Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

I am reading "Healthy Sleep Habits" like a lot of you, and I am recognizing tired cues. It's definitely helping.

DD took a really long nap today from 4:15-6:15. I fed her at 6:15. She normally eats every 3 hours, unless she misses a feeding if a nap runs overtime.

She was giving me the signs that she was tired at 8:15, which is right in line with the book (which says "awake time" should be limited to 2 hours).

I didn't want to keep her up until 9 to feed her, so I skipped the bath and feeding and put her to sleep. I swaddled her, read her a book, and she was asleep almost immediately.

Did I do the right thing? Because she is now guaranteed to wake up again to eat, since her last feeding was at 6:15.

Re: Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

I think what you did was fine-- but, why didn't you feed her before putting her to bed? You didn't have to keep her up to feed her-- just give her enough til she passed out.

We start our nighttime routine at 6, or 5 30 if there is a bath. I don't have a feeding schedule, as it's on demand usually every 2 hours. So, let's say she is due for a feeding at 5 30-- right before bath, I'll feed her. Then, of course I am not going to keep her up til 7 30 for her next feeding-- it's past her bedtime, so I will just try to feed her whatever she'll take right before she goes down.

We have been very lucky with putting Sasha to bed from the beginning. She STTN early-- but when we moved her bedtime up, she started waking once to eat. Now she wakes up even more-- and we are trying to break that habit. EVentually we hope she doesn't need to eat at all during the night, and we won't have to do CIO.

Re: Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

You totally did the right thing, but I agree with Randi that feeding her before you put her to bed would have been ideal. I put DD to bed at night at 8:30 every night and always feed her first. Even if she only ate an hour and a half before...she never takes a full feeding before bed anyway, it's just to sooth her to sleep. And every single night for the past 5wks, DD has slept a minimum of 10hrs straight with no feedings!! I cannot complain about lack of sleep at all! I love "Healthy Sleep Habits!"

So tomorrow night, do the same exac thing, just feed DC first and I am sure they will sleep great!

Re: Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

sound like you did the right thing, but I agree with the other posters that you should have fed her before bed.

My DD eats every 3-3.5 hours, except for her last two bottles of the day. She naps in the afternoon from 2 or 2:30, until 5 or 5:30 (I will not let her sleep past 5:30, and will wake her up). She gets a bottle at 5:30, and then we start bedtime routine at 7:30. She gets a bath and then a bottle around 7:45, and she's in bed by 8:00 (8:15 the latest). That's definately less than 3 hours between bottles. She doesn't always finish the 5:30 bottle though.

Re: Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

I've gotta pick up this book!!! lol

Re: Bedtime/Last Feeding w/4 month old...please help!

Thank you all for great advice. She woke up to eat at 12:30 am (as I knew she would) and again at 5am. I think if I follow your advice and feed her once more before I put her down, we'll have a better sleeper tonight!

I've been trying to keep that 3 hour feeding cycle, so I guess it's hard to imagine that I could/should feed her before she goes to bed if it's not "on schedule". Looks like I need to break out of that mindset.

I'll give it a shot tonight...thank you!