Babies: 0 - 3 Months

on-demand feeding vs. bedtime schedule?

I'm having an internal argument with myself right now.  I have been feeding on demand, and DS has no real feeding schedule.  He started daycare last week, eats between 12 and 16 oz of EBM while he's there, but sometimes the last time he eats is 3, 4, or 4:30- there's no consistency. 

I have a nighttime schedule because he's so fussy in the evenings, that we start at 6:30 with a walk with the dog.  Then bath, swaddle, feed, and hopefully sleep.  However, I'm having trouble trying to make sure he's hungry when its time for his last feed.  I'm feeding on demand but then I need him to be hungry around 7:30... any suggestions, or is it something that just needs a little more time to work itself out?  It was never a problem when he was cluster feeding and he ate twice every hour in the evenings! TIA!

Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml

Re: on-demand feeding vs. bedtime schedule?

  • Our DC's are close in age and I am also doing demand feeding. I couldn't try an evening schedule because she is never hungry at the same time every night. I am just going with the flow and (crosses fingers) she has been STTN on and off for a while now.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • Give it a little time. You guys will fall into a routine. I noticed Adam falling into his own schedule, so I went with it.
  • Loading the player...
  • can you speak to the day care about the last time you would like him fed? the day care we use will allow a parent to state the last time they would like a bottle offered to their child to help with situations like this
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Second Birthday tickers
  • I would but then he might be hungry at daycare?  I don't want to pick up a screaming, angry, hungry baby- I'd rather deal with a difficult bedtime routine! 
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • I also feed on demand but she has sort of made her own schedule at night and has reallystuck to it since the beginning. Her last feeding is normally around 9:15-9:30 and is asleep by 10. I wait for her to tell me she is hungry for her last feeding because if I make her eat before her time she won't eat much and then is up in the middle of the night.
  • I tried so hard to get DS on some sort of schedule, but I have found that it is less stressful to just go with the flow.

    He is just now starting to get in a routine during the day. 

  • I know what you mean, it's tricky.  I've recently just tried to "go with the flow" too and it's working for me.  DD pretty consistently sleeps 5 hours from about 8:30-1:30.  I have found that this does not change if I feed her right before bed or up to an hour and a half before bedtime.  So I just feed her when she's hungry anytime between 6:30-8 and then go about bedtime routine starting at 8.  Sometimes I'll offer her a little more right before going down but it doesn't seem to make a difference with her.  Have you noticed a definite difference in how long he'll sleep in relation to the time of his last feeding?
  • We feed DD whenever she's hungry and stick to a set bedtime (and have since she was 2 months).  Our ideal schedule is bath at 7:30 followed by a bottle and bed around 8 pm.  But if DD gets hungry at 6:30 or 7:00, we just feed her and then try to "top her off" after her bath.  Sometimes that means she only eats an ounce or two, or sometimes even not at all, right before bed. 

    image

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • I guess I'm not fully understanding why you need him to be hungry.

     

    DD generally goes to bed around 10 or 10:30 so I usually feed her around 9:30 regardless of how hungry she is. If she's really hungry at 9:30 she'll eat a lot. If she's not too hungry she'll eat just a little (it's really more like I'm "topping her up" in that case). She tells me how much she's interested in eating at 9:30 and in either case she's going to bed full.

     

    Would you be averse to "topping up" your DS at 7:30?

  • I haven't noticed a difference in how long he sleeps, just in how easy it is to get him down.  If he's hungry, he will nurse himself to sleep and almost always stay asleep that first time.  If he isn't hungry, then it takes at least half an hour of rocking to get him to sleep, and he usually wakes up within half an hour.  I offer the breast again then, lather rinse repeat.  Just makes momma tired!  :)
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • I see.  Are you opposed to using pacifiers?  Maybe your DS would fall asleep sucking on one of those instead of your breasts if he's not hungry?  He may just like to fall asleep sucking. 
  • It sounds like your real problem is that DC doesn't know how to go to sleep without nursing.  I'm not sure what to do about that.  Sad

    image

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"