For all of us desperately wondering how to get baby to sleep longer at night. Thinking how amazing it would be to avoid newborn feeding every hour & newborn feeding every 2 hours at night and between daytime naps. Wishing for a newborn feeding guide, schedule, or routine that helps say goodbye to sleepless nights. 

Look no further.

The tips below are to help extend the time between feedings to 3 hours+ instead of every 2 hours or less. And steps for how to get baby to sleep longer at night.

How often should a newborn feed on formula and breastmilk? 

Your newborn baby will need to be fed at least eight times every 24 hours. Dr. Pam tells us that most newborns feed every 3-4 hours. However some may need to feed as often as every two hours.

If this sounds like a lot of work it’s because it is. And it can also be extremely overwhelming for parents!

My first baby needed to feed every 1.5 to 2 hours when she was a newborn for health reasons. It felt like I was feeding her around the clock and literally was. The exclusive breastfeeding, severe sleep deprivation, and baby blues completely exhausted me, mentally and physically!

It was such a relief when her healthcare provider gave me the okay to feed every three hours instead. Being able to feed my second baby every three hours from birth was completely life changing. (More on the solution below.)

Here’s how to avoid baby feeding every hour and not sleeping (newborn feeding schedule)!

Feeding baby every 2.5 to 3.5 hours is so much better instead of every hour or two. This helps create flexibility for parents and consistent meal times. But you should confirm with your baby’s healthcare provider that it’s okay to feed that often.

There are some helpful tips in this post below but Calm Baby Sleep Routine shows you exactly how to gently transition your newborn to sleep through the night without worrying about tears. It doesn’t matter if you breastfeed or formula feed for the first year. (We figured it out so you don’t have to!)

You can use it in a way that works best for you and your family. For example, use it as a:

1. newborn feeding guide — you can follow it strictly week to week
2. feeding schedule by week — use it as a general guide
3. newborn feeding routine — do what works for you and leave the rest even if you want to demand feed or prefer baby-led feeding!

For a newborn feeding every two hours or less, below are tips to help with the transition to avoid newborn feeding every hour or two.

1.      Be intentional about when you start the transition

Start the transition at a feeding when you think your baby will drink a fair amount to fill their tummy before going down for 1.5 to 2.5 hour nap afterward. This is especially important if you find that they eat more at some feedings than others.

My babies tended to drink more at the 6 a.m. breakfast, noon lunch and 6 p.m. dinner/bedtime top up feedings and slightly less in between feedings. Especially when they were 12 weeks old and sleeping 10-12 hours uninterrupted at night (it was incredible, more on that below!).

Consider waiting until baby has just had a small prior feeding. Or if baby is waking from a long nap and hasn’t been feeding for at least two hours. A breakfast time feeding can be a great time to start.

Also try to start as close as possible to one of your baby’s preferred feeding times so that you can stay on track with a routine that works for you and your family.

2. Keep track of when baby is feeding & how much

This is important to help ensure your baby is having enough feedings and nutrients each day.

When it comes to babies feeding and sleeping, it’s easy to get on and off track. This can be caused by things like teething, growth spurts and colds and flu’s. Habits can also cause you to get off track. Like if family comes to visit and baby gets used to sporadic feeding and nap times, or continually falling asleep on an adult rather than their crib).

You can use our free chart (download it below), a journal, or any other tracking method that works for you.

The checklist of other things you may want to consider keeping track of is in our course.

3. Always make sure baby is full (try 1.5-hour feeding windows)

We have lots of info on how to tell if baby is still hungry after breastfeeding. One suggestion for figuring this out may sound strange… but it is so helpful until you know your baby well enough to know when they’re full.

The fact is, it sometimes takes 1.5 hours from the time you start feeding a newborn until they are actually full. Over time they should become more efficient (feeding in an hour or half an hour). But it usually takes longer at first.

It can be very helpful to top baby up with breastmilk or formula for up to 1.5 hours (a feeding window) while they are either awake or falling in and out of sleep. This can help also help smooth the transition when you’re trying to get away from feeding every two hours.

If baby is full and comfy, they’ll be more likely to fall asleep and stay asleep for longer between feedings!

This is what I did when feeding my baby every 1.5 hours for the first week. Then transitioned to 2+ hours between feeding times.

• At the start of each feeding, feed until she fell asleep (which was usually on me).
• For 1.5 hours from the starting time, tried to gently wake her up every 15 minutes to half an hour to feed her again.
• Try to gently top her up one last time at the end of that 1.5 hour feeding window before putting her down to sleep for a two hour nap.
• As she got older, I obviously knew her better but it was helpful tracking when she fed and slept on her chart (which you can download below for free).
• A month or so later, I’d only need to feed for about 45 minutes at each feeding time because I knew it usually would take her that long to get a full tummy. But I’d always try topping up once or twice just in case until she was about 6 months old.
• Not only did I avoid newborn feeding every hour & every 2 hours, but both of my babies slept 10+ hours uninterrupted each night starting at 12 weeks (3 months old). Unheard of, right!? Everything you need to know about this and the routine is in Calm Baby Sleep Course. Dr. Pam and I are passionate about sharing it because YOU DESERVE a full night of sleep with your baby!

Patience and perseverance will help get you through the transition.

Even if you want to avoid newborn feeding every hour & every 2 hours, keep in mind that the transition can be slow. Especially if baby is older and needs to transition away from a well-established habit.

You may also get on and off track here and there. This is common when baby has a cold or is teething, etc.

Please share your comments and questions below!

And don’t forget to check out Calm Baby Sleep Course.