5 Month Old Sample Routine for Busy Moms

Routines, rhythms and schedules are basically magic in our house. If you are looking for a 5 month old feeding schedule, this is a great place to start. My 5 sample daily toddler schedules post is one of the most popular here on the blog, so I wanted to share some of my baby sample schedules here as well.

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My daughter weighed a whopping 10 pounds 7 ounces at birth over 5 months ago. I honestly still can’t believe it.

2.5 hours of pushing and 24 hours of labor, my sweet girl would not fit through my pelvis. And it’s no wonder why, her head is in the 99^th percentile. I wasn’t diabetic and I’m a relatively slender person. Sometimes big babies just happen.

Oye.

After 5 months, she’s sleeping, eating and thriving. I have a laid-back, but very specific approach to babies and it works wonders to lay the foundation for healthy sleep habits and healthy eating habits. She currently sleeps 10-11 hours during the night and it’s great to get much needed rest for both of our bodies to stay healthy.

5 month old feeding schedule for baby.

The world is a very chaotic place for babies and toddlers. Having a routine or approximate schedule in place can make a world of difference for your child’s temperament, sleep and eating.

I highly recommend using my average sleep needs by age printable to help you learn the approximate number of naps, feedings and overall sleep your baby needs at a given age. This printable comes inside this baby sleep printable pack here.

Here is our current 5 month old schedule:

**Please know times are very approximate. If your baby is hungry, always feed your baby. There is no need to delay a feeding to keep a schedule**

5:30 am Wake up, eat, play with mom.

This is really more of a night feeding in my opinion, since I consider everything 7 pm – 7 am a night feed. I usually catch up on emails, grab a cup of coffee, and peak at the news while she lays / plays for a bit on her baby gymini.

6:45 am Nap.

I put her down for a cat nap and get up toddler up for daycare / pre-school in the morning. Ideally, I would keep her up for about 2 hours before a nap, but with two kids this gets trickier.

8:00 am Wake up, eat, take toddler to school.

8:45 am Return home, play with mom.

10:00 am Nap

11:30 am Wake up, eat, play with mom.

1:30 pm Nap.

This is usually another cat nap because I need to leave at 2:15 pm to pick up my toddler from school. In a perfect world, I would love for her to take at least 90 minute naps each time.

2:15 pm Wake up, eat, pick up toddler from school.

2:45 pm Return home, play.

4:15 pm nap, I may nurse her a bit before this nap.

I want her to take a feeding around 4 pm, so she will be hungry enough at bedtime. Normally, I follow the sleep, eat, play cycle, but this and bedtime are the few times during the day I deviate. She does not nurse to sleep.

5:00 pm Wake up, eat supper with family. Some practicing with solids.

6:00 pm bedtime routine starts.

6:30 pm nurse

6:45 – 7:00 pm down for the night / bedtime

That’s our basic routine for the day. Some days it is slightly different, but this is how we run most of our days.

Here is a more condensed version of our 5 month old feeding schedule:

• • 5:30 am Wake up, eat, play with mom.
  • 6:45 am Nap.
  • 8:00 am Wake up, eat, take toddler to school.
  • 8:45 am Return home, play with mom.
  • 10:00 am Nap
  • 11:30 am Wake up, eat, play with mom.
  • 1:30 pm Nap.
  • 2:15 pm Wake up, eat, pick up toddler from school.
  • 2:45 pm Return home, play.
  • 4:15 pm Nap, eat half-feeding.
  • 5:00 pm Wake up, eat supper with family. Some practicing with solids.
  • 6:00 pm Bedtime routine starts.
  • 6:30 pm Eat / nurse
  • 6:45 – 7:00 pm Down for the night / bedtime

Things to keep in mind with a 5 month old sample schedule:

— Most 5 month olds can stay awake for about 2-2.5 hours before needing a rest again. Except after they first wake up in the morning. That is always the shortest wake time of the day. Notice she is only up for about 1 hour and 15 minutes before doing back to bed in the morning. We love using this Halo Sleep Sack to keep her warm, snuggly and safe during sleep.

— She is currently taking 4 naps per day, but she could easily manage just 3 naps per day at this age if I wasn’t having to shorten her naps to accommodate a toddler schedule.

— She is still eating 6 times per day. Most 5 month old babies can easily manage 5 feedings per day. And she is mostly taking 5 feedings per day, since I see the 5:30 am feeding as more of a night feeding.

More sample schedules.

I’ve written a book with my friend Rachel that has ideas for rhythms, routines and schedules that’ll help your children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. There are over 30 printables (all different routines and schedules you can print out) including tips for running your day and figuring out a routine with multiple children!

Click here to Get Started with Routines, Rhythms and Schedules!

Print your free baby sleep checklist!

Learn the 10 must-haves to support healthy sleep habits! Plus, when you grab this printable, you’ll get instant access to my free 3-day baby sleep eCourse.

Download Your Free Printable

1. Download the checklist. You’ll get the printable straight to your inbox, plus get my Free 3-Day Baby Sleep eCourse!
2. Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.
3. Place it on your refrigerator. Use it as a quick reference and don’t forget a thing!

Click Here to Get Your Free Printable Checklist

More posts on baby and toddler.

• My Top 10 Newborn Baby Sleep Tips
• Why You Should Absolutely Wake a Sleeping Baby
• Do Kids Really Need Routines and Schedules?
• How to Parent a Toddler and Newborn at the Same Time