How long do you feed on demand?

vegetarian_chica · July 2009

I breastfeed, if that makes a difference.

JAWMIN · July 2009

I think BFing is always on demand.

HuneyofJeremy · July 2009

I still BF on demand.

britti<3 · July 2009

we still do. i'm mainly pumping though

EmilyBowes · July 2009

i think it's psycho not to feed on demand. babies go through random growth spurts all the time and so what would you do--tell your two week old to hold on for another 45 minutes because they haven't gone four hours yet, and just let them scream, hungry, until you've met your schedule? that's stupid.

i let my son feed for as long as he wants, when he wants. in the beginning he was on the boob for like an hour and a half, every 1.5 to 3 hours. nightmare. now he's a trooper than can empty me really quickly--within about 20-30 minutes. thank god.

robikat · July 2009

EmilyBowes:
i think it's psycho not to feed on demand. babies go through random growth spurts all the time and so what would you do--tell your two week old to hold on for another 45 minutes because they haven't gone four hours yet, and just let them scream, hungry, until you've met your schedule? that's stupid.

Hmm. I disagree. I usually don't feed on demand, because if I did, my LO would only eat 2 maybe 3 times a day. Most times she would rather sleep than eat. Instead of telling her to wait another 45 minutes, I tell her it's time to eat. So it's not always psycho.

manic mama · July 2009

I nurse on demand. In addition to growth spurts, it's mighty hot here these days. BM is the only way they can quench their thirst as well.

And DS is teething, so it's a comfort thing too.

And remember, BM is metabolized more quickly than formula, so all that growing and development is probably burning through those calories.

It is exhausting and certainly limiting, but I think it's necessary, at least it still is for us.

hockeywedding · July 2009

when did it get better? i was feeding every two hours then he moved to three and now he went back to two and my nipples are killing me and he's three weeks old.

katlizabeth · July 2009

hockeywedding:
when did it get better? i was feeding every two hours then he moved to three and now he went back to two and my nipples are killing me and he's three weeks old.

At 4 months ds started going 4-5 hours between feedings. Before that, we were eating on demand every 1.5-3 hours, except a 4-5 stretch at night. So it does get better! as for the soreness, it was 6 weeks before it didn't hurt to bf for me, but I know that everyone is different.

Kim-n-Eric · July 2009

my pedi says you should always feed on demand. It teaches LO to understand when he's hungry. She said studies have been shown that feeding on demand leads to less childhood/adolescent obesity. Some days he wants to eat every 3 hours, other days he'll go 6 without wanting anything.

desabean · July 2009

I can't even comprehend how I would go about not feeding on demand. Once my baby decides she is hungry there is no getting out of it-- she may stop screaming for a minute or two but she is not letting me off the hook until she gets the good stuff.

Now, sometimes I do more parent led than baby led feeding by waking her up or feeding her before she "asks" for it so I can get out of the house or if people are coming over or to help keep her "on schedule"....but that doesn't mean that she still doesn't want to eat again in an hour just to remind me that she's the boss ; )

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