8 Month Old Baby Schedule
This article outlines the average 8 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.
Skip to the schedule
8 month old’s sleep
At this age, many 8 month olds can sleep through the night, without a feeding, but some won’t and will continue to need 1-2 feedings up through 9+ months old. And, 8 month old babies take 2-3 naps daily for a total of 2-3 hours per day plus 11-12 hours at night. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.
All babies vary, but here are some rough schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Below are the amounts recommended from Super Baby Food, the book I use for reference (as a guide, not as the end-all-be-all because I don’t give my kids nuts before a year or follow other things in the book, but it’s a good reference guide). Another useful reference is Wholesome Baby Food. Although I work full time, I did make most of my baby food (I’d make 1 big batch of something each weekend in 1-2 hours), but even if you don’t, the website is useful as a guide when to introduce what food and other meal ideas.
The amount of food at 8 months is very similar to the 7 month baby schedule, but you will most likely go to 3 small meals per day, rather than just 2.
Amounts per day:
• At least 5 nursing sessions per day or 26-32 ounces formula or combination
• No more than 2-4 oz of water or juice (to ensure they drink enough breast milk or formula)
• 2-3 servings baby cereal or grains (1 serving cereal = 1-2 Tablespoons dry and grains include Cheerios, 2 crackers, etc.)
• 2 servings fruit (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 2-3 servings vegetable (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings protein (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1 serving Dairy (1 serving = 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup cottage cheese or 1 oz grated cheese)
• You can also offer cooked egg yolk (but no egg whites until 1 year old due to allergans)
The first schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better with a full feeding and then having solids a bit in between. He was a little hungry but not famished. He just didn’t do well with stopping nursing or his bottle mid-way to eat solids.
If your baby has already transitioned to just 2 naps, please see the 9 month old baby schedule for a sample schedule.
Schedule 1
7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
8:15 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Early Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
2:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:00 – Optional Catnap (30-45 minutes)
4:30 or 5:00 – Dinner
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)
+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding
If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:
Schedule 2
7:00 – Wake
7:15 – Breakfast plus Breast milk or Formula feeding
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula
5:30 – Dinner plus Breast milk / Formula feeding
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula
+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding
Note: When giving any feedings during your bedtime routine, be careful not to create sleep associations, which we saw become important at 4 months old.
You may also be interested in tracking your baby’s sleep, feedings, medication doses, immunizations, etc. using online baby software at Babble Soft. You can even install on your mobile device for when you’re on the go!
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos†of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. Or, join our Members Area packed with premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.
What is your 8 month old baby’s schedule? Category: Schedules
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@Kim Has your son ever fallen back to sleep if you leave him
alone for a few minutes after a short nap? They commonly wake up
briefly between sleep cycles.
To be honest, I’m quite confused how weaning actually
works, or how my son will gradually and naturally wean himself off
of breastmilk. I’m rather hesitant to offer more nursing
sessions than he requests, not cos I don’t want to, but more
out of worry that I’ll be interfering with his smooth
progression onto more solids in his diet. Plus, I wonder if
offering him milk at 330pm cause him to eat less solids at 5pm and
worse, drink less milk at his final nursing session?
10am – wakes from nap and plays
1130/1145am – Lunchtime (vege-meat combi: whatever
vege/protein meal we’re having, made simply into handy bits
or pureed) Only little bit of water in sippy cup.
640pm- nursing before placing in cot. No problems going to
sleep.
@Mandy Many 8 month olds transition to just two naps, so that
sounds great! Sleeping 13 hours is great, so I
wouldn’t worry if the naps aren’t as long as others if
she’s not too grumpy. If she is grumpy, you might try
limiting night sleep to “just” 12 hours and then that
will leave more sleep for the daytime. Good luck!
530pm – Dinnertime solids (He is pretty hungry by this
time, and eats a milk-cereal with pureed veges and fruit mixed into
it) plus some water from a beaker
@Jennifer That’s great!!! I wish we were all that
fortunate! Enjoy.
130pm to 330pm -Afternoon nap (I started nursing him before this
nap, because I was worried he didn’t eat enough at
lunchtime)
Tinas last blog post..AAT: Why Girls Don’t Want Solutions
Hi Yury,
The typical rule of thumb with most babies is that they will eat
when hungry and won’t when they are full. That’s not to
say that we don’t still need to monitor their intake and make
sure they are eating regularly throughout the day but my point here
is that it may be best to let your daughter help dictate whether or
not she wants breakfast and a bottle so soon together. It does
sound like her natural waking time right now is 6 am and
she’s going to bed at a good time. Since she’s sleep
through the night for you, then my advice here is that you may have
to settle for the 6 am wake up. By 6 am, she’s been asleep
for 11 hours or more and that’s about what a baby that age
would need. Pushing her bedtime later to try to achieve a later
wake up time, may not have the results you hope for in that she may
still wake at 6 am or she may start waking more at night. I’d
say you have a good schedule and good sleep all around.
@Jennnifer Just catching up to everything and in my dashboard I
see everything in date order, not per post, so I’m glad you
found something that is working! It is common for them to spit up
while their sphincter matures. Glad it’s gotten better!
Sorry for so many questions, but I’d sincerely appreciate
any advice about the milk issue. Hmm, would giving him some formula
in a sippy cup during the day (such as at his 330pm snack) work
equally well (just thought he might at least get some practice with
a cup rather than introducing a bottle at this stage)?
Lastly (sorry), I’d like to try schedule two, but can you
explain to me why the milk needs to be started and stopped around
the solid meal?
I LOVE this site! If I have questions regarding
sleeping/schedule/eating I can usually find the answers here. Also,
I read it when I have trouble getting my son to nap and he is
fussing (not screaming but just being mad) and usually by the time
I am done reading it he is asleep. He is almost 8 months old and
has always slept well at night 8pm-7 or 8 am. I won’t let him
sleep any later than that or the day is all messed up. He is moving
back his naps a bit because he is older, but usually he does well.
Some days he really fights naps, especially the afternoon ones, but
nights are always great. We were late coming back from a day trip
this week. He had refused his afternoon nap, fell asleep in the car
at 5 on the way to dinner, and stayed awake in the car until
9:15pm. At 10 we got home, I bathed him and did the usual nighttime
ritual, put him in his crib at 10:30 and he was asleep in 5
minutes.
I am wondering how many oz of formula to give before the solids
an hour later. My little one is a bottomless pit, till he sits in
your lap after his feeding and spits up half his food and milk! He
was taking 6oz of formula before 5 months old adding solids to the
mix. Now I am perplexed on how much to give him throughout the day
and I am talking about formula and solids. He never acts full. He
is so active these days and it is hard to prevent him from moving
after his feeding. Any help will be appreciated.
@Emma Bedtime is most likely too late, which can cause more
wakings. Babies this age need 11-12 hours at night, so try to bump
bedtime a bit earlier to 7:30. The controlled crying plan
you’re doing sounds like it will work if he had such a good
night last night. Hope it’s going well for you! Good
luck!
Well, what schedule would you suggest since he has always ate on
a 4 hour schedule. do I give him 6oz everytime with a meal or split
it up a hour difference? I was splitting it up, but it just seemed
I was feeding him when he wasn’t telling me he was hungry. He
would eat though, he loves food period! Now I feel I need to change
again, but I hate changing things on him! I tried feeding his
cereal and fruit with his 6oz bottle after today and he spit up a
little. So I do not know what I am doing anymore….I am so
tired of thinking about it. But then again like today, I have no
idea what to do with him and his feedings.
It was so much easier when he just ate the bottles! What do you
suggest?
Well now that my son has almost turned 8 months…I am
stressing about a feeding schedule to suit him. Please help! He
usually eats 6oz every bottle and eats a whole jar of stage 2 at
every meal. I am trying to come up with a way to incorporate this
into a schedule. He usually has always ate every 4 hours.
@Karen An 8 month old should be nursing at least 5 times per day
and I only see 4. He may continue to need that early morning feed
for another 1-3 months, so I’d continue to nurse him then. If
a baby is not nursing enough, I typically recommend reducing solids
so he will and a breastfed baby does not really need water, so if
he is drinking too much water, you can reduce that and offer breast
milk, instead. 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. is a long time to go without
nursing, so you might alter his schedule to nurse him at 11:30 and
move lunch to 12:45 or 1 p.m. and then fit in another nursing
session around 4 p.m. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Is it normal for a baby to get up so early? Is there anything
else I can do to encourage him to sleep in a bit later?
I pretty much have my son on the 1st schedule for 9 mos. The
only difference is that I nap him 2.5 hours after wake time in the
am. Because of this, his breakfast and lunch are given only 15 mins
prior to each nap. I’m wondering if it’s normal/OK to
be giving solids this close to naptime, or if it’s better to
have an hour inbetween.
My eight month old goes down to sleep every night very easily at
around 7pm (thanks to Ferber). I’m feeding her when she wakes
up between 4am and 5:30 and then she goes back to sleep until
between 7am and 8am or as late as 9am! Yesterday she woke to eat at
6:30am and was awake for good, so it’s really all over the
place. This all wouldn’t be so bad if her naps were good.
Today she took two half hour naps and it was very clear to me that
it wasn’t enough – lots of crying and crankiness all
day. I’m wondering if it would help to drop the early morning
feed and to wake her up at 7am every morning so I can get a
schedule started. I always heard that it was best to let sleeping
babies lie, but maybe not for my baby?
I have a some questions about my 8 month old son, who sleeps
from 7pm till about 5am, nurses, and then continues sleeping till
between 730 and 8am (otherwise I wake him about 745am).
Time really does move fast with a baby. My son is on his way
towards 9 months… Even before I received your response, I
actually decided to nurse him every early morning when he awoke, as
well as fitted in a feed just before he goes down for his 2nd nap
(1pm nap). Also, I offer much less water (and you’re right,
he doesn’t really need it, so I cut it down alot.)
@Dinara As babies get older, yes, they need more wake time
between naps. Once they transition to just 2 naps, it’s best
to space them out more so they are not overtired by bedtime. Hope
this helps!
@Diana You should always encourage a full feeding to get the
fatty hind milk (if breastfeeding). These are just sample
schedules. Not all babies can go 3-4 hours between feedings and the
more they can eat during the day, the less they eat at night, so I
err on the side of more feeding during the day and less at night,
but yes, you should make sure they get the hind milk and if that
means that they then can go longer without eating, then so be it.
Thank you for sharing your story and commenting!
Hello…
My 8 months old baby boy…he sleeps at night about 10.30-11pm
then in mrng wake up around 7.30-7.45am…then he have shower
and milk and sleeps again at 9-9.30am and wake up around
10.30-10.45am, then he plays have solid food milk then in the
afternoon he sleeps around 1.30-2.00pm and sometimes he wake after
30 mins only sometimes he wake up after 1 hour, then again he have
one more small sleep in the evening….so pls. sugeest me his
schedule is ok?
My son seems to be worst with the solids at lunchtime (I
don’t know if this is a timing issue…or that he
shouldn’t have too much at breakfast?) This morning, I
started breastfeeding him again the first thing after he awoke at
730am, before offering some fruity yoghurt cereal(and much less
than before, in hope that he might be hungrier at lunchtime).
330pm – Fresh-fruit puree mixed with a little unsweetened
cereal and a baby biscuit.
The sample schedules listed above seem a little extreme. Five
feedings a day is quite a bit. Your schedules had them eating every
2 1/2 hours when an eight month old only needs to eat every 3-4
hours. The problem is that if they are feeding that often, they may
just be getting the letdown which is watery and less fatty which
may mean they don’t sleep as well. I know my son, who is now
8 months, had some sleeping issues earlier on because I was nursing
him constantly and he wasn’t getting any of the fatty hind
milk… Just a thought. He now eats every 3 hours, sometimes 4
and sleeps 12 hours at night with two 1-2 hour naps.
My son is a little over 7 months. he has been sleeping trough
the night since he was four months from 9pm – 7am. and takes
two 2 – 3 hour naps and sometimes a catnap… the past
few weeks he has been sleeping 9pm – 9am not everyday but
more than id like… it worries me and he still takes all of
his naps he is very happy and eats normally so i dont know if it is
just him growing or what.
Well, my baby is 8 months today, he has seven teeth now and
since he started teething he has’nt slept through the night.
I give up around half 5 and we are up altogether a hour later. BUT
if my mother takes him hes an angel sleeps the whole night. What
the hell am I doing wrong?
Does this now suffice? Or do you still think I should be
reintroduce a nursing session (the 5th) at 330/4pm INSTEAD Or IN
ADDITION to his fruit n cereal puree? Interestingly, he
doesn’t seem to ask for milk (or do babies at this age in
general NOT SHOW any interest in breastfeeding unless offered?)
How do you know if the spit up is normal or is it an allergy? He
spits up and it runs out like a faucet. it is pungent as well!
Thanks for the advice before, but this is worrying me. He does not
act like he is bothered by it?
Hi Stephanie,
Could be a growth spurt. You might want to check with your
pediatrician just be sure.
@Alexis Usually 9pm is late for many babies, but given the late
nap, this isn’t surprising. All families find the schedule
that works for them, so if she is otherwise sleeping well, it might
be okay for her. If she’s waking a lot at night, the lack of
naps and late bedtime are contributing. Hopefully now that school
is back in session, things have settled down allowing her to nap
again. Good luck!
My almost 8 month old has trouble sleeping at nite….naps
during the day are round 930 and then again at 230ish for about an
hour sometimes a little longer.Occasionally he’ll have a
power nap at 4ish but not every day.
But nite he goes to bed between 930-1030…he wakes 2-3 times a
nite sometimes more.and akes with us round 730am.
We try to give him a bath 1st then quiet time with a bottle
feed.
He eats 3 meals a day,and is combination feeding now as breast
wasnt enough for him – he was feeding very often but now less
frequent.I always give a bottle at nite tho! (The nite time
milk=thicker formula).Is this enough and how do i stop all this
wakin thru the nite?
He went into his big cot and own room last nite and i tried leavin
him 5 mins,quick cuddle, then 10.cuddle,then 15 but he didnt get to
15 (8 i think) then zonked and woke once in nite for feed then
straight down again…hopin this will wake – is this
ok?
To give everyone a sample of the schedule we *try* to stick with
every day…and then Nicole (or others) suggestions on what to
do on vacation for 10 days.
I have an 8 month old son, and he is also my first. I am trying
really hard to understand what type of an eating schedule he should
be on. I have breastfed him since he was born and I introduced
solids at 5 months. I now feed him 3 times a day at 7:30, 1:30 and
7:30, but I feel like this may not be enough…although he eats
quite a bit at each feeding. In the morning I give him 2 ounces of
breastmilk with cereal and a stage 2 fruit, I then top him off by
breastfeeding. At lunch I give him a stage 2 vegetable and then
breastfeed him. At dinner I give him a stage 2 vegetable and meat
and then top him off with breastmilk. I recently started giving him
2 ounces of juice in between his meals. I’m afraid that he
doesn’t get enough breastmilk and maybe he needs to eat more.
Please help!
My 8 month old daughter sleep for 10 hours in the night and
during the day she sleeps for around 2 hours( half an hour-Morning
nap, 1 hour afternoon nap and half an hour-late afternoon nap).
Sometimes she sleeps for 2 hours in the afternoon. Please tell me
if this is enough and also most often than not she wakes up from
her sleep howling as if she has seen some nightmare. But she
quitens down the moment we pick her up. She sleeps beside me.
Please advise if this is normal.
My baby girl just turned 8 months. I’m still having a
difficult time setting a schedule for her. There are times when I
feed her and she doesn’t seem to be hungry but still eats.
Lol. Also, she’s an early riser and I’ve tried
everything to try and get her to sleep in till at least 7am. She
goes to bed at 7-730pm and wakes at 6am. On the dot. Every day. She
does sleep thru the night without any night time feedings. This is
her daily schedule, let me know what u think:
6am: wake
7am: breakfast (2tbsp cereal & 1 jar stage 2 fruit)
8am: 6oz bottle
830am-10am: nap
11am: lunch (1 jar stage 2 veggie & a snack, like gerber puffs
or cherrios)
12pm: 6oz bottle
130pm-230pm or 3pm: nap
3pm: 6oz bottle
5pm: dinner (I usually make her soups and she has that with 1/2 jar
stage 2 fruit and a few gerber puffs)
7pm: 7oz bottle
730pm: sleeping
OMG! ive just joined up to the site and was perusing the
‘ideal 8 month old’ schedule, and im stunned! not only
is my 8months old baby not sleeping through the night AT ALL, but
he’s definitely not eating the volume prescribed here.
we’ve got a long way to go… i better start reading the
guides!
@Jennifer The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor. It
could be reflux or allergy, though some spit up is normal. My sons
both had sensitive gag reflexes and it took some time to learn not
to overeat. But, I would still mention it to your doctor, to be
sure. Good luck!
I actually used to breastfeed every 3 to 4 hours before we
started solids, but for the last month or so, this has dropped to 3
times a day (once at between 5 and 6am when he awakes for a feed),
another before he takes his afternoon nap at 130pm, and a last feed
just before placing him in his cot (645pm approx). *** Please,
after reading my schedule, do tell me if I should nurse him MORE
OFTEN….and WHEN you feel I could fit the extra nursing
sessions in?
@Rami At this age, I expect 11-12 hours of sleep at night and
2-3 hours during the day, so I think bedtime sounds very late.
I’d look into moving bedtime earlier. The naps sound like
they could be a little better, but the two 1-hour naps plus a small
catnap sounds fine. He just needs more night-sleep. Good luck!
930 – 1030 or 11am – Morning nap (no nursing before
nap)
Occasionally he resists naps, wouldn’t nap in the pack n
play when we were out of town for a day. I am worried about his
napping/bedtime when on vacation. What will help him sleep in the
pack n play? He used to sleep in it before he moved into his own
room, but he would NEVER nap in it…naps were always in his
bed.
o im sorry by the way when she gets up at 11am she will be up
for about 3hrs n take a nap about 45 min long depends sometimes its
shorter and her second nap will be around 5 or she will take a nap
later.
@Tina Good luck! I hope the new schedule works and improves your
daughter’s sleep. Day and night sleep are handled by
different parts of the brain, so just keep that in mind when
dealing with any problems.
I have a 2 year old and an 8 month old, both boys, both very
different. My first was a dream and slept through the night from 3
months, my 8 month old on the other hand NEVER sleeps through the
night, wakes up at LEAST twice sometimes up to 6 times, grizzles
and usually the only way i can get him to fall asleep is to give
him a bottle, which he takes probably 7-8 mouthfulls then falls
back asleep for around 45 minutes then wakes. It has been like this
for a while and it is really taken its tole as i am findng myself
tired a lot of the time. He was formula fed from the day he was
born (not by choice) i have tried feeding him baby food right
before bed, i have tried having music playing softly in the
bedroom, i have tried keeping him up as long as i possibly can and
nothing seems to be working if anyone has any advice, it would be
greatly appreciated.
Does his schedule look okay for a normal day? Should I worry
about the vacation and try to “make” him nap, or should
I just go with the flow and not worry about it until we get
home?
@Shanti Yes, she sounds like she’s getting enough sleep
and she might just wake up before coming out of her sleep cycle
completely. She will most likely outgrow it. Good luck and thanks
for commenting!
I really don’t know what to do with her should I try dream
feeding her again ? Although I don’t really want to take a
backwards step ! I am due back at work in two weeks and would
really like her to be sleeping to at least 6:00 am
my baby is 8 months old now she wakes up at 11:00am and
doesn’t fall asleep till 3or4am inn the morning sometimes it
will be later. around 12-1pm at nightshe will be tired but wont
fallasleep its like she does things to keep herself up. my myself
have a sleeping problem.please some one give me some advice i know
she shouldnt be sleeping in at 11am but she does not fall asleep
till so late.
My son is almost 8 months old and for the past week he has been
getting up for the day between 5:30 and 6 a.m. I’ve made sure
his room dark and left him to see if he’ll go back to sleep
but he just plays in his crib. He goes to bed at 6:45 or 7 p.m. and
takes two naps in the day of about 1 hour and 20 minutes each (the
first starts between 8 and 9 and the second is around 12:30 or 1).
He recently dropped his third nap.
I want to add to my last post… She will have a nap 2 hrs
after she wakes from approx 10-12. Then only about a 30 min nap
from 2:30-3 (or 3-3:30).
Hello,
my eight month old has an early bedtime (6-6:30) and an early riser
(6-6:30 a.m.)…..no matter what we do this won’t change,
so I have adapted. He is still waking up 1-2 at night to eat. I
feed him because he’s small 18lbs and also because he is
easily distracted from taking milk whether its a bottle or breast.
When takling a bottle, he only eats 3-5 oz, no matter what. He is
currently getting solids 2times/day…..when he was getting
solids 3times a day I was worried because he was taking even less
milk. Should I add back 3rd meal? Is it ok that he takes such low
volumes?
@Amy Yes, it sounds like you might need to regulate how much
night sleep she gets. She can only sleep so many hours in 24 hours,
so you might need to balance how much of it is at night as 7pm-9am
is 14 hours right there. That’s a lot at night. She must love
her night sleep.
Thanks for taking the time to reply, Nicole!
Hi, my son will be 8 months old on the 13th of this month. He
started sleeping through the night when he was 2 months old, but
since he turned 6 monhs old, he’s up anywhere from 2-7 times
a night. He’s breastfed, and that’s the only way I can
get him back to sleep. He will cry and cry until I put him on the
breast. He goes to sleep at night between 8-9 and gets up between
7-8. A lot of days he doesn’t even take a nap, but if he does
it usually only lasts for an hour. I really need help, I am finding
myself more and more drained every day. Most people tell me to let
him cry it out, but I don’t think that is an option for
me.
Also, did you experience with your first son that the 1st
schedule took away from his playtime? I have to keep him from
crawling or laying on his stomach for 15-30 mins after time he
drinks/eats, which means he can’t play on the floor every 2
hours! Because of this, I thought my schedule for him was crazy,
but I’m glad to see someone else has done it
Nicoles last blog post..Cry It Out Defined and Age to Do It
I hope he outgrows this! Not enough spraynwash in the world!
My 8 month usually doens’t take naps during the day.
There’s too much excitement at the babysitters and she wants
be involved in every part of it. Every day from 5-7:30 she takes a
nap. Once the older kids go back to school I’m sure
she’ll sart to take naps again. But then she goes to bed at 9
pm. every night and usually sleep though the night. Is 9 pm to late
to put her to bed?
I have an 8 month old son who will sleep for 2-3 hours at night,
but once he’s awake he will not go back to sleep until 2-4
hours later. once he’s awake he continuously cries. I try
feeding, soothing, rocking, changing, and repositioning. I am so
frustrated and I don’t know what to do. He’s waking
everyone in the house, every night. Someone please help
me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have an 8 month old daughter who has recently REFUSED to go to
sleep before 3 or 4 in the morning. Her 1pm and 4pm naps have
shortened to 45 minutes each. She used to sleep a lot longer. I
have problems sleeping and I’m scared she’s inherited
that trait. I’m hoping she’s just teething (she just
cut her third tooth this week). Anyways, I think part of the
problem is that I’m letting her sleep until ten in the
morning some days because she’s up so late at night.
Tomorrow, I’m getting her up at 7 and I’m going to try
your schedule. Hopefully, this will cure her sleeplessness.
@Jennifer He’s still learning to regulate how much to eat
so he doesn’t overeat, so a little spit up is common.
I’d offer 1/2 the bottle, then solids, and then the rest of
the bottle. I would not rush through it so his body has a chance to
know he’s getting full. Try not to stress too much about it.
He will tell you if he gets hungry. At this age, I’d just try
to have the 3 meals and look for cues he needs snacks between as he
gets older. Good luck!
Thanks Nicole!
I have another question though, yesterday my 8 month old missed her
afternoon nap because we were at a friends house for dinner. So she
had a morning nap from about 10-12 and then went to bed at her
regular time of 7pm. She was grumpy around dinner because she was
so tired. So I thought she would be overtired and be harder to get
to sleep and would wake frequently at night… But she slept
great at night and usually I would have to go in about 3 times a
nght to put her soother back in. I loved that she slept great, but
she was really grumpy that evening because she was so tired. Should
I change her bedtime at all? Maybe she’s going to sleep too
early if she’s waking at night for me to giver her her
soother?
7:30 am wake, nurse
dressed, walk dogs
8:15ish breakfast (cereal, fruit, cheerios)
play
9:30 or 10 down for nap (1 hour)
nurse upon waking
12ish lunch (meat/veggie/yogurt/finger foods)
1:30 offer to nurse
2:30 or 3 down for nap (1 to 1.5 hours)
nurse upon waking, (either cheerios, pieces of fruit, or some other
finger food snack)
play
6ish nurse then dinner (meat, veggie, finger foods)
play
7:30 bath
7:45 nurse
8:00 bed/right to sleep
@Jamie If this schedule is working for you, by all means
continue. Things will change, though, because pretty soon 15
minutes won’t ever be enough time to get a meal in once they
get into feeding himself and toddler time is a lot slower.
Also, having solids so close could
promote pooping in the middle of the nap rather than before it.
But, if it’s not a problem now, don’t worry about it.
And, yes, we had to limit tummy time b/c of all the spread out
eating, but don’t worry, he crawled anyway and then walked 3
weeks later. It works out. The goal of the start/stop of the milk
is because if they are too full, they won’t eat the solids
and if they are too hungry, sometimes they won’t have the
patience to wait for the solids to start satisfying them. So, this
way you curb hunger, but they are still hungry enough to be open to
solids. Hope this helps! Good luck!
5pm- Milk cereal mixed with some vege /fruit puree, plus a
variety of finger-foods (usually a rehash of something similar
eaten at lunch)
530pm – Bath
550pm – Nurse before bed
6pm – In bed.
Our schedule now looks more like the one found below(and yahoo,
he’s eating so much better now, especially when I combine
more finger foods with spoon-fed purees. Luckily his fussing-whiny
behaviour is much reduced and we’re all less stressed!)
I feel like I feed her all day. Is it ok if I feed her
everything at the same time? Like do breakfast then her bottle
right after. I don’t know, I feel so lost. (First time mom,
lol) and I really wanna figure out how to push her wake time to a
later time. Thanks in advance
Hi, my almost 9 month old son has been living by this schedule
since he was almost 1 month old. He used to sleep from 7pm till 6
am, now he goes almost until 6:45 am. His naps are from 9 –
10 am and from 12 – 1:20 or 1:30, he also still wants to
catnap some time after 4 for 20-30 mins.
Yesterday I put him down for a 12 pm nap and he cried and
couldn’t fall asleep for about 10 or 15 minutes. That made me
think that may be the time between his naps is too short (since he
is older now). Or may be we should drop the morning 9 am nap
altogether (unfortunatelly…) I also looked at your 9 month
old schedule and don’t understand why did you move everything
by 1 hour later. What should we do? Thank you!
Jennifer…. My daughter was the same way!! Threw up sooo
much that I would be changing her clothes and mine numerous times.
She finally outgrew it at 7.5 months! Good luck!
Well do not knwo what happened to my earlier post? Anyway
Nicole, just wondering how do you figure out how much formula to
give before solids an hour later? My little on used to be on 6oz
every four hours but at 5 months added solids and do not know what
I am doing? ANd how do you know how much solids to give at a
feeding also?
My baby has 8 month now but when i put her on the crib she wakes
up. she just sleep with us, on our bed.. what do i have to do to
make this stop?? somebody help me pleasee
My 8 month old sleeps great at night and has been since very
early on. She sleeps 7pm-8am! Does she still need 2-3 hours of nap
time during the day if she gets 13 of sleep at night? She lately
has been going down for only 2 naps and if her 2nd nap ends early
(let’s say before 2pm) I will put her to bed earlier or she
will be grumpy.
My baby is almost 8 months we have a good feeding schedule but
his night sleeping patterns are very irregular. He usually has a
bottle around 10 pm and goes to sleep well, sometimes sleeping
until 7:30am. However, other nights he is up 3-4 times and I have
to keep rocking him back to sleep. He takes 3 naps in the day each
are about an hour. I am so frustrated with the night wakings and I
am not sure what he needs. I haven’t given him a bottle in
the middle of the night for months, lots of people have told me to
let him cry it out but I have a hard time listening to the crying.
When I have tried to let him cry he seems to get really worked up
so I end up rocking him. Am I spoiling him? What can I do?
My almost 8 month old son sleeps okay at night – usually
in bed by 7p, up around 2a to nurse, then back to sleep until
around 6-7a. But during the day, if I can get him to nap –
he’s awake after 30 min on the dot! I can’t figure out
how to get him to take longer naps…
@ Alice- I’d recommend checking with your pediatrician
about her eating habits. If she’s sleeping fine, napping fine
and meeting her milestones, then she’s probably fine and may
just be going through a phase. Healthy babies won’t starve
themselves and will eat when hungry. Just try to stick with your
schedule and if she seems hungry at other times, go ahead and feed
her.
@Shauna A healthy baby will neither starve himself or overeat
(those are learned behaviors), so he would tell you if he
isn’t giving enough. If he is gaining well at his
doctor’s visits I would try not to worry too much. If he
isn’t taking in enough breast milk, you may want to consider
cutting back on solids so he’s hungrier. Water is typically
recommended over juice, but 4 ounces of juice in a day (especially
hot days) does not sound like too much. Good luck!
I feel like the luckiest mom on the planet! Our 8 month old son
has been sleeping through the night since he was 2 months! In bed
at 7pm and up at 7-8 am! And he takes 3 naps a day!
1230pm – Lunchtime – Solids of vege-protein and some
water from a beaker (he eats poorly…tends to fuss)
HOWEVER, I should add that I would gladly increase the milk
during the day if it means he might stop waking at say 5 or 530am
for some milk (whether out of true hunger or just comfort, I
don’t know!)
Actually, I’d be grateful for advice and even some
reassurance whether I am doing things right with regards to feeding
and sleeping routines. I will post my current routine in a moment,
but firstly I should mention that I am still breastfeeding, but
have also introduced solids to my son since 6months. He isn’t
a great fan of solids (perhaps also cos he hasn’t got any
teeth yet) but certainly he eats some (definitely got a preference
for sweet stuff . Typically he eats about 10 to 15
baby spoonfuls of whatever is offered before fussing here and
there. However, he does like to hold his food and
self-feed…though not alot actually goes in I suppose.
I am so glad to see that 3 naps is still okay. My daughter
usually only takes 45 minute naps (on the dot) but then sometimes
surprises me with a 2 hour one. I never know how to predict how
long they will be which is frustrating but I guess I will just deal
with it. She pretty much follows the Schedule 2 so I feel better
reading that now.
Thanks!
@Fleur If she’s not hungry, I wouldn’t bother with
the additional feeding. Without knowing her whole schedule,
it’s hard to say, but sometimes a too-late bedtime causes
waking too early in the morning, so if she’s overtired by
bedtime, try 30 minutes earlier and see if it improves.
I think we have figured out the spit up! He was just having too
much at one time and it was also about me feeding him on a schedule
instead of listening to his cues more. He was eating when he was
not hungry. Now it just depends on him, when he is hungry…the
older he has gotten…the more he stretches out his 4 hours ot
5 hours sometimes. Thanks Nicole for the advice! I tried to split
up the milk and the food at the same time…like give milk and
solid and milk again and once he seen the milk he did not want the
food much! So with him I have to give that seperate, like 15 min
after the food. or before, whatever. Thanks for being a listening
board though. Joshua makes his own schedule and sometimes it fits
in to ours and sometimes it does not , but that is ok! He is still
8 months old. Thanks again! For you and everyone’s comments!
the spit up might just be a phase also?
615pm- bath and change for bed
I’m concerned that my soon to be 8 month old daughter
isn’t getting enough formula. she sleeps through the night
with no problems and has two naps a day which both last maybe 10-40
minutes (40 if we are both lucky). she eats a 7oz. bottle in the
morning. then around noon she has a 6oz. bottle and about 2 tblsp.
of rice and a baby spoon of fruit. then in the afternoon she gets
2-4oz. of juice and she has another 7oz. bottle later. then at
night i try to give her 2 tblsp. of veggies and another 6oz.
bottle. this schedule has more or less (with some slight changes as
her appetite has grown) worked for her since she was almost 6
months old but lately she has decided that she won’t eat a
whole 6oz. bottle at dinner and sometimes she refuses to eat the
veggie. what should i do?
between 5-6am – Awakes and I nurse him before he goes back
to sleep(he can be put back in his cot awake -he still just goes
back to sleep)
Please help me with your advice. I have a 7 month old who
started sleeping through the night at 2 months from 8pm-7am. Then
all of a sudden at 5 1/2 months he started waking several times and
wont sleep in his crib at night. He sleep with us, which is causing
me to get no sleep. Once he falls asleep I try to move him to his
crib and in a few minutes he is awake and crying. I can move him
back to my bed and as soon as his head hits my bed he is sound
asleep again. What can I do???
I should also mention that because of my insecurities about the
milk-issue /etc, I’ve regularly fed him yoghurt, cereal and
fruit for breakfast, and offered milk-based vege or fruit dinners
to him. Also, I try to give him some cottage cheese in addition to
what he has for lunch.
Approx 1pm: Wind-down to afternoon nap with nursing session.
approx 530am – he wakes; I nurse him; back to sleep
7/720am – he either wakes for the day or I wake up and go get
him (often, I find him quietly playing – how fascinating he
doesn’t want to cry out for me?!)
7/720 – nurse him before getting changed. Then eat breakfast
(muesli, yoghurt and some fresh fruit plus a tiny baby biscuit or
toast)
approx. 9am- He heads for his morning nap after playing/
crawling about the place.
between 730-8am -Awakes and NOW I nurse him before offering a
very small breakfast (BEFORE, he never nursed – straight to
the solids and I encouraged him to eat more…but maybe that
disrupted his lunchtime appetite.)
I am concerned whether this is enough milk for him. I am worried
if this is the reason why he has to awaken at 5-ish (sometimes
it’s 430am, but rarely) for milk. It is always roughly
10hours after his last milk feed at bedtime, and he does drink, so
I’ve stopped ignoring his cries (I tried CIO several times,
but resulted in distress for both him and myself.) It is afterall,
no real problem to feed him between 5 and 6am, although I am just
wondering WHEN he can give this feed up and just wake up nicely at
say even 630am…
Hi there my daughter is 8 months old and wakes up at 4:00 am
most nights, she doesn’t want feeding, she just wants to be
awake. She goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm. I am having some
difficulties in getting her back to sleep especially as I cannot
leave her to cry as she shares her bedroom with her sister who is 9
and has to get up for school.
@Jennifer It takes some time for babies to learn to stop
overeating and it takes their body some time to “catch
up” and tell them they are full, so it’s best just to
limit the amount of solids, give him time between
“courses”, and don’t necessarily wait until he
seems full to stop. At 8 months, I’m pretty sure my boys were
eating 2 cubes of homemade baby food at one sitting (or about 1
jar). Good luck!
2/230pm – he wakes from his nap.
Hi Nicole, I wrote you a few weeks ago and got some really
helpful advice from the link you gave me. I decided I had to let my
son cry it out, I hate doing it but it’s the only thing that
has worked. My only problem is that I have been doing it now for
almost two weeks but he still cries every night when I put him in
the crib..sometimes he cries for up to 20 minutes. Do you know of
anything I can do to make it easier for him? And thanks for all
your help!
He is getting close to 14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period,
which I know should be enough. But because he’s up so early,
by the time bedtime rolls around he is overtired. I don’t
want to put him to bed any earlier because I don’t want him
to get up any earlier.
Hi Dyan,
If you have some time before you leave on vacation, you could
always try to get him to start napping at home in the Pack n Play
or if that won’t work, maybe just let him play in it for a
little while each day so he gets used to it. I’d also
recommend bring sheets, blankets or stuffed animals with you that
smell like home. Nicole usually advises to try to stick to your
routine as much as possible but to also have fun and not stress
about it too much. Just recognize that after you come home, things
might still be a little off as he re-adjusts to being home. If he
doesn’t do his afternoon nap while you’re on vacation,
then you might be looking at a little earlier bedtime during that
period.
Ok, I’ve gone on long enough…here’s my current
routine…I do appreciate any advice from anyone out there!
Karen