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What IS Eat Play Sleep?
Should I put my baby on a nap schedule?
What IS an appropriate nap schedule for a newborn?
If you ask ten different moms what’s typical for newborn sleep you will undoubtably get ten different answers.
If you ask ten different sleep professionals what’s typical for newborn sleep you’ll get another ten different answers.
If you check the top ten search results on google for what’s typical for newborn sleep you will get yet another ten different answers.
See where I’m going here?? That’s a lot of different answers!
Question: So what is the correct answer? What is normal for newborn daytime sleep?
Answer: The correct answer to all your baby nap schedule questions is: *The best approach to newborn sleep is any approach that:
- Gets your baby the proper amount of sleep
- Works for your family’s routine and lifestyle
- Is developmentally appropriate for your baby
Not every routine is going to work for every family and every baby! However, Nightingales has worked with thousands of clients, and many of our clients want their baby on predictable sleep routines during the day and sleeping through the night by 12-16 weeks. We’ve seen time and again, that putting a newborn on a schedule can be completely attainable, [and beneficial!].
How to get your baby onto an eat play sleep schedule
- A “Three Hour Schedule“.
- Putting baby to sleep drowsy but awake.
- Wait! I lied. It’s actually three tricks, because the third trick is putting those tricks together into one easy to follow schedule. It’s called Eat, Play, Sleep…or the EASY method [eat, play, sleep, you time] or simply the three hour schedule. It’s all over the internet in different forms and different terms. This schedule can start to be worked towards from day one, and usually works well for baby until around 5 months old.
Okay so get to the point. What actually is Eat Play Sleep?
It’s all in the name:
First they eat, then they play, then they sleep.
In that order.
EAT: When baby first wakes up in the morning, this is when you offer a feeding [bottle or breast].
PLAY: After the feed, rouse your baby if they are nodding off and have “play time”. Play can mean just looking at you, laying on a play mat, doing tummy time…whatever. They just need to have their eyes open.
SLEEP: After they have been awake an age appropriate amount of time, and/or they begin showing signs of tiredness- lay that baby down to sleep [drowsy but awake please]. Bonus: you can learn to help them to stay sleep until they are hungry and ready to eat and restart the cycle again.
See? Eat. Play. Sleep.
But what about newborn sleep at night?
Eat Play Sleep is best practiced during 12 “daytime” hours of the day. The other 12 hours at night are basically just the eat, and then the sleep…over and over. [Skip the play at night please!] During the night baby doesn’t need to be stimulated/entertained like during the day. Keep it dark, with a sound machine and have your baby swaddled.
Our team of newborn care specialists at nightingale night nurses supports hundreds of parents nationwide every year to get their babies sleeping through the night, if you’re looking for a little extra help on those overnights.
Why is the eat play sleep schedule so effective?
Eat Play Sleep incorporates both age appropriate awake times and age appropriate feeding stretches. You plan for a baby to wake up when they are hungry right at the three hour mark. [Hence why this is often called the three hour schedule].
This schedule limits missed feeds or your baby cutting a nap short because they wake up hungry.
- If you are breastfeeding this creates a great cycle of supply and demand. Some parents will need to do more like a 2.5 hour schedule and that is OKAY! Not all breastfeeding parents have the same supply, and some babies are hungrier than others.
- If you are formula feeding this eliminates the “is my baby hungry?” Do I need to make a bottle? It helps parents learn and understand their babies and their cues better.
Feeding your baby when they wake up vs feeding them to sleep also helps establish good sleep habits by teaching them to not rely on the comfort of a bottle/breast to fall asleep. Therefore, you are set up healthy sleep habits from day one. The number one sleep issue that we find with older babies is that they are reliant on feeding to sleep. [And will wake up regularly looking for this comfort/support.]
Teaching your baby to fall asleep without feeding to sleep can help prevent issues during the 4 month sleep regression!!
How/When do I start putting my newborn on a 3 hour schedule?
An example I usually give parents about newborn feeding patterns:
- Example one: Your baby is happy to drink one ounce every hour throughout the day and night
- Example two: Your baby is happy to drink two ounces every two hours throughout the day and night
- Example three: Your baby is happy to drink three ounces every three hours throughout the day and night
- Breastfeeding parents feel like they never get a break, their baby is often getting the lighter fore milk vs the heavier hind milk that builds up over time. They may have sore nipples and feel like they are constantly attached to their baby.
- Bottle feeding parents are in a constant cycle of not knowing if they should have their baby finish the last bottle or start a new bottle. They may have sinks full of dishes from baby snacking so often during the day.
- Babies that are fed very frequently often have more gas and discomfort. Every feeding introduces air into the digestive tract. And they are never given the opportunity for their bellies to empty and digest. They also can’t achieve any long sleep stretches because they need to constantly wake to feed.
What are the benefits of putting my newborn on an Eat Play Sleep schedule?
- Parents can plan their days more efficiently. They know when to expect their baby to take a nap and the windows of time they know their baby will likely not need a feeding.
- Happier babies! Babies that are more well rested are less crabby, colicky and sleep better at night.
- Better weight gain. We’ve found that babies on this schedule do better than “on demand” or a rigid 4 hour schedule when it comes to getting the correct amount of oz in a 24 hour period. Schedules like Moms on Call 4 hour schedule don’t necessarily match up with biological rhythms.
- If you put the work in early, and set yourself up with a good sleeper, then there usually isn’t need for traditional “sleep training” later on! [Although Nightingales does help with that too if you end up needing it!]
When to stop Eat. Play. Sleep.
I Still Need Help With Newborn Sleep!
It’s okay. It can feel really complicated at first. If you learn better through visual education, we recommend Baby Care Classes. They have pre-recorded videos that explain all the ins and outs of newborn sleep step by step.
We also have a 30 day virtual sleep support program where we go over your daily routines, feedings and sleep habits and work together to gently guide you to a more sustainable place!
Newborn Example Nap Schedules:
Are you still unsure of what Eat Play Sleep looks like? Let us show you! These examples are goals* and will rarely be a perfect reality!
You should focus on feeding times and awake times and let the rest fall as it may especially for the first couple months!