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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
Super Schedulers-- BF Q
If you keep your LO on a super strict schedule how does it work with growth spurts? I'd always been told you needed to let your LO nurse more in order to build your supply up.?
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Re: Super Schedulers-- BF Q
Why in the world would you schedule when your baby eats? What if they aren't hungry "on time", but then get hungry an hour later? What i they get hungry before the time is up? These are babies, not egg timers!
Sad.
its been proven that a routine (another word for schedule) is beneficial for babies. Feeding every 3.5 hrs or every 4hrs is a schedule/routine. If there is a set wake-up time (as there often is when parents need to go to work) and a set bedtime then the feedings occur at the same time each day. The babies biological clock is set to be hungry at those times. My DS doesn't demand food at random times ever. He wakes up from naps almost exactly at the time he usually eats. If there is a growth spurt he might wake up at night which he hasn't done in months. If he does wake up and demand food, I feed him as its usually just for a day or two. Demand feeding never worked for me because I'm bfing and DS has no patterns at all of when he'd like to eat. He would "demand" to be fed every hour and that's not healthy for him (foremilk) or me.
There tons of info. about how healthy on demand feeding is for breastfed babies. I think you're just making up stuff to make yourself feel better.
I personally wouldn't recommend a "super strict" schedule. There is nothing wrong with trying your baby on a schedule, but I think it's important to be flexible and to realize that schedules aren't for every baby. My baby is on a feeding schedule. She eats at 8am and then every 3 hours until 8pm when she goes to sleep. She seems very happy with a schedule and it works for us. I'm definitely flexible though and if she seems hungry earlier I feed her and if she's content and we're playing I don't worry if she goes past her feeding, but usually I can tell when 3 hours is up because on cue she'll start getting fussy.
She's stopped eating at night for the past month but over theh weekend she's been a bit fussier while sleeping so I gave her a feeding at night and that seemed to help her sleep. So just try and pay attention to how your baby is reacting to a schedule and be willing to throw it out the window if it's not working.
There are people that feed on demand and then there are people that feed on a schedule. Its a difference of opinion. My way works for me and my family. I was raised that way too. I'm sure you think your way is best but I think its better to be open minded. On demand feeding didn't work for me or my baby. Schedule has been great for us. He STTN and he is gaining weight really well. I have structure to my day and both the baby and I know when to expect what. I'm not making anything up. I read a lot about this subject. And yes I know there are plenty of books and doctors that feel that on demand feeding is better but there are also plenty that recommend a routine/schedule.
Just because DC is on a schedule or routine doesn't mean you can't work around stuff like no appetite, errands, etc.
I have DD on a routine. It is flexible, and I make it work depending on what is going on. We do bottle, baby food cereal, bottle, nap, baby food cereal, bottle, nap, bottle, baby food cereal, bedtime routine with bottle. Every other day we do a bath before the bedtime routine. DH and I have a long commute (45mins each way for me, 60mins each way for him) and DD has to be up and moving in order to get out of the house and get her dropped off. During the week she is up at 545 and falls asleep again in the car during the commute, on weekends we let her sleep but never past 7. If I need to, I flip flop bottles and food feedings to accomodate where we are or what is going on, if she doesn't want to eat I just wait 30 mins and try again, if she is extra hungry we still follow the routine but move feedings a little closer together and sometimes offer 8oz instead of 6oz. I started this routine when she was about 4 months old, and she is so much happier - and predictable. My SIL has no routine whatsoever for her LO. She falls asleep at random times, wakes up at night at different times, there is no set bedtime ritual, they never know if she is crying out of hunger or tiredness, she is fussy a lot, never wants to finish a whole bottle at one time, and the babysitter struggles to get her to eat and nap as well. My niece is a beautiful child and I think bro and SIL do a great job with her, but I always wonder if things would be easier on all of them if they had a routine. JMO.
Routines and schedules are not the same thing, so if you are reading materials that suggest a routine, they would be correct. Very few authorities recommend a schedule, and they are very controversial.
A routine means eat, then play, then sleep, for whatever amount of time is working for your baby at that particular time. A schedule sets the time for your baby, whether they are hungry, tired, or whatnot. Schedules are not recommended by many people, routines are recommended by almost everyone.
My dd is ebf. There are times she eats every hour, and times she goes 4-5 hours (or 8 while sleeping). You do not need a schedule just because you are bfing. That is nonsense.
see my previous reply re:open mindedness and agreeing to disagree.
I could care less how you feed your baby or what works for you, but don't you dare tell me that on demand breastfeeding "isn't healthy" for me or my child.