Schedules

by Emmy Daniels

Created on: July 25, 2007

Like many things in life, feeding your baby takes common sense.

There are many people who advocate feeding on a strict schedule. To them, the clock makes the decision, and they wait until the appointed time, even if their baby shows hunger signs before then.

On the other side are the demand feed crowd. To them, a baby should be fed each and every time they are hungry, whether it has been three hours or 30 minutes since the last feeding.

I believe that feeding a baby is best done with a combination of these methods. A schedule should be made to allow the baby to regulate a hunger pattern, but a baby's hunger cues should not be ignored, even if they don't follow a schedule.

For example, a newborn baby needs to be fed every two and a half hours or so, if breastfed, and every four hours or so if bottle fed. This is a good goal to work with. A newborn should not go longer than the two and a half hours between meals, lest the mother's milk supply get too low.

However, newborns are very sleepy. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to get a newborn infant to eat a full meal without falling asleep. What often happens is that the baby will nurse for a few minutes and then fall asleep. He will sleep for an hour or less, and then wake up hungry again. This happens on and off all day, and the mother ends up nursing her baby every hour on the hour.

This was the case with my firstborn. As a new mother, I was told to feed on demand. I thought that meant every time the baby cried, I had to feed him. This is the main problem with the "demand feed" idea. Inexperienced mothers have a hard time determining if the baby is really hungry or if he is crying for some other reason. I ended up with very little sleep, and both me and my son were unhappy.

Finally, I read a book about this subject, and there was some advice that I followed that literally changed my life. The book, "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo, suggests that the mother try to keep the baby awake long enough to take a full feeding, and then she should keep her baby awake for a short while after eating. When the child is put to bed, he should be awake.

This system does several things. First, it allows the baby to get a full feeding during the mealtime, instead of having small "snacks" all day. This is good for baby and mother. The baby feels satisfied for longer periods, and the mother's milk comes in better when her breasts are emptied during a feeding.

Second, it allows the baby to regulate his sleep and hunger. Although babies do know, to some degree, when they are hungry, snacking all day confuses a baby's system. So do taking small naps all day as opposed to longer, more restful naps.

And third, it teaches a baby how to fall asleep on his own. Babies who are nursed to sleep have a hard time learning how to fall asleep without a "prop," as the book calls it.

Once I starting using this method, I was amazed at the difference. At first it was hard to keep my son awake for the full half-hour feeding time, but it was worth the effort. Within two weeks, my son was eating on a two and a half hour feeding schedule and taking good naps. By just over two months of age, he was sleeping seven hours at night, and by three months old, he was sleeping ten to twelve hours a night.

I was happier, because I could actually get some sleep, and my son was happier because he was well-rested and well-fed.

The biggest caution I have with this, though, is to make sure you are not ignoring your baby's hunger cues. There were some times, such as during a growth spurt, that my son would be hungry a little bit sooner than the two and a half hours. I would feed him when he was hungry and adjust his schedule. Usually, after a few days, he would get back on his normal schedule. Just make sure that you don't feed your baby just because he is crying. Learn to read your baby. Some babies cry when they are over stimulated or held too much. With time, you will be able to recognize your baby's cues and can act accordingly.

It is possible to have a schedule and to feed your baby when he is hungry. Having a schedule helps to get the baby on a healthy feeding routine, and as long as you are following his cues, I believe it is the best way to feed your baby.

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