The Four hour schedule is probably one of the most coveted schedules in the newborn days. Three hours go by really fast when your having to stop and feed a baby, but it is amazing what an extra hour can do. Do you know how much you can get done with just one more hour between feedings? You would definitely be surprised.

Introducing Solids:

We started Jase on pureed foods right when he hit four months old. His pediatrician recommended that we start him on rice cereal and go from there. Looking back, I definitely do not think he was ready at four months old. I think it was a bit early developmentally to start him on food. It didn’t harm him, but I decided to wait longer with Elyse. I wanted to look for signs of readiness for her to start foods rather than start at a certain age. So four months came and went and I wondered when Elyse would move to the long anticipated for four hour schedule. I was desperate for a little bit more time between feedings with a toddler to tend to.

When Elyse hit five months old I could tell she was wanting more than nursing. I had given some thought to taking a Baby Lead Weaning approach, but it was too early to start her on that so we jumped into some purees. I skipped rice cereal this round because after some research I learned that it is very hard for babies to digest and carries no nutritional value at all. I believe it attributed to a lot of tummy issues with Jase when he started foods, and by leaving it out of Elyse’s diet we haven’t had the same problems. I guess you learn the second time around, right? So we skipped the rice cereal and went right into veggies and she has loved it since day one!

I learned that starting your child on food has a direct correlation with the four hour schedule. When you add food into the diet it helps them go a little longer between feedings and that is when the for hour schedule comes into play. You don’t want to start your child on food too early, but if you’re wondering when the four hour schedule might come if it hasn’t yet, just know that starting food will help when the time comes! Moving to a four hour schedule takes away a feeding during the day so you definitely want to make sure your child is ready.

I started with veggies in the evening, but quickly realized that wasn’t enough for Elyse. Within a week or two of starting purees, Elyse was already eating three times a day.

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Four Hour Schedule:

Here is what her schedule looks like at five months:

8:00am – Wake & Nurse

9:00am – Breakfast – Pureed Fruit

10:00am – 12:00 noon – Nap

12 noon – Wake & Nurse

1:00pm – Lunch – Pureed Veggies, sometimes half fruit and half veggies

2:00pm – 4:00pm – Nap

4:00pm – Wake & Nurse

5:00pm – Dinner – Pureed Veggies

6:00pm – 8:00pm – Nap

8:00pm – Wake & Nurse

(2 Hour Wake Time)

10:00pm – Last nurse of the night and down for bed.

You can find the rest of the posts in the Baby’s First Year Series here.

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