S E V E N' S Sleep Schedule
I N F A N T
S L E E P S C H E D U L E
When I asked what everyone wanted me to post about, a lot of you asked for Baby Sevens Sleep Schedule and how I got her to sleep throughout the night. All we all want in the 1st year is our sleep back right? I know with my 1st 2 I was dying for sleep. There was a time with my son Kaizen, I would put up 2 gates in my hallway, creating a large “play pin” I gave him 1 safe toy to play with while I tried to catch up with my sleep, I slept on the floor with sweats on and a very thin breathable blanket, while he was wide awake jumping on my face, just so I could get a few more minutes of sleep. I did anything for sleep. Not knowing there was another way until I read this book called baby wise.
Being a mom to 4 amazing kids I’ve learned that not all babies are the same. So by me sharing the things I do for Seven don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work for you, you have to find your baby’s rhythm. I’ve learned thing throughout the years from my kids and also by asking other parents and sleep training nannies what I am doing wrong. So here it is baby Sevens Sleep Schedule.
Here is some info I pulled from the site Todays Parents,
to give you a little background of Dream Feeding.
Definition of Dream Feeding:
A dream feed is basically exactly what it sounds like: you're feedingyour baby while they are still dreaming. More specifically, a dream feed is when you feed your baby while she is still asleep by gently rousing your baby enough to feed or nurse her in an effort to reduce middle-of-the-night wakings and feedings.
How to Dream Feed:
If you want to give your baby a dream feed, put them down for bed at the time you normally would. Then, around 10 or 11 p.m., gently get your baby out of their crib and put them at your breast or give them a bottle, all without waking them up. “The great thing about babies is that they have a natural instinct to suck if they’re at a nipple,” says Jason Freedman, co-author of the book The Dream Feed Method.
When you pick up your sleeping baby for the feed, the key is to minimize stimulation—don’t turn on the lights, sing or change their diaper unless there’s poop in it. When the feed is done, gently place your baby back in bed and slip out of the room.
Here is what I did with Seven…
Above you will see the set up I have right next to my bedside to make my nights just a little easier. When she was just a couple weeks old she would wake up several times for feedings at least 3 times so I would have the bottles pre-measured out with water & pre-measured formula so when she would wake all I had to do was pour and shake. she needed a lot of changes in the middle of the night so I had a baby warmer for her wipes and a stack of diapers.
I would say I started dream feeding when I felt comfortable that she didn’t need to be burped so much. She was probably about 4-5 weeks old. When I gave her a bottle at night it wouldn’t be a full serving that I would give her during the day. For example She is taking about 4 ozs right now through out the day. I would start by “dream feeding” her 3 oz and it would stretch her sleep for a few more hours, then the following week I would go down to 2 oz, then 1 oz, and then she started to not wake up in the middle of the night (this has only been going on for the last week or so) so Im praying that this will continue.
TIPS That I also do that I believe help.
I am the mom that lets her baby cry it out. With my other kids I did not like this method and did try until my daughter Azella, she was already almost a year when I did the cry it out method so I felt that she cried out longer and harder than normal lol. For Seven, when she cries its no longer than 10 min and then she goes straight to sleep. From the moment I had her in the hospital, I didn’t want her to get used to just sleeping in “arms” so when she started to dose off I would place her in her little bassinet right away, which I think has helped make her an easy baby.
Pacifiers- She is my only baby that has loved pacifiers, When I give her a bottle I do the old switcharoo and she just sleeps right through it. The pacifier calms her down so much.
Automatic rock and Soothe Sleeper- I know for sure this has helped soothe her. (this is on my favorites list, the blog post before this)
The right Sleep Position- Again my only baby that likes to be wrapped up tightly for a good nights rest. I notice that if her arms aren’t secured she will wake herself up in no time. The 1st time I wrapped her up like this at night she gave me and extra 2 hours of sleep. Like I said in the beginning, find your baby’s rhythm to make them comfortable for a good nights rest.
Sound Machine- allows her to dose off quickly and also blocks out noise so no other sounds startle her and wake her up.
Her Night Time Schedule (Now)
7pm
I give her a nice warm bath, with lavender scent to get her ready for bed.
7:30-8pm
I wrap her up tightly, in a Cozys_ blanket size medium.
Lay her in her rocker turned on.
I have a ocean sound machine playing.
Give her 5oz of formula (she is 10 weeks right now about 11-12lbs)
Once she is done if she is still kind of moving I i switch out her bottle quickly for her pacifier and that normally sends her off to a deep sleep.
7am-8am
Wakes up for the day.
P U R E JOY!
She gets so much sleep that I believe that is what makes her a calm and easy baby. Like I said in the beginning all babies are different ( my other kids were not this easy) but I do believe a good routine can make for an easier life. If it doesn’t work the first time just keep trying, your baby will eventually get it.
L O V E A L W A Y S,
Alana Dawn