The boys eat 4 - 5 ounces every 3 hours during the day and 4 hours at night. This. Is. Tiring. I thought by now they'd be on more of a 4 hour schedule. But they're not. Here's how a typical day goes:
8 am - Eat
11 am - Eat
2 pm - Eat
6 pm - Eat
10pm - Eat
2 feedings at night, typically 4 hours apart.
I know the hours don't work out perfectly, but they're approximate. They won't take more food per feeding. And during the day they fight to not take a nap. It's beginning to exhaust me. From what I've read they should be eating every 4+ hours. :-(
Any tips from you seasoned pros?
Please don't forget to add to my last post, too!
8 comments:
That still looks relatively close to our feeding schedule now, even with solids. I wish i had more help to offer you.
I am sorry you are exhausted. I hope it gets easier. I am told when they hit about 12 lbs, they start changing their eating/sleeping habits for the better
Jillian also eats every 3 hours during they day...BUT she can go 8-10 hours at night without eating. That makes all the difference. She is eating a bit more though at 5 to 6 oz per feeding.
Sorry...I thought the same thing when my twins were the age yours are.
Mine still eat every three hours or so, though they sometimes stretch it to 4 hours during the day. At night, Evan can now go up to 5 hours (he is on solid foods now) and Rowan can go up to 8, but this JUST started around the 4-month mark.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it may be awhile yet. Hang in there...I found when I stopped sweating it and fighting the kids to get them to go longer, they just naturally started to. I guess it was about the same time that I figured out that I don't know what the hell I'm doing, and gave in to just winging it. LOL
Oh, re: naps. I'm not sure how long you're letting them be awake, but I find that 90-120 minutes is my kids max, even at 4 months. Much more than that, and they get cranky.
It's sounds counterintuitive, but try laying them down for a nap 15-minutes sooner than you think they need one. It may or may not work, but I find that with mine, if I miss that window they don't nap well.
Yeah, Elizabeth eats even more often than that during the day. Sometimes she only makes an hour and a half. But she's gone eight and a half hours without waking up during the night, I think because she gets so much in during the day. But four or five hours at night is still pretty common too. And I make her nap (when I can manage it) every hour to two hours.
Try a website like that Trixie Tracker that I am using. It helped me figure her schedule out and made things a lot easier.
I wish I had some advice, but I am curious to see what others say.
Sounds like they are eating pretty much how all my babies ate.
It'll get better. Remember - next month will be 50% better than this month. Advice given to me with my 1st baby that saved my sanity.
I'm a little late to the party on this one, and you probably won't like what I have to say, but say it I must.....
OK, honestly, my girls are 6 months old and they still eat every 3 to 3.5 hours. I did the whole baby wise thing, which is quite controversial I guess. Anyway, it focused on a feeding schedule during the day so they get most of their cals during the day . It worked for us. Clearly doesn't work for everyone, but I liked the schedule part of it.
We tried a 4 hr schedule with the girls early on, but they just fussed an hour early, so we ended up dealing with them a lot anyway - before the 4 hour mark - and decided, what the hell, let's get back to 3 hours. So we did. They seemed happier. My bigger girl was sleeping all through the night (9-6) at 2.5 mos old and my smaller one was about 3.5 mos old. These were 7 week preemies. I've also heard from a lot of Moms that once they get to be around 12 pounds, they sleep all night. I think this was about right for us, too.
I've been there, sister, and it's tough. It will get better. My little one was the one that woke the most - she needed the extra food. So, I alwasy fed her first, then put her down, then woke up my bigger girl, fed her, and put her down. I was a nazi about keeping them on the same schedule. After a couple of months, I started letting her wake on her own. It sucked for a while because I got up more often, but it helped her establish a better and longer sleep cycle.
This does not last forever! And, with the boys as big as they are, you will see results quicker, I promise.
Regarding the crying - one of my girls is a super sound sleeper and doesn't hear the other one that cries all night. I'm lucky. :--)
PS - Your boys are beautiful!!!!!
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