Whether you have one baby or a passel of them, consistency of
care will establish peace for all in your family. What do I mean
by this?
Basically, you’re going to fall in to a pattern of routine for
your baby and your family as you care for your bundle of joy and
her needs. The first week you may struggle with keeping her
awake enough to properly feed; that’s okay—newborns are sleepy
heads! Wakefulness is a goal to strive for. By the second week,
you’ll probably see her more alert and awake for feedings than
she was the first week
Your lifestyle will be a large determinant in your flexible
routine: are you scheduled and orderly or do you happily “fly by
the seat of your pants”? The idea of something flexible is that
it will bend and shape as you need it to, returning to its
original shape and position. Flexibility is not a lack of
routine, it’s a temporary alteration of a regular pattern.
Let’s look at your baby’s life in stages:
Stage 1: Stabilization—birth through 8 weeks For a breastfeeding
mom, the establishment of stable milk production is the goal.
For your baby, the stabilization of her hunger metabolism as
well as sleep/wake cycles are primary goals.
Determine your daily routine and what needs to be done as you
consider setting your baby’s eating pattern. Will you be home
when she’s hungry or in the middle of the grocery store?
Additionally, you get to set the time of your baby’s first
feeding of the day. In other words, if you wake her up at 7:00
a.m. and feed her then, you’ll feed her roughly between
9:30-10:00 a.m. and every 2.5-3 hours thereafter for the rest of
the waking day.
Stage 2: Extended Night—9-15 weeks During this stage, a
breastfed baby can generally stretch her nighttime sleep from
9-10 hours at a time, and a bottle-fed baby can generally go 11
hours.
Bedtime during this phase will be adjusted closer to the
early-evening feeding. By her 13th week of life, your baby
should be eating 5-6 times per day, but never less than 4.
Stage 3: Extended Day—16-24 weeks Somewhere between 16-24 weeks,
you will introduce your baby to solid foods. Your pediatrician
will direct you here; most doctors these days err on the side of
caution and starting babies closer to the 6 month mark. By 24
weeks, your baby’s eating times should line up roughly with your
family’s mealtimes, in addition to the extra, liquid feedings
she takes.
Stage 4: Extended Routine—25-52 weeks In this phase, your baby
will continue to eat three meals per day, supplemented by a
liquid feeding before bed. She should be averaging 2 naps per
day from 1.5-2.5 hours in length each.
|
