Family Sleep Schedule
Peach (5 months) · 2 & 4-year-old boys · Breastfeeding + Bottle · Cosleeping
🌙 Schedule updated Apr 8. Top-off moved to 4:30 PM (was 5:30 PM) — fixes the 7 PM hunger gap. No more OJ: purées only at 7:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Dream feed moved to 11:00 PM. 1 AM wake → shush back to sleep, no feed. Nap structure simplified: nap 1 at 10 AM, nap 2 at 1:45 PM, bottle at 2:30 PM.
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Baby Peach — Current Schedule · Updated Apr 8
Phase 1 — Week 2 of 6–8 · Top-off moved to 4:30 PM to fix the 7 PM hunger gap. Purées (no juice) at 7:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Dream feed at 11 PM. 1 AM wake → shush only, no feed. Goal: 1 AM drops out naturally, then pull dream feed down.
Goal times are fixed every day — aim for these regardless of how the morning went. Minor drift (15–30 min) is fine; just return to the next goal time, don't cascade changes forward.
| ~5:40 AM | ~30 min | 🤱 Breast feed — good morning | breast |
| 7:30 AM | 10–15 min | 🥣 Purées FOOD milk first | small portion |
| 9:30 AM | ~30 min | 🤱 Breast feed | breast |
| 10:00 AM | ~75 min | 😴 Nap 1 | — |
| 12:15 PM | ~30 min | 🍼 Bottle feed | 100ml |
| 12:30 PM | 10–15 min | 🥣 Purées FOOD milk first | small portion |
| 1:00 PM | ~45 min | 🧸 Play | — |
| 1:45 PM | ~45 min | 😴 Nap 2 | — |
| 2:30 PM | ~30 min | 🍼 Bottle feed | 100ml |
| 4:30 PM | ~30 min | Top-off feed TOP-OFF | 150ml | — |
| 6:00 PM | 15–20 min | 🛁 Bath — warm, calm, dim lights after | — |
| 7:00–7:30 PM | ~30 min | 🍼 FORMULA bottle — dim room KEY | 180ml formula |
| 7:30 PM | — | ✨ BEDTIME — drowsy but awake | — |
| 11:00 PM | 10–15 min | 💤 Dream feed — feed while drowsy, don't fully wake her DREAM | 150ml formula · don't drop yet |
| ~1:00 AM | — | Shush back to sleep — no feed. Pat + shush 2 min. NO FEED | — |
⏱ Top-off at 4:30 PM (150ml) builds hunger for the 7 PM feed. 7 PM formula 180ml. Dream feed 11 PM 150ml (hold here for now). 1 AM wake → shush only, no feed — let her learn to resettle. Once 1 AM drops out → then lower dream feed. Breast resumes after 5 AM as normal.
Overnight — what to do if she wakes
| ~8–10 PM | — | Early evening wake — pat + shush only, no feed until dream feed at 11 PM | — |
| ~1 AM | — | Shush back to sleep — no feed. Pat + shush 2 min. Won't settle → still no feed, pick up to calm, put back down drowsy. | no feed |
| ~3–5 AM | — | Feed and back down — aim to get to 5:40 AM wake | breast or 100ml formula |
| After 5 AM | — | Back to breast as normal | breast |
1 AM rule: shush only, no feed. This is the wake we're eliminating. Pat + shush → pick up to calm if escalating → put back down drowsy. No formula. If she wakes 3–5 AM she can have breast or 100ml. After 5 AM → breast as normal.
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The Boys — 2 & 4 Years
| 7:00 AM | — | Wake up + morning milk | |
| 7:00–8:30 AM | — | Morning play at home | |
| 8:30 AM | — | Leave for school | |
| 9:00 AM | — | School starts | |
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
| 3:30 PM | — | School ends | |
| 4:15–5:00 PM | 45 min | 🎾 Tennis Tennis | |
| 5:00 PM | — | Dinner out | |
| 7:00–7:30 PM | — | Home — skip bath, books in bed | |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | — | ✨ Bedtime — Parent 2 | |
⚠️ Late night — skip bath, straight to wind-down
| 4:30 PM | — | School ends | |
| 5:00 PM | ~1 hr | 🤸 Gymnastics Gymnastics | |
| 6:00–6:30 PM | — | Home — dinner | |
| 6:30 PM | — | Bath + wind down | |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | — | ✨ Bedtime — Parent 2 | |
| 3:30 PM | — | School ends | |
| 4:00–5:00 PM | ~1 hr | 🥋 Martial Arts Martial Arts | |
| 5:00 PM | — | Dinner out | |
| 7:00–7:30 PM | — | Home — skip bath, books in bed | |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | — | ✨ Bedtime — Parent 2 | |
⚠️ Late night — skip bath, straight to wind-down
| 4:30 PM | — | School ends | |
| 5:30 PM | ~1 hr | 🏊 Swimming Swimming | |
| ~6:30 PM | — | Dinner out | |
| 7:00–7:30 PM | — | Home — skip bath (just swam!), books in bed | |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | — | ✨ Bedtime — Parent 2 | |
⚠️ Skip bath — they swam. Straight to wind-down.
| 3:30 PM | — | School ends Early finish | |
| 3:30–5:00 PM | — | Free play or go home early | |
| 5:00 PM | — | Dinner | |
| 6:15 PM | — | Bath + wind down | |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | — | ✨ Bedtime — Parent 2 | |
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Evening Split — Both Parents
👤 Parent 1 — Peach
| 6:00 PM | Bath |
| 7:00–7:30 PM | Feed 180ml in dim room |
| 7:30 PM | Baby down ✨ |
| ~8:00 PM | Settle wake — no feed |
| 8:30 PM+ | 🎉 Free |
👤 Parent 2 — Boys
| 6:15 PM | Bath (Tue/Fri) or skip |
| 6:45–7:30 PM | Quiet time / books in bed |
| 7:45–8:00 PM | Both boys down ✨ |
| 8:00 PM | 🎉 Free |
Dream feed 11:00 PM — whichever parent is available. Don't fully wake her.
🎯
Plan to Sleep Through the Night
Week 1–2 — Establish the schedule ← YOU ARE HERE (Night 14)
Bedtime settling: 30+ min → 10 min 🎉. Best stretch: 5h 51m (Mar 30). New volumes from Apr 4: 180ml bedtime feed, 150ml dream feed (hold), 100ml formula at 1 AM. Once 1 AM drops out → then pull dream feed down to 100ml.
Week 2–4 — Stretch the overnight feeds
Reduce nursing duration 1–2 min every few nights. Delay overnight feeds 15–30 min. Try patting first — she may resettle on her own.
Week 4–6 — Drop the remaining overnight feed
Fade the last feed to 1–2 min. Wait 5 min before responding. Ensure full daytime feeds so she's not genuinely hungry overnight.
Week 6–8 — Sleeping through the night 🎉
Full stretches typically arrive around 6–8 months. Expect brief setbacks from growth spurts or teething — just return to the schedule.
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Key Tips to Remember
- Earlier bedtime = better sleep. Overtired babies wake more, not less. 7:30 PM is the foundation — don't let it slide.
- Volume over frequency. 150ml per bottle, 750–900ml/day total. Let her finish even if the feed runs over time — volume matters more than the clock.
- The ~8 PM wake is not hunger. Less than 2 hours since her last full feed. Pat + shush → pick up to calm if escalating → put back down drowsy. Only feed if 3+ hours since 7 PM feed.
- Undoing the hold/walk habit — Gradual Withdrawal:
Week 1: Stop motion, hold still until asleep.
Week 2: Hold until drowsy, lay down, firm hand on chest, pat + shush.
Week 3: Lay down drowsy, move further from crib each night.
Apply at every nap too — nap consistency is what makes nights improve. - Drowsy but awake. Whatever she needs to fall asleep at bedtime, she'll need at 2 AM. Limp and heavy, eyes still fluttering — that's the target.
- Give it 5–7 days before adjusting. Formula at 7 PM produced 4h 58m on Night 2 — the best stretch ever. Wednesday already showing two 3h+ stretches. Stay consistent.
- Check with your pediatrician before dropping overnight feeds — weight gain matters while breastfeeding.
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Baby Tracker Analysis — Birth to Now
Days tracked
170+
Oct 16 – Apr 4
Best stretch ever
5h 51m
Sun Mar 30 · Night 13
This week avg
4h 51m
longest stretch per night
Longest stretch per night — Mar 29–Apr 4
Sun
5h 26m
Mar 29
Mon
5h 51m
Mar 30 🏆
Tue
2h 47m
Mar 31
Wed
4h 35m
Apr 1
Thu
3h 57m
Apr 2
Fri
3h 53m
Apr 3
Sat
4h 25m
Apr 4 ½
- Mar 29–30 showed 5h 26m and 5h 51m — two new personal bests back to back. Mar 31 dipped (2h 47m) but Apr 1–2 bounced back to 4h 35m and 3h 57m. Normal oscillation mid-consolidation.
- Mar 31 dip was likely overtiredness or a growth spurt — not a regression. Returned to normal the next two nights without any changes.
- Bedtime volume matters. Mar 30 (5h 51m) coincided with consistent full bedtime feeds. From tonight: 180ml at bedtime, 150ml dream feed held steady, 100ml formula at 1 AM.
- Logging errors confirmed. Mar 24–25 nap totals of 6h+ are timer artifacts — real nap totals were 1–2h. Ignored in analysis.