Between weeks twelve and fifteen, most babies go easily to a
combination 3- to 4-hour routine and drop the late-evening feeding.
Phase Three: Weeks Sixteen through Twenty-four
Your baby will maintain four to six liquid feedings in a 24-hour period,
three of which will be supplemented with baby food.
Phase Four: Weeks Twenty-five through Fifty-two
The process of moving a child to three meals a day should be completed
by the end of this phase. If you are still breast feeding, and we hope you
are, remember for each meal there needs to be a time of nursing, and one
or two more liquid feedings in addition offered during the day. This will
help maintain your milk supply.
How to Drop a Feeding
By dropping a feeding, we don’t mean your baby will take in less food
over a 24-hour period. Actually, the amount will gradually increase
although the frequency of feedings will decrease. As your baby begins to
take in more food at each feeding and his metabolism stabilizes, you will
begin dropping a feeding period. The three most common ways to do this
follow:
- Stretching from a 3-hour to a 3½-hour routine, or from a 3½ -hour
to a 4-hour routine. If you have to consistently wake your baby for his or
her daytime feedings, this is a strong indication that the baby can go
longer between feedings. Generally, your baby will be capable of moving
to a flexible 3- to 4-hour routine between three and four months of age,
but there is no rush. - Drop the middle-of-the-night feeding. Many babies drop this
feeding on their own between the seventh and ninth week. One night they
simply sleep until morning. Some babies gradually stretch the distance
between the late evening feeding (10:00 P.M.) and the first morning