4-5 Month Schedule

Naps

As you may recall from Luna's 0-3 month schedule, she napped pretty much from feeding to feeding for three solid straight hours. That's the life of a newborn. But as she grew and became more alert, we needed to adjust. This is when I converted to the following rule of thumb: If Luna was awake for one to one and a half hours, it was time to put her down for a nap in her crib (or before, if I noticed signs of sleepiness (like rubbing her eyes, burying her face in my chest, red eyebrows etc.))

This system worked great for us and gave us some consistency and predictability.

Her first nap of the day is usually the best and longest. The last nap of the day was more of a cat nap and then I liked to tire her out before bedtime by doing some good quality play time - like tummy time or some fun singing and dancing to stimulate her brain.

Bedtime

Every day we aim for a bedtime between 7pm - 8pm, but found that her 'sweet spot' is between 7:15pm - 7:30pm. If we wait too long, she likes to fight it, which isn't fun for anyone.

Bedtime Routine

Around three months we started to introduce a bedtime routine. We used to keep her up later with us and just put her down, but she is a great sleeper and was able to sleep longer stretches so we switched to a 7-8pm bedtime and introduced a bedtime routine. We love to do bath time (most nights) and read our favorite book. It gives her predictability and signals to her that it's time for bed.

Feedings

We're still feeding Luna every three hours, so we aim for at least six feedings a day. Luna is pretty efficient and our feeds only take about 15 minutes and then it's onto play time.

Note that I never nurse Luna to sleep. Our schedule is always 'eat, play, sleep.' You can read more about our sleep tips here. The only time we allow her to fall asleep is before bed.

Around four months is when we started being better about feeding Luna a bottle. Since I breastfeed and work from home, she doesn't really require a bottle unless I have a sitter - but to ensure she is willing to take a bottle, we give her one bottle a day, just before bed. Not only does this give Ben and Luna some extra bonding time, but this also allows us to know that she is getting enough milk before bedtime to help her 'tank up' and sleep through the night without waking in hunger. We aim for about six ounces here.

I still go in and give Luna a 'dream feed' just before Ben and I go to bed, but this is mostly for my boobs sake - to empty them before bedtime so I can sleep through the night without having to wake and pump in the middle of the night (note that I still have to wake early and pump to go to the gym before Luna is awake, otherwise I think they might explode). But it also helps to keep my supply up and makes the supply for the bottle we use nightly.