PDF4 6month

4-6 MONTH SCHEDULES & TROUBLESHOOTING
Quick Guide (4-6 Months)

5:00-6:30 AM Early Wake
6:30-7:00 AM Morning Start
7:00 AM Breakfast Milk Feed
Awake time 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hours max
9:15/9:30 AM Morning Nap 30-45 minutes
10:00 AM Morning Milk Feed
10:45/11:00 AM Lunch Milk Feed (if on solids)
11:30 AM Lunch Milk Feed or Solids
Awake time 2 ¼ hours – 2 ½ hours max
Lunch Nap 2 - 2 ¼ hours (12:15/12:30 -
12:15/12:30 PM
2:15/2:30 PM)
2:15/2:30 PM Afternoon Milk Feed
Awake time 2 ½ hrs max
Afternoon Nap 10-15 mins (4:45/4:50 -
4:45 PM
5:00PM)
5:00 PM Dinner Milk Feed
5:30 PM Dinner Solids
6:15-6:30 PM Bedtime Milk Feed

Awake time 2 hrs max
7:00 PM Bed Time
9:00 PM Expressing Time
10:00 PM Dream Milk Feed (optional)
Total Day Sleep 3 hours approx. (between 7 AM - 7 PM)
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This document is for your personal use only and may not be distributed
1
Detailed Guide (4-6 Months)
If your baby wakes between 5:00-

6:30 AM and won’t resettle, feed
Early one side or half a bottle and try to
5:00-6:30 AM
Wake settle back to sleep until 7:00 AM.
If she won’t resettle see
troubleshooting notes.
If she wakes after 6:30 AM, if
crying or hungry get her up for
Morning
6:30-7:00 AM the day, otherwise leave in bed if
Start
happy, keep her morning nap at
9:15/9:30 AM.
Wake your baby if not already
7:00 AM
awake. Change nappy/diaper.
Awake time 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hrs between waking up and the Morning Nap
Breakfast
7:00 AM Give your baby a full feed.
Milk Feed
If you fed your baby one
breast/half a bottle between 6:00-
7:30/8:00 AM 6:30 AM then feed the other
breast or the other half of the
bottle now.
Take your baby to her room,
Morning check nappy/diaper, swaddle or
9:15/9:30 AM
Nap sleeping bag and put her in bed
for her nap. This nap will slowly

2
move from 9:15 AM to 9:30 AM

between 4 and 6 months.
Wake your baby if she is not
10:00 AM
already awake.
Awake time 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hrs between the Morning and Lunch Nap
Feed your baby a full feed (or do
Morning
10:00 AM one lunch milk feed at 10:45-
Milk Feed
11:00 AM)
If your baby has shown signs of
Lunch Milk
10:45/11:00 AM needing solids, do a full milk feed
Feed
here instead of at 10:00 AM.
Give your baby a Lunch Milk feed
before the Lunch Nap (if you
haven’t given her a full milk feed
Lunch Milk
at 10:45-11:00 AM). If your baby
11:30 AM Feed or
is starting solids, introduce them
Solids
here. No need to give more milk
after solids if she is taking about ½
cup of solids.
Your baby will be getting tired
Change now. Take her to her room and
12:00-12:15 PM and Wind wind-down, check nappy/diaper,
down swaddle or sleeping bag and put
your baby in bed for her nap.
At 4 months, your baby should be
napping from 12:15 PM to
12:15/12:30 PM Lunch Nap 2:15/2:30 PM. Once they’re very
close to 6 months, their nap will
move to 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM.
3
Aim for a nap of no more than 2 ¼

hours.
Your baby may wake after one

sleep cycle of around 45 mins - 1
hour. Allow her up to 15 mins to
resettle herself as long as she is
not crying. See troubleshooting
notes.
If you have only just started on

our Guides and your baby can’t
yet self-settle, you may have to
resettle her during this nap for a
while until you teach her this skill.
Wake your baby if not already
awake. If she woke during the nap
or didn't sleep well for some
2:15/2:30 PM
reason let her sleep until 2:30 PM
but don't let her sleep past 2:30
PM or longer than 2 ¼ hours.
Afternoon Give your baby a full feed when
2:15/2.30 PM
Milk Feed she wakes.
Awake time 2 ½ hrs from the Lunch Nap to the Afternoon Nap.

4
Your baby can sleep 10 to 15

mins.
As long as your baby slept for at

least 10 minutes at this nap,
bedtime will still be 7:00 PM. If
your baby didn't nap for some
reason and she’s closer to 6
months, put her to bed at
Afternoon
4:45 PM 6:15/6:30 PM and bring the
Nap
dinner feeds forward by half an
hour.
Your baby will start to cut right

back on the afternoon nap. From
5-6 months, this nap might be
hard to achieve. You may need to
go for a drive or take your baby
for a walk.
Wake your baby now if not
5:00 PM
already awake.
Dinner
5:00 PM Give your baby a full feed now.
Milk Feed
Dinner If you are introducing solids, feed
5:30 PM
Solids dinner now.
6:00 PM Bath your baby.
You shouldn't need to do this in
Bedtime her room anymore as you don’t
6:15-6:30 PM
Milk Feed want to create a feed-to-sleep
association, however if it is a loud,
5
busy time in your house, you can

still feed your baby in a quiet
room.
Take your baby to her room,
Wind check nappy/diaper, put in
6:50 PM
Down sleeping bag and put her in bed
for the night.
Settle your baby in her bed for the
night. If she didn't have an
afternoon nap and she’s closer to
6 months, she might wake after
35/45 minutes; this is likely
overtiredness. If she does this,
you will need to start waking her
from the lunch nap at 2:15 PM to
7:00 PM Bedtime ensure you can get in an
afternoon nap at 4:45 PM for 10-
15 minutes.
If your baby isn’t settling well at

bedtime and you are giving her
longer than the guide for her
afternoon nap, you will need to
reduce the afternoon nap.
If you are introducing a bottle at
the dream feed, express from
both sides. Your supply will likely
9:00 - 9:30 PM Expressing
be regulating now so you probably
won't be expressing much more
than 100ml/3oz between both

6
breasts. You may need to top up

with a bottle as she may be taking
more than what you can express.
Get your baby out of bed and
change nappy/diaper first if
Dream
needed. Feed her quietly and
10:00 PM Feed
avoid stimulating or talking to her.
(optional)
You want to keep her as sleepy as
possible.
If you are doing a dream feed,
your baby might sleep through till
7:00 AM. However, it is normal to
have 2 feeds (including the dream
feed) in the night until solids are
well established at 6 months. A
Overnight good indication whether she
needs a feed or not is if she is not
interested in feeding at 7:00 AM
after feeding in the night. If so
you can try resettling at one of
the wakes overnight rather than
feeding for a few days.

7
Catnapping Guide (4-6 Months)

Use this Guide if the Lunch Nap goes wrong, after
reading the troubleshooting notes, to recover your day.
7:00 AM Morning Start

7:00 AM Breakfast Milk Feed
Awake time 2 ¼ - 2 ½ hours max
9:15 AM Morning Nap 45 mins
10:00 AM Milk Feed
10:45/11:00 AM Morning Milk Feed (if on solids)
Lunch Milk Feed or Solids (if you are introducing
11:30 AM
solids)
Awake time 2 ¼ -2 ½ hours max
12:15/12:30 PM Lunch Nap
Start from here if your baby has woken early
1:00 PM
from their lunch nap and you can’t resettle them.
2:00 PM Afternoon Milk Feed
2:30 PM Afternoon Split Nap (30 mins)
3:00 PM Wake
4:30 PM Afternoon Split Nap (30 mins)
5:00 PM Wake and Dinner Milk Feed
5:30 PM Dinner Solids (if you’ve introduced lunch)
6:15-6:30 PM Bedtime Milk Feed

Awake time 2 hrs max
7:00 PM Bed Time
8
Notes & Troubleshooting

Feeding
If your baby starts to refuse the Lunch Milk Feed
before her Lunch Nap (especially bottle-fed babies),
combine the Morning and Lunch Milk Feeds and do
one feed closer to
11:00 AM to ensure she is full enough to sleep well
during the Lunch Nap. If she wakes during the Lunch
Nap and you had combined the two feeds, assume
that your baby is
hungry and go in and feed straight away to resettle.
If this happens for more than a few days go back to
doing the Morning Milk Feed at 10:00 AM and also
the Lunch Milk Feed before the Lunch Nap,
especially during a growth spurt.
Around 4-6 months your baby may show signs of

wanting/needing solids, please ensure you take the
advice of your health care professional about
weaning. Milk is still the most important food for
your baby so make sure you still give milk before
solids.
Lunch is the first place to start with solids and focus

on this being the main meal of the day. Breakfast
and/or dinner can be introduced after a few days. It’s
really important that at least 2 meals each day
contain iron and from 6 months that protein is
included at the lunch meal as this helps them to feel
9
fuller overnight. However meat based iron

containing foods are best held off until around 10
months at dinner as protein at dinner time may
cause overnight waking. If you have started solids
and your baby is still waking during their Lunch Nap,
it is likely that you need to increase them. Meals
should be kept to a maximum of half a cup until little
ones are around 6 months old as this is considered
the maximum gastric capacity (approximately) for
little ones this age.
If your baby is taking less than 1⁄2 a cup of solids at

the lunch meal, they still might need a milk feed
before the Lunch Nap.
Around 5-6 months, and until 8 months old, if your

baby is starting to wake more at night and/or isn’t
settling well at bedtime, a change to the feeding
structure in the evening could help. The first thing to
try is making the 5 PM milk feed smaller; offer one
side/half a bottle at 5 PM, then offer solids (if
introduced). This will mean that your baby will get a
fuller milk feed before bedtime. If your baby is
having solids and you don't see any improvement
after 3 days, you can try and remove the 5 PM milk
feed altogether and just offer solids. This will mean
the bedtime milk feed is larger and will allow your
baby to settle easier at bedtime and sleep for longer
periods.

10
Early Waking / Morning Wake

Before 5:00 AM:
If your baby wakes before 5:00 AM and has fed in
the last 2 hours, see if she will settle back to sleep. If
she won’t, give her a feed. For more information see
Troubleshooting Overnight.
5:00-6:00 AM:
If your baby wakes between 5:00-6:00 AM and
won’t resettle, feed one side or half a bottle and try
to settle back to sleep until 7:00 AM. If she won’t go
back to sleep, move the Morning Nap forward to 2
1⁄4 hrs after she woke, and allow her to sleep until
the normal wake up time of the Morning Nap. Do
the Breakfast Milk Feed before the Morning Nap.
If your baby doesn’t sleep for the full nap finishing at

9.45/10am and won’t resettle back to sleep, get
them up and use a power nap after the appropriate
awake time to bridge the gap between the morning
and lunch nap.
6:00-6:30 AM
If your baby wakes before 6:30 AM and won’t settle
back to sleep, feed one side or half a bottle and try
to settle back to sleep until 7:00 AM. If she won’t go
back to sleep, give her
a 10-minute Power Nap 2 hours from when she

11
woke, then continue with the Morning Nap at the

scheduled time in the Guide.
6:30-7:00 AM
If she wakes after 6:30 AM get her up for the day if
crying or hungry, otherwise leave in bed if happy and
keep her Morning Nap at 9:15/9:30 AM.
The Morning Nap

During this Guide the Morning Nap should be
moving slowly from 9:15 AM at 4 months towards
9:30 AM at 6 months. This will then move the Lunch
Nap from 12:15 PM to 12:30 PM.
Your baby will likely be cutting down on the Morning

Nap naturally now and only sleeping one cycle of
around 35-45 minutes. If she is still sleeping longer
than this, you should wake her from the nap as it can
have a negative effect on the Lunch Nap and cause
her to either wake after 1 sleep cycle or wake early
from the nap as she’s not tired enough.
If the Lunch Nap is going wrong and you can rule out
hunger, try cutting the Morning Nap to 30/40
minutes rather than 45.
You should only shorten your baby’s Morning Nap

length when it is beginning to impact on their Lunch
Nap.
12
The Lunch Nap

At 4 months, your baby should be napping from
12:15 PM to 2:15/2:30 PM. Once they’re very close
to 6 months, their nap will move to be 12:30 PM to
2:30 PM, in which case they may be able to go until
bedtime without an Afternoon Nap.
If anything goes wrong in the Lunch Nap at any time

during this Guide and your baby wakes for a decent
period, settle her back to sleep until 2:30 PM and
wake her then.
If she is not doing the full 2 hours at the Lunch Nap

and is waking earlier and she is doing 45 minutes at
the Morning Nap, you can try to reduce her Morning
Nap to 30 to 40 minutes to improve the length of
the Lunch Nap.
Between 3 and 4 months your baby is coming out of

their newborn phase and they should be learning to
self-settle. In other words, learning to go to sleep
without any help, much
like adults do. Due to this change in development,
she will come into a lighter sleep at the end of a
sleep cycle around 35-45 minutes. Your baby needs
to be given the chance to settle herself back to
sleep. If you are already doing two feeds before the
Lunch Nap, you can assume that it is not hunger
causing a wake and leave your baby for 10-15
minutes to resettle, as long as they aren’t crying up;
this is the time that they learn they can sleep longer
13
than one sleep cycle during the day rather than

waking. If after 10-15 minutes your baby is still
awake, go in and resettle, treating it like a night
wake, resettle until asleep.
If after a few days of doing this, your baby is still

waking, it will likely be something else such as they
are relying too heavily on a parent-dependent sleep
association at the start of their nap, they are sick, or
they are too hot or cold.
If your baby has not started solids and you aren't

doing two milk feeds before the Lunch Nap, go back
to doing this - it will more than likely be hunger
waking your baby at the
Lunch Nap, in which case feeding to resettle would
be your option here.
If you have only just started on our Guides and your

baby can’t yet self-settle, you may have to resettle
her during this nap for a while until she learns to do
it herself.
If your baby is struggling with constant catnapping

(only sleeping for one sleep cycle), you can also
ensure their room is pitch black, you’re using white
noise and that they are still swaddled as these
factors can help a baby sleep longer.
If the Lunch Nap goes wrong:

14
Woke 12:15-1:15 PM
If your baby does wake during the Lunch Nap
(between 12:15 - 1:15 PM) and you have given two
feeds before the nap, allow 15 minutes to self-settle
back to sleep as long as she’s not crying up.
If she is not resettling after 15 minutes or she is

crying, try and resettle her in her bed by whatever
means necessary, e.g. side settling, rocking or
feeding, for a maximum of 15 minutes before getting
her up.
If you have only done one feed before the nap,

assume hunger and feed straight away to resettle.
If she won’t resettle, follow the Catnapping Guide.
Woke 1:15-2:15PM
If your baby slept well in the Lunch Nap but woke
early (between 1:15-2:15 PM), for example at 2:00
PM instead of 2:15 PM, then the normal Afternoon
Nap will start 2 1⁄2 hrs from when she woke, but
ideally finishing at 5:00 PM, therefore giving her a
catch up.
The Afternoon Nap

This nap is very short now and will only be 10-15
minutes at around 4:45 PM.

15
As you reach closer to 6 months, you may have to

work very hard to get an Afternoon Nap in, by either
taking your baby for a walk or drive.
Make sure you wake her from her Lunch Nap at 2:30
PM at the latest to ensure an Afternoon Nap. If your
baby isn't wanting to take an Afternoon Nap you can
try waking from
the Lunch Nap at 2:15 PM to get a short nap in
before 5:00 PM, but do not let them sleep past 5:00
PM if you want them to go to bed at 7:00 PM. Make
sure you do not let them sleep longer than the total
daytime sleep hours for their age.
If the Afternoon Nap is cut short, bring your bedtime

forward to compensate. Even if this means a 6-6:30
PM bedtime.
If your baby doesn't nap for some reason in the

afternoon, you will probably find that she will wake
after one sleep cycle after going to bed for the night.
This is due to overtiredness, and you will need to
ensure they have an Afternoon Nap the next day.
We recommend having a short 10-minute Afternoon
Nap, waking at 5:00 PM, until 6 months.
Closer to 6 months, signs that your baby may be

ready to drop this nap are:
• refusing to settle for the nap AT ALL

• having a short 10 min nap and then not
settling well at their normal 7 PM bedtime
16
• having the short 10 min nap, then waking 45

minutes after bedtime
The Power Nap

This is a nap you can use at any time of the day to
bridge the time between normal naps if your baby
has woken early.
To do a power nap, put your baby down for a sleep

after the normal awake time but only let them sleep
for 10 minutes.
This is very strict and it may feel strange waking your

baby after such a short time, but if you let them
sleep longer than this your baby will not be tired
enough for her next nap.
After the 10-minute nap you can put your baby

down for their next nap at the usual time.

17
We would only suggest using this power nap if it

meant that even after adjusting your day, your
bedtime would be earlier than 6 PM.
The Dream Feed (Optional)

The dream feed should be very quick by now. If your
baby stays awake for any period of time after this
feed, you need to look at how much daytime sleep
she is having.
If your baby is sleeping well from the Dream Feed to

6:30-7:00 AM, has done so for a few weeks and
becoming less interested or fussing with their
Breakfast Milk Feed or taking less milk at the Dream
Feed, you can start to slowly reduce the amount that
you give them at the dream feed. Do this by
reducing the bottle amount by 30ml/1oz or
breastfeed time by 5 minutes every three days. As
long as your baby still sleeps through until the
morning you can keep reducing the bottle. You will
need to be very lenient if your baby starts to wake in
the night or starts waking earlier in the morning, you
will need to assume hunger and may
need to keep the Dream Feed in until they are
established on solids and taking two full meals,
around 6 months.
If your baby is waking 2-3 hours after the Dream

Feed, or 2-hourly, it is a sign that the Dream Feed
isn’t working and you are best to drop it altogether
18
and feed your baby when/if she naturally wakes in

the night.
If, for whatever reason, your baby ends up going to

bed an hour later than normal, don’t do the Dream
Feed that night.
If you are introducing solids earlier than 6 months,

you will find that your baby will naturally start to cut
down on this feed. Once she is taking 60ml/2oz or
less for three days you can drop the feed.
Overnight
If you are doing a Dream Feed, your baby might
sleep through till 6:30-7:00 AM, however, some
babies may still need another feed overnight until
they are established on solids. A good indication
whether your baby needs a feed or not is if she is
not interested in feeding at the Breakfast Feed after
feeding in the night.
If your baby wakes between 4:00 AM – 6:30 AM,

feed one side or half a bottle and settle back to
sleep. Feed the other side or the other half of the
bottle between 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM.
If your baby is waking early and not showing any

signs of sleeping closer to 7:00 AM, the most likely
19
reason is too much day sleep, and they are therefore

not tired enough to do a long stretch overnight. If
you are doing the right amount of day sleep, your
baby can self-settle at naps and bedtime, and your
baby is still waking overnight there is likely
something else going on, for example they aren't
getting enough milk between 7:00 AM – 10:30 PM,
or
other medical reasons. You can try and drop the
Dream Feed to see if she does a longer stretch in the
night and only feeds once then settles back to sleep
until 7:00 AM.
This is better than doing a Dream Feed as well as
feeding overnight.
All overnight feeds (7:00 PM – 7:00 AM) should be

done in their room by keeping the lights dim, don’t
talk or stimulate your baby, only change
nappy/diaper if necessary before feeding.
If you are feeding overnight for whatever reason,

your baby will likely only take a small feed or possibly
not be hungry at all at the 7:00 AM feed. This can
have a knock-on effect on
the rest of the morning feeds, so if you combined
the two feeds before the Lunch Nap, you should go
back to feeding twice on those days.
Sleeping
Between 4-6 months your baby has usually lost her
startle reflex and is learning to roll, so this means
20
that you can start transitioning out of her swaddle

into a sleeping bag.
Read the section on Losing the Swaddle for more

information.
We recommend a baby sleeping bag rather than

sheets and blanket as your baby is less likely to get
cold when she moves around.

21

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4-6 MONTH SCHEDULES & TROUBLESHOOTING

Quick Guide (4-6 Months)

6:15-6:30 PM Bedtime Milk Feed

Total Day Sleep 3 hours approx. (between 7 AM - 7 PM)

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

Detailed Guide (4-6 Months)

If your baby wakes between 5:00-

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

move from 9:15 AM to 9:30 AM

Aim for a nap of no more than 2 ¼

Your baby may wake after one

If you have only just started on

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

Your baby can sleep 10 to 15

As long as your baby slept for at

Your baby will start to cut right

busy time in your house, you can

If your baby isn’t settling well at

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

breasts. You may need to top up

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

Catnapping Guide (4-6 Months)

7:00 AM Morning Start

6:15-6:30 PM Bedtime Milk Feed

Notes & Troubleshooting

Around 4-6 months your baby may show signs of

Lunch is the first place to start with solids and focus

fuller overnight. However meat based iron

If your baby is taking less than 1⁄2 a cup of solids at

Around 5-6 months, and until 8 months old, if your

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

Early Waking / Morning Wake

If your baby doesn’t sleep for the full nap finishing at

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

woke, then continue with the Morning Nap at the

The Morning Nap

Your baby will likely be cutting down on the Morning

You should only shorten your baby’s Morning Nap

The Lunch Nap

If anything goes wrong in the Lunch Nap at any time

If she is not doing the full 2 hours at the Lunch Nap

Between 3 and 4 months your baby is coming out of

than one sleep cycle during the day rather than

If after a few days of doing this, your baby is still

If your baby has not started solids and you aren't

If you have only just started on our Guides and your

If your baby is struggling with constant catnapping

If the Lunch Nap goes wrong:

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

If she is not resettling after 15 minutes or she is

If you have only done one feed before the nap,

If she won’t resettle, follow the Catnapping Guide.

The Afternoon Nap

© Copyright LITTLE ONES™

As you reach closer to 6 months, you may have to

If the Afternoon Nap is cut short, bring your bedtime

If your baby doesn't nap for some reason in the

Closer to 6 months, signs that your baby may be

• refusing to settle for the nap AT ALL

• having the short 10 min nap, then waking 45

The Power Nap

To do a power nap, put your baby down for a sleep

This is very strict and it may feel strange waking your