Hello, friends! One thing I’ve been asked so much lately – our newborn schedule involving sleep and eating.
I am by no means a baby sleep expert, but this is my fourth baby and with my first I was just winging it – doing the best that I could. For my first baby, I followed a lot of the “Taking Cara Babies” stuff. With my second, we also did that but also were way more loose because we had two under 16 months and we had a really hard time with sleeping. By the time my third baby came, I felt like I really had it down. My third and my fourth babies have been amazing sleepers so far and I really don’t attribute to anything crazy that I’m doing, other than just keeping my babies happy, fed, and scheduled! By 6 weeks my newborns are sleeping through the night (7+ hours!) without any crying, screaming or lack of snuggles!
My midwife always says that the newborn stage should be enjoyable and it should be a fun time. If babies are fussy, it just means that they are communicating something is wrong in the only way they know how. When you view it like that, you are able to see that you are able to cater to your babies needs once you figure them out.
This is just a little tidbit of what I have done. It’s not extensive by any means. I tried to make it as sweet and condensed as possible and easy to really follow through. If this is something you guys are really interested in, I can totally do a video on it where I can go into details of things, but again just to make life a bit easier for you as the reader I did keep it short and quick!
Our Newborn Schedule for 2 Week – 2 Month Olds
| Our Sleep, Eat, and Play Routine Daytime We do feedings every 2.5-3 hours, burp, diaper change & play for 15-20 minutes then back to sleep either through rocking, holding or carrier! Possible transfer to crib if baby is in deep sleep and won’t wake up. Baby is using paci during nap but swaddle is not needed. If fussy/crying during wake window, baby is either: • Sleepy so start nap routine • Gassy (give gas drops) • Needing a burping(You’ll know that baby is gassy if they’re squirming, flexing their belly, and kicking) (baby needs to be burped if screaming, fussy, flailing arms) • Needing a Diaper change If baby wakes before the 2.5/3 hour mark, use paci and soothe the baby back to sleep until it’s time to eat. Wake baby up if it’s been 3 hours so they can eat again and the cycle restarts! Your baby obviously doesn’t know if it’s daytime, nighttime, naptime or bedtime, so they’re relying on you to help regulate them and develop a pattern for them. Nighttime After the baby’s last feeding around 6-7pm, extend that last wake window to 60-90 minutes. (You might need to play around with the actually times depending on when feedings line up that day) So if last feeding is at 6:30p, baby should stay awake until 7:30-8p. During that longer window give a bath, do magnesium lotion (you yourself drink a magnesium drink if breastfeeding to transfer to baby), diaper change, etc. The more routine you can be at this point in baby’s life, the better it will be in a couple weeks when baby is finally sleep trained and sleeping through the night. Swaddle baby & side feed baby to sleep in your bed and snuggle with baby until baby falls asleep, either keep baby in your bed if you prefer co sleeping or transfer to bassinet right next to your bed. Lights low or off & sound machine on. Wakes During the Night Keep lights very low & quiet! Feed the baby every time they cry (if it’s happening every 30 minutes or so, run through the crying steps from above: baby isn’t hungry, baby is uncomfortable). Once feeding is done, burp and put right back to sleep and continue all night. If baby is awake and not going back to sleep, pray it out and help baby fall back asleep General Tips + Wake baby up by no later than 7:30am to start your clock + Morning sun exposure on baby’s bare skin helps regulate circadian rhythm and signals to baby that it is morning. + Try out different sleeping/napping positions if baby is easily disturbed/awakened + Sound machine only as loud as baby needs to stay asleep. Ambient noise around the house is good to have, so baby can learn to sleep through things like vacuuming, conversations around the house, and doors opening/closing. + Babies can be very active sleepers, so if they’re moving and stirring, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready to wake up. Wait about a minute or so for them to cry and open their eyes (hopefully it is close enough to their wake window anyways) before getting them up to start their awake routine, most of the time they go back to sleep! + Babies like to be warm and not wear super tight clothing around their bellies. Cold feet and hands usually mean the rest of their body is cold too. + Sometimes babies will fuss the most right before they’re ready to sleep. Don’t give up, just hang in there for a few more minutes and they’ll usually calm down (if this continues to be a pattern, try to put them down to sleep slightly earlier, to potentially avoid that last minute fuss session). + If baby is ever screaming in a way that’s other worldly, try a sensory change- either stepping outside or taking a shower with baby to get baby to calm down and then assess the reason for crying. And above all else, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help guide you and show you anything that may be bothering your sweet baby 🌷 Children are a gift and a heritage from the Lord! |
Baby Must-Haves
Here’s what we HAVE been using for baby!
With baby #4, I’ve been able to try out so many things and know what works well for us! The carrier I use is an Artipoppe – it’s an investment but worth every penny. I use it for several years for each child, and it has a forward facing insert for when baby is bigger! I also am a big fan of the Primally Pure baby balm – they’ve even given me a code you can use (15MILENA) 🤍
