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April 2013 Moms
starlightstef
member
STM - breastfeeding question
starlightstef
member
I've been getting conflicting information on breastfeeding schedules. We just went to a bf class on Monday and the instructor said to feed the baby at least every two hours during the day and every three hours during the night. Even if baby is sleeping, she recommended waking them for a feed for the first 6 weeks, to make sure baby is growing well. She also said if baby is hungry before that time, of course you should feed them.
Then, last night we met with our pediatrician. In the materials he gave us, it says NOT to feed more often than 2 hours, even if baby is crying and appears hungry. Also, that we should let the baby go as long as possible at night to take advantage of the extra sleep. They called it a "modified demand" schedule.
So, STMs, what did you do? I always figured I would feed the baby when the baby appeared hungry. Both of the recommendations above include that to an extent but also stray away from it. I'm so confused...
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Re: STM - breastfeeding question
// I love you too. //
Ditto.
Feed your baby when they're hungry, or when you're about to explode, whichever comes first. That was pretty much our rule of thumb.
Feed on demand, not on any schedule. When baby is hungry, feed him, end of story. Once baby regains his birth weight and continues to have good weight gain there's no need to wake to feed overnight. That was never an issue for me. Baby will let you know when he's hungry. Also, don't forget the golden rule "never wake a sleeping baby".
My BFP Chart
This exactly. When I had DD, I honestly got no guidance on how often to feed her, I just nursed on demand like, forever. We did settle into somewhat of a routine (which of course changed when she was going through a growth spurt) but for the first few months, it can be a lot of just go-with-the-flow.
I agree with the above comment. Do what works for you. We didn't feed on the clock, ever, and it didn't take long to have a great breastfeeding relationship. Remember that those guidelines change all the time, and in the 80s, it was every 4 hours! So take with a grain of salt all of those 'information pamphlets'.
I really side-eye my mom-friends who pop a soother in their kids mouths because it "isn't time to eat yet", and secretly, I want to pull a soother out and put it in their mouth for fifteen minutes when their dinner is ready...but hey, it worked for them, and their kids turned out healthy and happy, so it is all about what works for you.
Layne-May 6, 2013
Callie-February 14, 2011
Tyler (10/29/08)
and Lily (4/21/13)
Pretty much this. Bottom line: do what works best for you and your baby.
Yep! This! You and baby will fall into your own routine. Do what works for the both of you best!
Lucas 3.5.11
Tyler 4.23.13
I would absolutely ignore this advice from your pedi. In fact, I would even consider looking for a new pedi.
Basically, during the day you want to feed your baby on demand. Mine went 1-2 hours between feedings for the first couple months. If your baby is crying and hungry, you absolutely want to feed him/her.
Usually babies will cluster feed in the evenings. This means that for a few hours, they will seem to want to nurse pretty constantly. This is completely normal. They are storing up milk so that they can sleep a longer stretch.
My babies always woke on their own at night, so I never had to worry about waking them to feed them. I'd say, if you're having no supply issues and no trouble with them growing, then let them dictate their own schedule at night.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
This is not a popular opinion, but I only fed on demand for the first 6 weeks (which meant about every 2-3 hours - I don't think she ever really asked for it more often than that), then started the Babywise routine. In the beginning, I didn't have to wake her at night to feed - she was hungry & asked for it every 2-3 hours, but I probably wouldn't let a newborn go more than 4 hours or so without eating overnight so I probably would have woken her when she was really little (she also gained really slowly at first, so I wouldn't have wanted her to skip a meal). But around 6 weeks she had a good weight gain track going and we started the Babywise routine. I was going back to work & didn't have the luxury of just popping a baby on my boob at anytime, plus I did want to establish some sort of a routine so that she would start to drop those nighttime feedings so I could sleep & function at work the next day. It worked for us. There were times after we started Babywise that I did give her a paci if she fussed and "shouldn't" have been hungry. You know pretty quickly if she just wanted a soother or if she actually was hungry & wanted food (ie, baby won't calm down with the soother if they are actually hungry). If the latter, then I fed her a little earlier than usual. NBD.
There are a million views on BF, and people feel very strongly about it. You will figure it out, just do what works for you & your LO, and trust your instinct.
I would look for a new pediatrician. That is crazy talk!
When DS was a very newborn, I had to wake him to feed him every 2-3 hours because he was so sleepy from being jaundiced, but after that he let me know when he was hungry. Once fed and clean/dry he was always a happy baby. I know that's not true of all babies and I feel blessed that he was so easy, but I cannot imagine delaying feedings if your child is hungry. It hurts my soul just to think of it
ETA: We only had to wake her for the first monthish. Once she got on track for weight, we stopped.
This exactly. Your kid will let you know when he/she is hungry, so there is no need to wake them unless it is a unique medical situation. DS was jaundiced and needed some extra work to keep him awake to eat, but even with that, he still had no problems waking up when he was hungry.
It will depend on you, your baby and how well he or she is nursing and gaining weight.
I will say I'm not a fan of denying your baby a feeding (in the first few months especially) simply based on some sort of "ideal" schedule. There were some days in the beginning where DD was glued to my boob all day, but I didn't really mind. She was a newborn, after all. Sometimes that's what they do!
My DD had no problems with BFing and gained weight like crazy in her first few weeks. We fed totally on demand...usually every 2-3 hours during the day with maybe a 4 (or 5 if we were reeeallly lucky) hour stretch at night. It worked for us.
Take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm a ftm and this is what my mom's doctor told her when she had her first child 35-40 years ago. She had supply issues and my brother wanted to eat *all the time*. But he also wasn't gaining weight b/c she just didn't have enough milk. The doctor told her to wait 2 hours between the start of one feeding and the start of the next feeding because that was how long it took to rebuild her supply. If he was still hungry after a feeding, then she could give him a bottle of formula just so that he would gain some weight. So *perhaps* your pedi's advice of not feeding more often than every 2 hours (between start times was based on the idea of how long it takes some women to rebuild their supply. If you try to feed more often than that, your baby may not actually be getting hardly any food from you.
Now the science may have updated in the past 30+ years, so I obviously don't know right now. Just a thought that maybe your pedi isn't the complete idiot that others are saying he is.
https://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/milkproduction-faq/
This article explains milk production based on supply and demand pretty well. The gist of it is that you need to extract milk to tell your body to produce it. While increasing time between feedings does increase the amount extracted at one time, it does not increase production overall and can in fact adversely affect production.
This. DS ate every 2 hours, day or night for the first 4 months. Was I tired, yes? Would I have gotten more sleep letting him cry for an extra 15 min? H*ll no. Who can sleep through their baby fussing? DS is 2.5 and I still wake up if I hear him talking to himself in the middle of the night. I follow the baby's cues. If he's fussing he need something. I also never wake a sleeping baby. If he's hungry he'll wake up and let me know. You'll get to know your baby and feel out what's right for you and your LO. I tend to take the parts of different philosophies that work for us and leave the rest. No one way is perfect or right. GL OP!
You fill me!!! Z! My BFP Chart
I say watch for hunger cues and feed on demand. We woke up baby every 3 hours until she was back to birth weight, then let her set the schedule.
At some point you may hit a point when baby is comfort nursing instead of actually hungry and you may have to put a stop to it if you ever want sleep, but that's a while later and you'll just have to do what works best for you to deal with it if it comes into play. Otherwise, just get to know your baby and go from there.