Having a new born can be unpredictable to say the least and there really is no set schedule you can have with them until they get a little older. With my 10 plus years of experience in the baby field I have found that feeding your newborn on demand during the day and stretching them to a 3-hour cycle at night works best to get your child to thrive. It is normal for babies to lose some of their birth weight within the first week of birth. When your new born is first brought home, the most important thing to do is have them gain back the weight they have lost.

The best way for you to go about having your child gain back their weight is by feeding them on demand. Feeding an infant on demand simply means that you feed them when they want to be fed. This helps them get the necessary breast milk or formula that their little bodies need to thrive. Also, allowing your infant to cluster feed is important so they get their fill for the evening. Remember the more your child eats during the day the less they will ask to eat at night.

That is where the 3-hour cycle begins, if your child is fed enough during the day than you can stretch them up to 3-hours at night while they are gaining back their birth weight. You will notice that they will stretch themselves on their own, but will usually not make it passed 3-4 hours. Once your child gains back their birth weight you can begin to stretch them during the day for 3-hour cycles and cluster feed them right before bedtime and continue on with the 3- hour cycle at night until they on their own begin to stretch themselves longer on their own.