds and she’s gone. That then means that she’s often sleeping for 2 hours between feeds. She tends to finish a bottle in about 15 mins, then I cannot keep her awake longer than an hour before she gets grumpy, telling me she’s tired. Essentially that means that she is only awake for 4 – 5 hours max at 2 months old. Is this okay?
Hi Abby – It sounds like you have the EASY routine down pretty good! You’ve got consistency and predictability, which is great! The 3-hour EASY is working well for you. I’d say that things sound great and the fact that she’s eating well and then sleeping well is wonderful. Don’t worry about keeping her awake. You certainly don’t want to keep her up if she’s becoming overtired and grouchy. That would make things worse for her. Congrats on your noob!
Hi, I’ve just started doing the EASY routine for my 6 week old but have a couple of questions…
Should you wake them if their day naps go over 2 hours?
Should I wake him to feed after the catnap (after bath time) to give him his final feed?
Do dream feeds still work if he wakes?
He wakes every 2 hours in the night but only has 5-8mins (I’m breastfeeding)?
Any advice would be much appreciated. Love your website, always reading it during the night feeds!
Hi Lucy! Congrats on your noob
Waking from a nap is up to you, I’d say 2-3 hours is fine, but it’s up to your LO and how he does after the nap. Go with your instinct. A little top off before bed is fine also, and the dream feed is based on the idea that he sleeps through it and goes straight back to bed afterward. For us, the dream feed wasn’t really necessary. Waking every 2-3 hours at this age is totally normal. Once you have more of a routine down (around 3 months or so), then you may find that 2 hour wake up stretching out even further. Good luck!
Hi! I’m trying to follow easy but having some problems and questions. Please help! I know I sound dramatic but I have no other place to turn as my doc doesn’t teach easy and I’m really focused on getting this right, because I need to sleep! I’m doing the routine but without being strict on the clock. She’s such a little person with her own ideas on when and for how long to sleep,
Question: I’ve been putting the LO in the crib every day at the same time, around 45 min to an hour and 15 min after her last nap (around 830 or 9 usually) but she has not been sleeping soundly for an horus. I’ll have to stand by by her crib and keep the pacifier in her mouth, and put it back in case it falls out. She has to be swaddled for the naps when I try to put her down. She’s in a great smiley mood with no yawning. It usually takes 20 minutes and sometimes shell wake again, sometimes she wont. What ends up happening is she wakes up an hour before her next meal so it’s more like Easyae.. We have activity before she is hungry ( usually about every 3 to 4 hours. Should I feed her after she wakes up even if she’s not hungry or is easyae fine? I’m putting her down for her first nap before she gets overtired but sometimes it feels like she us not tired at all.
Q2: do you wake them up from their naps if they sleep to long? She loves to take a nap at 1130 or 12 for 3 even 4 hours. Should I wake her to feed her or feed her whenever she wakes up?
Q3: bedtime routine, if I feed her at 7. Then wait 30 min to bathe her, play and then put her to bed at 8 or 8:30, should I wake her to feed her at 10 or 11am? Wha time should she sleep until? She she sleep right after bath?
Q4: how do I get her to not wake up for the 4am feeding? She sleeps from 10 to 3 or 4 usually.
Thanks!!!! I know, lots of questions.
Q2:
Hi Katya – I’m going to email you directly since this is a lengthy one
Hi! Love your site!
So, my son is 8wks and we’ve gotten into the horrible habit if him sleeping only on my chest or in the baby Bjorn. (always said I’d never do that!) Anyway, my husband and older son are going to be gone for a few days so I am going to try the baby whisperer techniques to get the lo to sleep in his crib. I have just a couple questions that I felt weren’t clear in the book:
1. Right now he wakes every 3-4 hours at night to ear as long as I’m holding him. If I lay him down he may last 20 mins. How will I know when to just pick him up to calm him and when to feed him at night?
2. My older son attends a special school that is an hour round trip away. Little brother hates being in the car more than 15-20 minutes. He ends up screaming and getting overtired by the time we get home. It really messes with the EASY schedule too since we are in the car 8:30-9:30 and 1:30-2:30. Then when we get home in the afternoon, I have big brother to deal with too (he’s loud too…keeps lo awake!) any suggestions? LO will not sleep in the car unless he screams himself to exhaustion.
Julie- This is a good time to get your little one slowly transitioned to a 3-hour EASY routine. If he’s eating every 2-3 hours during the day, it sounds like he’s right on track. If he’s waking up a lot in the evening, then he may be having some other soothing issues or discomfort. Does he have any problem with reflux? I ask because you mention that he sleeps well being held up but not laying down. If this is the case, then you’ll want to look into some solutions for infant reflux/GERD. Make sure you continue to swaddle him, use some white noise and a paci too. When you feed him at night, if he just snacks a little then falls asleep until you put him down, then he’s probably not crying because he’s hungry. At this early age, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with some extra soothing techniques so that you can get some rest too. You definitely don’t want to be trapped in a situation where you’re holding him to bed every night! You need your sleep. About the school commute, it sounds like it’s a difficult battle and I feel for you. I’m surprised the little guy isn’t able to fall asleep on such a long drive. I’m sure it’s probably during his naptime too. I don’t have much help in that respect, except maybe to give him a paci before the trip, have the car mirror so he can see himself, play some relaxing music (Baby Einstein lullabies, Raffi, etc.) If he sleeps better on a full belly, perhaps feeding him before the car ride may help? Just want to make sure he won’t be spit up with the jostle of the car. I wish I could help more, but perhaps some other moms will have some suggestions for you here. Good luck!
Thank you for your suggestions! I’ve been reading the BW books, and we’ve gotten the night thing figured out, sort of. He is sleeping in his crib, but still wakes every 2-3 hours to feed (he’s 10 weeks now.) So, I’m thinking I need to feed him a bit more during the day. The carseat is still a frustrating struggle. I just feel so bad for the little guy. He’s just beside himself by the time we get home. If you think of anything else, please let me know! Thanks!
Okay, I’m trying this easy method (my son is 2 months old now) and its not as easy as i thought lol. morning starts out great, but after the first nap it just goes downhill. First off, my son NEVER takes a nap longer than 30 minutes, and he wakes up cranky! I even lay him down awake for him to fall asleep on his own (he actually does this excellently, i don’t even need to help him) but he wakes up crying 30 minutes later. so once he’s up, and mad because he didn’t sleep enough. I will try to get him to go back to sleep but it doesn’t work, so i just rock with him on my chest until he stops crying and snoozes again….this goes on every day. He sleeps great in his crib tho! he can sleep at an 8 hour span without even sturring. how do I get him to nap longer in his crib? I’ve let him fuss a little on his own, but he just wakes himself up more, and I’ve blocked out the sun and have white noise going, but nothing works, and he just cries all day long if he doesn’t sleep for an hour or more at a time (which is never).
One other problem I have, which i think is more a pediatrician concern, but after his first morning bottle, he is not really interested in eating anymore. Every time he cries after its been 3 or even 4 hours I will offer him a bottle, but he really doesn’t want too much to do with it. in the morning he can suck down 7 ounces like its nothing, but after that he takes one, maybe two ounces and he’s done. I more or less have to force another 1 to 2 ounces into him after that. He’s gaining weight great! (he weighs 14 lbs already; he was 9 lb 1 oz at birth) but if i went with his cues to eat, I feel like he would never eat! (one time I let him go 5 hours and he still didn’t get too hungry)…plz tell me your thoughts I’m struggling and I need all the advice I can get
I mean he sleeps at night in his crib great. during the day he doesn’t sleep good anywhere unless its on my chest.
Hi Crystal – It sounds like the 8hr night time stretches is something you should be really appreciating! That is very unusual at this age and any sleep-deprived mom would be jealous. As for naps, we always had difficulty getting NB to sleep longer than 40 minutes. It was the evil 40-minute nap that drove me up the wall. I had no solution for it, unfortunately, and I tried all the techniques suggested in various parenting books. For us, the cure finally came after we sleep trained her at 5-6 months. How long does he snooze for if you rock him? At 2 months, it’s still hard to say what kind of sleep pattern is going to develop with your little one. Within a month or two, things should be settling into more of a routine and you can reevaluate the naps. As for the feeding issue, I’d say you should definitely direct that question to your Ped. It’s great that he’s gaining weight steadily and healthy! But his lack of interest in eating is very unique! If you get an answer, please come back here and let us know what the ped says. I’m very curious!
Hi. Love your website-super helpful! I too am following the easy schedule for my 5 week old boy. He is doing great and eating every 3 hours during the day and usually going 6 hours after the last cluster feed at night (waking about 3 am to feed). However, the dream feeds don’t seem to work for us, so we have just been sticking to doing two cluster feeds at night. I know the book recommends transitioning to no cluster feeds at 8 weeks…any suggestions on how to successfully do this?? Since the dream feed doesn’t work for us I am thinking that just stopping the cluster feeding is not going to work and he will start waking up again more frequently during the night. But I would love to not have to do the cluster feeds every night. Any suggestions on how to stop the cluster feeds or any of your own experience with this would be appreciated! Thanks
Lauren – Cluster feeding and dream feeds (particularly) didn’t really have much effect on NB. Even after she had her DF, she would still wake up a few hours later, so we quickly dropped that part of our routine. I’m thinking that you may be able to continue cluster feeding a little after 8 weeks with the intent of transitioning off of it by 3 months so that he can be on a 3-hr EASY schedule. That should be your near-future goal (3-hr EASY) so that his eating will be more regular and stretched out during the day. So in the meantime, you can continue for a while longer or start dropping a cluster feed and see what happens. It’s always an experiment, and just when you think you’ve got everything figured out… they go through a growth spurt and throw everything out the window! In the long run, you don’t really need the cluster feed anyway because their little tummies are slowly starting to hold more calories between feedings anyway. Good luck!
Having trouble with starting this routine. My main concern is “E” atm. Although there are many other challenges to tackle afterwards. My son refused nursing a few weeks ago. Since then he has been bottle/formula-feeding. I can only get him to eat 2 oz most of the time. Sometimes he’ll drink less, sometime he’ll want more and I’ll have to prepare another and by then, he doesn’t want to eat anymore although he continues to suck his hands. I am wondering how I can create a schedule with this issue! He will not eat enough to let himself have activity and then eventually sleep. He’ll want to eat so many times through 2 hours, most of which is wasted…. I don’t know what to do besides let him cry it out (which I really do not want to do) to get him on a schedule….
Marissa – How old is your son?
My baby is currently a month old. He eats 2 oz every 2hours. I wish he would sleep longer at night but he only gets about 2-2.5 hours before he wakes for a feeding. How can I adjust this schedule and use dreamfeeding to help him sleep longer? It seems the dreamfeeding times are his normal times for a feeding (every 2 hours). If he eats more than 2 oz, he always spits up. I’m confused about the amount to give as well. If he normally eats 2 oz, lets say at 7pm, after a bath do I feed him .5 oz, 1 oz or another 2 oz an hour later? Any help would be great since I’m so confused, I’m just a mom who would love to see my baby sleep longer than 2 hours each night.
Hello!
I just stumbled across your blog looking for 3-hour schedules for my 7-week old. It is exactly what I was looking for! I do have some questions that I would love to get your take on (please excuse me if this information is already in a post of a comment!).
My sweet son hasn’t slept in his crib yet. He sleeps in the pack and play in our room. This was completely our doing as we were paranoid first parents and didn’t want to take our eyes off him for the first few weeks…now, he has no interest being in his crib. Also, he has a hard time going to sleep unless we are walking him around…again, our doing. Just as Tracey Hogg says in BW, parents get tired of doing this as soon as their backs ache. Well, we are at that point.
I have read BW a few times now, and I am still not 100% sure how to break him of these habits we have set up for him: (1) not sleeping in his crib or actually anywhere we aren’t, and (2) how to get him to settle down on his own. He goes CRAZY when he gets too tired as many children do, and if I could put him down somewhere after he has his first yawn, our household would be so much happier! He sleeps very well (1 – 2 hour naps and 4 to 5 hour stretches at night) whenhe finally gets to sleep.
We are now stretching his feedings to 3 hours (he is 100% breastfed), and he is adapting just fine. We have been so lucky with breastfeeding, but the sleeping (especially napping) is killing us.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
I am struggling with the 4pm schedule. my little one does very well generally with the routine through the day and night, and is nicely stretching hours through the night for longer periods.. I wake him at 4pm for a feed, then there is no chance of getting him back to sleep for a catnap before the bed/ bath time routine arrives, he simply wont settle.. so he stays awake until his bath, last feed and bed for 7pm, when I am sure he must be over tired, without the nap.. any suggestions??? help!!
Annie – I can see that if he’s getting a nice restful nap in all the way till 4pm, perhaps your little guy won’t be ready for another catnip around 5ish. Does he actually seem overtired at 7pm? You can always scoot your schedule up a little bit and shoot for an earlier bedtime if that’s the case. Otherwise, he might be so rested around 4 that you can just keep your activities nice and mellow, earlier bedtime routime, and early bedtime, then possibly a dream feed later on. Play around with your schedule and see which works best for both of you. You don’t have to stick to EASY so rigidly if he’s happy and rested. Those are just guidelines. Good luck!
My 13 week old is already on the 4 hour EASY schedule and she is doing great. I know in the next few months she will be able to stay awake longer…… WHen this happens do I keep her naps at 1 1/2 – 2 hours and then just extend her to a longer time between feeds (say 5 hours) or does she just stay on the 4-hour routine but her awake time is just 2- 2 1/2 hours and her sleep/nap time decreases? Does this make sense?
Alexis- As they get older, their in between feeding times will stretch out longer until, of course, they are basically eating at the same times as adults (breakfast, lunch, dinner with snack times scattered between) – around 1+ years. At this point, I wouldn’t go to far past 4 or 5 hours between feeding because your daughter is still growing quickly. I would ask her pediatrician next time about feeding and also confirm that she’s gaining weight at a healthy rate. If all is ok, then you can continue with the 4-5 hour schedule based on what she needs. You’ll notice that with intermittent growth spurts, sometimes they’ll want to eat A LOT and FREQUENTLY, and other times they’re just on a regular routine. Again, I wouldn’t decrease her sleep/nap time. If she is napping and sleeping well (very important for their brain development), relish that time and don’t stress yourself out
You can continue to use the 4-hour EASY as your guide with tweaks based on your own experience until about 6 months when she starts some solids. Good luck!
Ok so I will just keep her on the 4-hour EASY with about 2 hours wake time and then 2 hours of naptime until at least 6-7 months correct?
Yes, she is gaining weight excellent. I bought a baby scale at 4 weeks and I weigh her before and after each feed to log her intake and weight. She is now at 16 weeks and is one pound away from doubling her birth weight. :-)
Thanks for your help and for creating this site, sometimes I feel like I will know when it is time to stretch out her feeds but sometimes I get so many opinions from family members….some who think i should be keeping her up longer each month and others who think that she should feed and sleep whenever, wherever….
I love the structure of EASY and we follow the Baby Whisperer for feeding and the Ferber method for sleeping (although she never really cries, she just fusses/whines). I love that you have resources for both on your site.
So I have put my LO on a schedule using the easy routine. I love it. I get a lot of slack from people because I wake my baby to feed him on the schedule. Should I be doing this? Or should I let him sleep as long as he wants? That is what I was doing before and it was driving me crazy because I didn’t know if I was coming or going. My LO is thriving according to the doctor. He is 10 weeks old and still gets up once at night to feed but before I put him on a schedule and woke him he was getting up multiple times at night.
New Mom – Congratulations for finding a schedule that works for you! If you are happy and your LO is happy on this schedule, who cares what the other moms think?! There are always going to be nay-sayers and people who think they know how to parent your child. Ok, with that said… if your LO is sleeping well through the night and gaining weight healthily, then you may want to relax and let him sleep longer (and you can sleep at night too!). But, if you think that messes up his schedule during the day for whatever reason, then it just might not be worth it for you and your peace of mind. Again, it’s all a matter of what your personal preference is and what type of schedule he thrives in the most. Also, you can have a routine even with him sleeping for a good chunk of time. Both the 3 and 4 Hour EASY routines allow for a long nap time. Is he going way beyond 1-2 hour naps?
Hello – can you give me some advice on getting my 11 week old baby to sleep during the day? I’ve only been able to get him to sleep during the day in the buggy or the car and both of these don’t seem to be working anymore and I’ m worried that he’s now only getting a couple of hours sleep a day. He seems to fight sleep and cries alot. Do you have any suggestions for good, solid sleep during the day? I have been following a routine but he has only followed it when in the buggy/car, and refuses to sleep in his cot. Thank you!
I followed a very loose eat-play-sleep routine with my first, and decided to be very loose and on-demand with my new baby, at least until she’s 3 months. Well, she’s approaching that, and I’m craving some kind of routine. We have no structure, and her naps and bedtime are all over the place. An issue we’re having is that she’s started taking very short naps (she had been doing catnaps morning and afternoon, with a 2-3 hour nap mid-day). Also, she’s ready for bed very, very early. (And I know babies to like an early bedtime, but this is really early.) Some nights it’s anywhere from 4:30-5:30, although we’ve had later bedtimes as well. Those early nights, we haven’t been able to get her ready or establish any kind of bedtime routine, because we’re in the middle of dinner and taking care of our oldest child. When these “catnaps” turn into the long stretch of sleep, should we wake her and get a more reasonable bedtime (and so she can get in another feeding and not have her last bottle in the afternoon)? I tried that a couple times, but she was so incredibly fussy and would not eat (she’s very business and will not eat when she wants to sleep — no nursing or bottle ’til drowsy for us). We ultimately had to put her right back down. I’ve even tried keeping this nap in the living room w/ activity, but she’ll still want to start her long stretch. Any advice?? I’m sure this will all change as she gets older and as spring arrives (and it’s not dark at 4:30), but right now we’re struggling.
Traci- That’s a tricky predicament, and it sounds like you have a good instinct and previous experience warning you that those late afternoon catnaps may be encroaching on her night time sleep. My instinct (and I’m not a doctor) is the same as yours. I think if her late afternoon (4:30-5:30) nap is going into 7 pm/bedtime, you should try and rouse her. Perhaps you can take a gradual approach over the span of a week or so. Wake her a little earlier each time so that she gets used to it. But it does seem like a good idea that she is separating her naps from bedtime and squeezing in the time for dinner. According to the Baby Whisperer’s 3-HR EASY, shoot for naps around 8:30 am/11:30/2:30/5 or 6. Maybe that extra 2:30 nap is one that she’s missing and making her sleep longer in the evening?
Let me start off by saying I love this Blog!!!! I have a couple of questions. My son is 2.5months and I just started him on this schedule. I wish that I would have know about it before. I used to feed him to sleep so I was worried about how he would transition…he has done great. With every nap time he goes to sleep awake, but here is question number 1….I always give him his binkie to fall asleep, is that a bad thing to do? the only time that he seems to need his binkie is when he is sleeping cause he is such a happy kiddo. My next question is that I have done this routine for 2 days now and he isn’t sleeping any longer at night. He is still up every 2-3hrs to eat. I have done the dream feeding and followed the schedule almost exactly. What do I do when he wakes up at 12:30 to eat…do I feed him or let him CIO. Thank you so much for being so helpfu.. You can even email me if you would like too. ksommers14@ymail.com
Katie- The binkie is not a problem. It does prove to be a great soothing device for our little ones. It’s also been linked to a reduced rate of SIDS, which is interesting! Since your LO is only 2.5 months, I would say it is much to soon to start CIO. CIO should be started around 5-6 months, once baby’s belly is big enough to hold more nutrients through the night. Right now, a 2-3 hour feeding schedule is very normal, albeit quiet inconvenient during the middle of the night. My experience is that EASY is a great guideline, but if you expect everything to go exactly as she has it written, you may set yourself up for failure. Be flexible, know that things will get better in a couple months, and if not… then you can consider CIO training. Good luck!
hi. I am using easy with my 3 month old and it works great. I did have to tweak a bit BC she tends to eat every 2 1/2 hrs. I am having trouble with bedtime though. I have a 21 month old as well. I feed her @ 5:15, put her in bath after @5:45, let her play while i feed baby, then i bathe baby, followed by joint story time and rocking. Both fall asleep but as soon as i leave toddlers Room. And put baby in bassinet in my room she is wide awake until her next cluster feed around 8:30 and sometimes
until 10 after feeding. Its a bit tricky BC i have two and do both at same time. I really need help with getting 3 month old to stay asleep between 7:30-10.
She is very fussy and I have to hold her the whole time
this doesn’t leave much time for cleaning up and shower
. Thank u
Hi there. I have a 4 month old who is on the 3 hour EASY schedule and is exclusively breastfed. I have been having trouble lately getting him to go back to sleep early morning. in the evening he eats at 6pm followed by a bath and then falls asleep until his next BF at 11pm. He then sleeps until 2:30 or 3am but will not sleep for a long stretch after this feed. He wakes up every 1 to 2 hours. Any ideas on what I could do to encourage better sleep until 7am?
Kellie – Not sure if your little one uses a paci or still enjoys being swaddled. White noise may also be helpful still. I do remember a 4 month growth spurt and period of more frequent waking. Hopefully your little one will get over the hump. If the more frequent wakings is something new, it could also be a developmental milestone, teething, etc. Keep with a regular routine and be consistent with what you were doing before that encouraged good sleep. If it’s just a phase, growth spurt, and not illness… then it may be get better again.
Kellie – Not sure if your little one uses a paci or still enjoys being swaddled. White noise may also be helpful still. I do remember a 4 month growth spurt and period of more frequent waking. Hopefully your little one will get over the hump. If the more frequent wakings is something new, it could also be a developmental milestone, teething, etc. Keep with a regular routine and be consistent with what you were doing before that encouraged good sleep. If it’s just a phase, growth spurt, and not illness… then it may get better again.
Hey there noob mommy
kudos on the site! I’m going to try E-A-S-Y and see if our LO likes it any better than his current routine….he’s currently 2 months old we just beat c*l*c *shudders* I’ve had him on a 4h schedual and he’s been great except everytime he hits a growth spurt It takes a good week n a half to get him readjusted; so i’m hoping maybe the 3h feeds and additional naps will help…..my question is everytime he feeds (like as soon as he gets the nipple in his mouth) he falls asleep….he still eats slowly but the E-A-S-Y method says not to let them sleep during/ following a feed? Is this important? How do I get him to stop sleep-eating? Thanks!!!
Smiling – Yes, you wanna try and keep your LO awake during feedings so he stays awake to get the fatty hindmilk (which will fill up his belly and not just make him drowsy). If you don’t, he’ll only get his “appetizer course” the foremilk and eventually wake up hungry very soon after. This pattern may turn him into a snacker, which is disruptive to scheduling and sleep overall. If you can, try to keep him engaged during feeding, maybe talking to him, sitting him more upright, or rolling his palm (Baby Whisperer doesn’t recommend tickling feet). Also, Dr. Sears suggests you feed them until you see them get drowsy, then sit him up, burp him, and switch breasts. When he gets sleepy again, do the same thing and switch back to the first breast. I haven’t tried this technique, but it may help him from falling asleep. Good luck!
hi
i should of mentioned he’s on formula… he’ll still finish his bottle while he sleeps (in fact its less of a fight if he’s asleep) he just takes longer to finish it 
perhaps where he is eating his whole serving; and theres no difference in the ‘milk’ consistancy this doesnt apply to us? I’m having a terrible time getting him back on a daytime schedual as well (he’s still generally great at night thank goodness 
) he wants to eat on average every 2 hours – would this be normal for a growth spurt or is there something else I should be doing? And how do I know when a growth spurt is over and he doesn’t need to be feed so often anymore? or for future reference once he’s back on a schedual how can one tell when an ‘unschedualled growth spurt’ is coming, versus just a fussy spell – ie when should i start feeding him more often and when should i just let him CIO until his next schedualled feed? sorry for all the questions; i’m really new at this!! Thanks for your help 
Help. my 10 week old is going 4 hours between feeds is waking at 2am for a feed and wakes again at 4am. at my wits end so tired. i notice he should be on the 3 hour easy but he goes 4 hours. not sure what to do. he takes between 6 and 5 oz. im stuck!
Hi!
If baby is sleeping longer than 45min during catnap do you wake them? Also, if my baby gets tired after 30 min of activity how do you go out and about and run wrrands, see girlfriends, go to dinner etc…?
Thank you-Amy
P.S. thank you for this website! You rock!
I have my lo in a routine but she has her feed at 8pm and then sleeps from 9 ish till 3. Then feeds at 3 and sleeps till seven . Can I change this by adding a dream feed at night so she sleeps till 7 instead of waking at three or am I best stick with this till she is being weaned ?
I tried it last night and she fed at 11 then woke at 2 I gave her a dummy and she grissled till 3 then screamed till I fed her ! I don’t want her to expect a feed at 11 and 3 . What should I do as the sleep from 9-3 is great and I don’t want to risk losing it ?
Samantha – Not sure how old your LO is. It depends on her age and if she is even capable of sleeping for that long of a stretch yet?
Hi, you have a very helpful site. I will try follow this plan, just a few questions with my 7 week mold, he sleeps for about three hours and is awake for 3. We have our morning and afternoon naps but he wont nap during the evening, i know its not meant to be for long but git takes alot of effort to put him down and hit doesnt feel like he gets enough rest. How long could it take to establish, is it vital to have 2 catnaps or can hi do 1 put together, it has easier 3 hourly he sleeps longer just doesnt settle hin the evening :/
Jenny – I would say the two catnaps are not essential … combining into one that isn’t too late in the evening may be sufficient as long as your LO doesn’t seem overtired. Overtired = Worse nighttime sleep. At 3 months old or so, you can start shifting towards a predictable routine. Before then, it’s really hard to have any routine at all.
I need to say THANK YOU for posting this! I stumbled across this post (and your blog…more on that in a sec) one night around 3am while I was doing my usual Googling “how to get your baby to sleep more” on my iPhone while I nursed my own Noob for what felt like the 25th time that night. We started the EASY schedule a few days ago and HOLY LORD has it made a huge difference! I am a teacher as well, and I live and die by routine and predictability (as do kids, IMO). I hated the feeling of being totally helpless as to what the heck his deal was when he was screaming bloody murder for the 40 minute car ride home from the winery (true story). Your blog along with Troublesome Tots’ blog showed me the light! Thank you for saving my sanity!
On another note, I’m now an official Noob Mommy fan. Your blog is hilarious and informative, two things I love. I feel like I could have written half the things you say (minus the wisdom from experience though). Thanks so much!
Nicole – Thanks so much for your comments! So glad you found my blog. Congrats on your new little one and joining the noob parents club
Nicole – So glad you stumbled upon my blog and I hope you’ll continue to subscribe/read! Congrats on your new little one and hopefully you are learning the ropes of being a noob parent
I was successful following the EASY plan with #2 as he was a great sleeper from day one. #2 doesn’t sleep more than 30 mins for nap how do you adjust feeding on 2-3 schedule and sleeping to fit it together smoothly?
I could handle the few adjustments made with #1 but this little one is throwing me for a loop optimal schedule:
730/8 wake-feed
Wake time 30/40 min
Up 30 min after wake time
Rinse repeat etc….
How do you adjust? just keep up for optimal WT then put back down for another 30 min until we get closer to the 3 mark? think we are on a 2 schedule at times since know what to d since she sleep nd it is tough to get her down with out nursing to sleep
LO is 8 weeks and sleeps well at night 730 feed/bed time, wake for DF 1030ish and only wakes 1-2 before 730/8.
I just don’t know what do to during the day there is no “Y” since by the time she is down awake again. And with a 2 yo at home the only for me is during his nap but never down long enough to shower let aone nap. ugh……..
Libby – 2-3 months is that difficult period where you don’t really want to be putting them in a swing and having them accustomed to rocking to sleep, but at the same time… they are still young enough where they may need that to really help fall asleep. Are you using other methods to help with soothing? Continuing to swaddle, use a pacifier, have white noise etc. are also great mood-setters. I know how difficult it is to keep an EASY routine or any routine for that matter when your LO is basically catnapping the whole day. Noob Baby was an infamous 40 minute napper until she went through sleep training at 6 months. My suggestions are to keep as much of a consistent routine as you can so that she knows (and you know) what her sleep cues/times are. Remember to set the mood, even for naps! I’m sure this is really difficult with a 2-yo-old at home … I’ll be experiencing this in another month! But, it’s probably easy to just put her down and say, “NAPTIME!” when you’re preoccupied. Set the mood – wind down, dim the lights, read a quiet book, sing a lullaby or have some white noise, swaddle, etc. and that may also help ease into the naptimes. Good luck!
Thank you for the reply. my concern is by keeping to a 3 schedule and given her sleep routine we end up with this:
745f/8 wake feed
9 nap (we get a decent one here 1)
10 wake
11 nap but this gets us to her feed
Since she does about 30/45 min could let her sleep and feed after or feed her but that leads to a nursed induced sleep. we then follow a 30 min sleep 1 wake which is tolerable. we follow the same routine albeit shorter than w #1 but w him running around have to get her down and keep him out of trouble she falls asleep within minutes.
Do you follow a cluster feed? if so how long does a babe do it? #2 is 21 weeks ow and we an only get a 3 hour routine all day long a few days a week. usually by 4pm she switches to a 2/2.5 routine.
Should put her down prior to her feeding when we get close? am torn if put her down know l’ll only get 30 min but if feed may get 30- an hour……
Not sure how to modify…
Hi there! I tried to cluster feed my 7 weeks old baby at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm (we would want him to sleep after the 8pm feed). But he is not keen on the 6pm feed and only drank 50ml / 2 oz (he is on 4 oz). Questions (1): Does this mean that cluster feeding is not for him, (2) does baby has to finish the whole bottle (4 oz) when cluster feeding? Thanks!
Angela – It’s very likely cluster feeding isn’t for him… but also, he may not eat that much at the cluster feed either. I’d play by ear and see if it even helps him sleep longer. If not, it may not be worth keeping it around. NB never took on to cluster feeds or dream feeds, so don’t stress if it isn’t for him.
You mention that shush pay didn’t work for you, what did you do from 0 – 4 months before PU/PD?
I’ve been holding my 2 month old a lot because he only sleeps an hour at a time, but I’m seeing I’m making matters worse by doing this.
MeNBabySimon – If you’ve read any of my old posts, you’ll see that we were in Hell from about 2-4 months because all we did was rock Noob Baby to sleep. We did what we had to do to get her to nap and sleep… and then later we had to undo what we did (which was the sleep training part at 6 months). Honestly, I think there is no real cure to this. It doesn’t seem like any “sleep experts” say much except to try swaddling, pacifier, white noise, little bit of rocking…the usual. Wish I could be of more help, but babies just don’t know how to sleep! The one consolation is that things do get easier after 2 months! My neighbor once told me things would get better after 2 months and I thought that seemed like a totally arbitrary number. Then she was right! Quite a few parenting experts also say that after 2 months, you are able to get more of a daytime routine down…which helps with nighttime sleep as a result.
Hi! I just found your website and I’m really looking forward to trying the EASY schedule for my 5 week old. I’m a teacher as well and REALLY craving a schedule/plan for myself and this little girl!!! Just one question, (sorry if this is posted somewhere and I missed it) what do you do during the night? The sample schedule for the 4-week EASY only goes till 11:00 pm. Do you just continue the basic timeline that has been set during the day? She is breastfed with supplemental formula (I don’t have enough for her sometimes) and as of now she is eating every 1.5 – 2 hours. Sometimes even less. I think the problem is she falls asleep during feedings, which I am reading about correcting on here right now! Thanks so much for all the great information!
HI, i have been looking for a simple routine to begin as my baby girl turns 4 weeks tomorrow. I have a couple of questions:
a) at nap times, should she be settling herself is she isn’t sleepy yet or should i “parent” her to sleep to help introduce her to the routine?
b) Can you please clarify what to expect between 11pm and 7am in terms if sleep and feeding?
c) how do i incorporate expressing into this to 1) avoid issues if she sleeps longer than 4 hours at a time i become engorged and 2) if i want my husband to do the dream feed OR we want to not rush home from a night out?
Thanks so much in advance for your help
Hi – love this site and so glad I came across it. My daughter is 9 weeks old and I’m now trying to get her on a schedule. To-date she has been pretty good with eating every 2-3 hours and long nap periods but those have shortened for some reason. Lately I can’t get more than 45 minutes.
Today for example, she ate at 10am, we played for 30 minutes and I put her down close to 11am. She was up and crying around 11:45 and there was no settling her down to sleep longer. Any thoughts on how to get the nap longer OR if I do get her up, what is recommended until 1pm for her next feed?
Thanks so much
Hi! My baby just turned 1 month. I am having trouble sticking to a schedule like this because he wakes up at different times in the middle of the night which throws the whole schedule off for the next day. I don’t mind waking him up for feedings during the day to get to a routine but is it okay for me to wake him up in middle of the night so I can have an official schedule for him?
Hi- this is such a great resource! I used the EASY routine with my little girl and it worked great, I have a 4 week old boy now and am having some difficulty establishing the routine. During the dream feed he sleeps fine but ends up being wide awake when we go to lay him in the crib so the 10:00 feeding turns into the 12am feeding. He then wakes up around 4 or 5 am to eat again which is great but I’m not sure if I should start his day then or try to put him back to sleep to wake at 7 – any suggestions?? I am wondering if the dream feed is interrupting his sleep cycle too much – right now he is eating 4 oz every 3 hours during the day and cluster feeding at 4, 6, and 8 – by the 10:00 feeding he just looks miserable if we try to feed him more.