How to Set a Feeding Schedule | Infant Care

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When a baby comes home from the hospital, their feeding and sleeping schedules are completely erratic. They don't know their day from their night. As the baby comes home and the days pass it's really good to institute some kind of logging mechanism so you can understand the rhythms of your baby. This is a very simple to do and all it requires is a pen and a pencil. If you'd like more help, you can certainly work with a professional to help you. I work with my clients and I give them a certain form that they fill out every day so they can log their baby. What you want to do when getting them on a feeding schedule is to log everything they do. What time they start they feed. What time they end their feed. When they cry. How often they cry. When they sleep. How often they sleep. And if you're breast feeding, which breast and for how long. You want to jot this down so you can see the rhythm of the baby. The baby seems to go three hours and be okay between feeds. Or maybe the baby's going four hours and now at night the baby's going six hours. The only way to put a baby on a schedule is to see how they're doing with that log and then establishing when to start that schedule. Most babies can come home from the hospital and really feed every three to four hours. Now, some breast fed babies can eat as much as every half hour but traditionally no less than two hours is fine for a feeding schedule and some babies can go as long as four. Find one that's comfortable for your schedule and one that's comfortable for your baby, and by writing it down you'll remember should something go off kilter with the schedule, or should the baby get sick, you can take that log with you to the doctor and they can help you get back on the feeding schedule if needed.