Sleep Training: Day & Night Feeding
Hey mamas, let's get your baby sleep trained!If you haven't yet, make sure to check out the Preparing for Sleep Training post which goes over things you can do in those early weeks to prevent bad habits from being formed and also discusses your, Daytime and Nighttime Toolboxes. Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Week by "The Baby Coach" Suzy Giordano. This book has worked wonders for us. As a mom, there have been countless benefits from getting my children sleep trained and on our families schedule. My children are well rested, seem happier and learn to self soothe (which I believe) is the deal changer throughout her training. I read her book a few times, took countless notes and have complied them all into these blog posts.So let's get to it! The author discusses the 4 Steps to her program, here are Steps 1 & 2 that are centered around feeding. Feel free to email me directly if you have any questions or comments info@peacelovestyle.com
Step 1: Feeding During The Day
Divide your day into two 12-our parts/blocksExample: We chose 7:30 - 7:30pm with Brock and are doing the same with Stevie. I will show you examples that start at 8am and end at 8pm because it's easier to understand.
The beginning times of these two 12-hour blocks should be based on your family's needs, whether it is Dad's work schedule, your five year old's school schedule or your desire to workout every morning before your baby wakes.
Most babies seem to favor bedtimes between 7pm and 9pm.
Next, create four feeding times that are 4-hours apart during the dayExample:First Feeding: 8:00 amSecond Feeding: 12:00 pmThird Feeding: 4:00 pmFourth Feeding: 8:00 pmFeed the baby at the beginning of each 4-hour blockThe First Feeding Example:
At around 7:45 am take the baby out of the crib to be diapered and dressed and begin feeding at 8:00 am
If you start to get them ready at 8:00am, you may find that by the time you are ready to start feeding, it's already between 8:15-8:30am instead of closer to 8:00 am
More Examples: Baby wakes within one hour of the first feeding time (between 7am and 8am) and the first feeding is at 8am
Baby wakes at 7:15am and wants to eat. Instead of feeding her as soon as she wakes, try encouraging her to last longer by using the tools in your nighttime toolbox (ex: pacifier, shushing, patting their tummy, or otherwise calming) for another 15-30 minutes, until 7:30 - 7:45am if you can.
Day 2 and Day 3: Try and wait another 15-30 minutes longer than you did on Day 1. Repeat this process until you reach 8:00am.
There might be a day or two on which you make no progress or you might even go backward slightly but if you keep pushing your baby forward to the target start time (8am) you will eventually get your baby to start eating at the beginning of the first block.
The number of days your baby takes to get to the target start time is not crucial. What is crucial is that you are consistent and stick with it.
Training your baby is like a diet - if you are willing to do the work, you will see results. If you cheat, you will not.
Baby wakes up more than an hour before the first feeding time
If you baby wakes and wants to eat and it is more than an hour before the target feeding time, it is OK to give the baby 1-2 oz, but ONLY 1-2 oz.
You should still feed the baby at the target start time as well (as much as they will eat)
Remember that over the next few days you will want to help the baby stretch the time in-between the snack feeding and the desired feeding until that snack feeding is eliminated.
Your baby is going to take baby steps to get to the first feeding time.
Second, Third and Fourth Feedings During the Day:You simultaneously want to encourage your baby to build up to eating every four hours throughout the day, at the start of each of your three remaining feeding times. You will want to always feed your baby four hours after the start of each feeding, not four hours after they finish easting.Like the first feeding, it may take a few days for your baby to go from eating every three hours to eating every four ours at the second, third and fourth feedings. Again take baby steps and use our daytime toolbox to help your baby slowly stretch the time between these feedings.Example:
Your second feeding isn't until noon, however it's 11am and your baby is crying and starting to root. Use the tools in your daytime toolbox, like bouncing the baby or offering a pacifier (my favorite) to see if they can wait until 11:15 or 11:30am to eat.
Day 2 and Day 3: Help the baby wait an additional 15-30 minutes until 11:30 or 11:454 am. Repeat the process until the baby is eating around noon.
**You will find that this type of training is a domino effect. The longer your baby can wait between feedings, the hungrier they will be. This hunger will lead to the baby consuming more ounces, which will take longer to digest, which will in turn make it easier for your baby to stretch the time between feedings.Daytime ActivityThere are a number of things we do to stretch the times between feedings. Once Stevie eats, we invite her to be awake, especially after she eats. We always return her to the nursery for her naps though. This helps her differentiate between the sleeping/resting place (her room) and the awake/play areas (the rest of the house).
Floor time (activity gym)
Tummy time (try and wait at least a half hour to one hour after eating or they will spit up)
Bouncy seat
Outside time (walk in the stroller, take the bouncy seat outside, blanket under a tree with toys)
Goal: Once you ave your baby on a four-hour feeding schedule, try and keep your baby awake between the third and fourth feedings of the day. If they sleep too much here, they will have a difficult time going to sleep for the night after the fourth feeding.**The duration and number of naps at this time will vary. In general, your baby will take a shorter nap between the first and second feedings and a longer nap between the second and third.Example: Stevie sleeps from 9am-10am, goes down for her afternoon nap around noon and sleeps till 2 or three. We also have an evening nap that lasts between 40 minutes to an hour. I try to not let her sleep past 2 hours before her bedtime.
Step 2: Feedings During the Night; Gradually Eliminate All Night Feedings
Step 2's success depends a lot on how well your days are going.Focus: Lengthen the time between night feedingsGoal: At night, to have your baby go from the last feeding of the day until the first feeding of the day, twelve hours, without a feeding. During training, feed your baby at their fourth and final day feeding and then let them go as long as they can before the first night feeding.Do NOT wake them up for a feeding.After the first night feeding, again, let the baby go as long as they can before the second night feeding. Repeat the process if a third night feeding exists.Your baby might wake to feed only once or your baby might fall into a two-feeding-per-night or three-feeding-per-night pattern. The important thing is to work with your baby's pattern. So if your baby wake to feed only once per night, that is the only feeding you have to eliminate - do not feed them two or three times per night.When your baby wakes to eat, minimize all stimulation. Your goal is to feed, burp, and place the baby back in the crib without fully waking them.
Do not change diaper unless it contains poop
Keep room as dark as possible
Do not talk or make eye contact with your baby
Be prepared! Have the food ready to go.
Breastfeeding , wear easy-to-access clothing.Pumped breast milk, serve it room temperature or in the warmer as soon as you hear your baby beginning to wake.Formula, have the water already measured in the bottle) and powder pre-measured in another container. **The author says one of the biggest mistakes she see's people make is this. Not having the bottle ready to pop into their baby's mouth during the night feedings. That extra five minutes it takes to make and/or warm a bottle may seem insignificant, but in that time your baby might go from stirring and fussing to screaming with eyes wide open.Example: With Brock, we used my pumped breastmilk. We put a warmer upstairs to make the process go faster. Based on your baby's night pattern (if you don't know, begin logging) you will want to let your baby "spring forward" but not "fall back".
It's OK for your baby to stretch beyond their regular feeding time. The time they stretch will then become your new feeding time.
It also means to try not to let your baby reset a night feeding in the opposite direction: If they wake to feed too early, use your nighttime toolbox to help them eat at the same time they ate the night before.
Example: Your baby's second night feeding was at 2am the night before, on Sunday night. It is now 2am Monday night and your baby is still sleeping. Do not wake them to eat. Let them go as long as they can. Let's say they wake at 3am to eat instead of 2am. 3am becomes your new feeding time on Tuesday night. Be prepared for their third night feeding stretching forward as well (i.e. baby eats at 6am instead of at 5am).PS: You want to be more flexible at night than you would be in the day in order to keep your baby is a slumber, sleepwalking state. If you see the fussing escalating, go ahead and feed them earlier than schedule.Gradually reduce food at each night feeding, one feeding at a time. After your baby has naturally settled into their own night patter, you want to gradually reduce the amount of food the baby eats at each night feeding.Tackle one feeding at a time. YOU the parent, try not to reduce the amount of food for all night feedings simultaneously. But if the BABY reduces the amount of food for any of the night feedings (woohoo!) that's fine. Once your baby eats less on their own, do not increase the amount of food for that night feeding.**The author says that the baby will usually eat the least amount of food at the second night feeding so the second night feeding is usually the first to be eliminated. Then, gradually eliminate the first night feeding, and finally, eliminate the third night feeding.ELIMINATE NIGHT FEEDINGS (ORDER): SECOND, FIRST, THIRDTo eliminate the second night feeding, you will first need to figure out the number of ounces to give your baby. Consult your log. What did your baby eat the night before at the second night feeding and then reduce that by 1/2 ounce.Example: Second Night Feeding: Sunday (3oz) / Monday (2.5)Give you baby the amount of food determined using the plan for three days in a row. Then reduce this amount by 1/2 ounce on Day 4. You will keep reducing the amount of the second night feeding by 1/2 ounce every four days until the feeding is eliminated. This should take two and a half weeks at the most.Sunday - 3ozMonday - 2.5ozTuesday - 2.5ozWednesday - 2.5ozThursday - 2ozFriday - 2ozSaturday - 2ozSunday - 1.5ozMonday -1.5ozTuesday - 1.5 ozWednesday - .1ozThursday - 1ozFriday - .1ozSaturday - .5ozSunday - .5ozMonday - .5ozTuesday - 0ozIt's crazy how well this method works. I remember being so skeptical of this step. Continue to reduce the amount of food at the second night feeding until the feeding is eliminated. Once that feeding is eliminated, eliminate the first using the same steps outlined above. Same goes for the third.
Make sure your baby is getting in those lost ounces during the day. Encourage your baby to eat at least an extra 1/2 oz at each day feeding. Or look at what time they are hungriest, our babies were always first thing in the morning, so we would fit an extra 1-2 oz in there.
Do NOT go backward! Progress, not regress is your goal. The hardest part about this step is often a psychological one.
Breastfeeding and the Elimination of Night FeedingsFor exclusively breastfeeding mamas, how do you reduce the amount of food at each night feeding you ask? The author prefer that you used pumped breast milk during training for two reasons:
You can accurately measure the amount of food your baby is getting at each feeding
Your baby is less likely to fall into the pattern of using the breast as a nighttime pacifier (this was happening with us with Stevie)
However, if you choose to feed your baby from your breasts, apply the same reduction principles described above, but replace ounces with minutes. Just reduce the time you are feeding by three minutes every four days at the night feeding you are eliminating. If the baby nurses for a shorter period of time during any of the three days, then only let the baby nurse for this new shorter time for three days in a row, unless the baby reduces this time again on their own.Sunday - 12 minsMonday - 9 minsTuesday -9 minsWednesday -9 minsThursday - 6 minsFriday - 6 minsSaturday -6 minsSunday - 3 minsMonday - 3 minsTuesday -3 minsWednesday - 0 minsAlso, record how many minutes your baby nurses at the other night feedings. Make sure to use a digital clock to time your feedings: it is more precise and much easier to read in the dark.To make up for the milk supply you're losing at night, please make sure to gradually increase the amount of time you nurse at all four day feedings by 2-3 minutes.MOMS! YOU CAN DO IT!! I'm living proof that her methods really work. With my first baby Brock, I was much less confident starting out but as I watched how fast he was responding, I knew I was on the right track. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about Steps 1 & 2. The book provides dozens of examples and will try to help if I can.Good Luck!Xo, Shawna
