breast feeding - scheduled vs demand

[Tornado]

I have nursed my daughter on demand.  In the beginning it was quite frequent.  But slowly and surely she worked out her own loose schedule.  I think that allowing her to set a schedule for herself (minus the first week, where she was sooo sleepy and I had to wake her to nurse at times) really provided me with a lot of comfort.  I did not worry as to whether she was getting enough to eat... (I mean, I'm an adult and I hate being told when I have to eat!  So I felt like she would better know when she was hungry than I would) I relied on her inborn desire to satisfy her own hunger and let me know when she was ready.  Of course, I was taking her to her well-baby visits and had the assurance that she was developing properly.  I exclusively breast-fed for the first year... and while there are certainly times it would have given me more independence to let someone else feed her, in the end it has been the most convenient and proven to be very beneficial for her.  I did not have many sleepless nights... being able to just lay together and nurse versus getting up on a schedule and making her a bottle has been wonderful!  One of my girlfriends, who did not feel she was able to nurse her first child decided to try again with her second baby.  She could not get over how much easier it is to nurse at the baby's own schedule.   

But at the end of the day choose what is going to make you feel the most comfortable.  Because it would be better to structure her feeding and be worry-free, if that is what works for you, than to feed on demand and be a nervous wreck! 

[munkee23]

I breastfed my baby til he was six months and I believe you have to be flexible. He got what he wanted and he was happy so mommy was happy as well. No fussy baby.

[keebler22478]

I have been exclusively breastfeeding my little boy and for us, the first 8 weeks were awful. It took us that long to finally get it together. I am so glad that I stuck it out though. He is certainly not a fussy baby and eats on demand. I love not having to cart around formula and bottles.

[Jillpea]

I'm still feeding my little one now, but in the beginning I fed on demand during the day and on a schedule during the night. Let me explain. My son often cluster fed during the day, sometimes every hour or so for a few hours. Although I did sometimes, it didn't really work for me at night (not surprisingly). So at night if he woke within the hour or even within 3 hours my husband would resettle him (as he didn't smell of milk). When I did get up after 3 hours to feed him I made sure he stayed awake for as long as possible and had as much milk as possible. He often would fall asleep on the breast after 6-7 minutes. So keeping him awake by talking to him and tickling his feet would keep him feeding for about 1/2 hour. That was enough milk to keep him going for the next 3 hours.

[momtomany]

I've breastfed 6 kids now and here are my thoughts:

Breastfeed totally on demand in the first few days and weeks... you want to establish a good milk supply, and keeping to a 3 hour schedule can sometimes jeopardize this.  Remember though, that sometimes they are crying because they are tired or need to burp or don't like their diaper wet... with my first I nursed her just about every time she cried, even if she bumped her head or something, and I don't think that's the way to go.  (If you're looking to prolong the return of your periods, then that's the way to go... 2.5 years of no periods with that child!... but when they were older, the next child is almost 4 years apart and now I think it would be nicer for them if they weren't so far apart in age.  Besides, I don't know if always pacifying every unhappiness in her was good for her emotional development).

Gradually establishing a schedule for sleeping for them is good I think, so having a feeding schedule goes very well with that also.  That is what I aim for now, but I think it's important to be flexible because sometimes they are nursing more because they are having a growth spurt (nursing more often for a few days will increase your milk supply), or it's a particularly hot and humid week, or they are feeling under the weather.  So my belief... demand at first, gradually work towards a schedule... remain flexible and tuned into what your baby needs.

[robineatsdogfood]

i would like to ry to feed m son before th crying pnt. i know babis give subtle hintsbefore he crying starts, can you over feed a baby breastmilk?

[THen]

I have not heard of anyone over feeding their child breastmilk.  And, they are pretty good at spitting up if their bellies do get too full.    One thing to watch would be, like momtomany said, to try to read the cues for other needs like burping, needing a diaper change, needing a nap, or just needling a cuddle.  And when the baby gets a little older, it is good for them to learn to cope with adversities in other ways (not just nursing, which I admit is very comforting). 

By the way, when my son was on a good schedule (not a newborn), I would know when he needed to eat and could feed him without him having to cry.   

[momtomany]

No, you cannot physically overfeed a breastfed baby.  That is one of the amazing things.  Depending on how often they nurse, and for how long they nurse, the milk will be a different composition of fat calories, so that no matter how often the baby nurses, they will get the right amount of what they need (unless you're not nursing them often enough at all, of course).  The milk at the beginning of the feed is thinner, and the hindmilk at the end of the feed is richer.  It is the optimum nutrition, so their healthy little bodies won't be missing vitamins and nutrients giving them signals to eat more than they would normally (like what happens to teens and adults who are gaining too much weight because their undernourished bodies keep telling them to eat more).  Also, when an infant drops off to sleep at the breast, they are barely sucking anymore and barely any or no milk is actually coming out then... they are just pacifying.  Not so with the bottle... there is less variance in how fast the milk comes out.  Your breastmilk adjusts in it's composition in many ways to suit the needs of your baby, but the formula is always the same consistency that you put in the bottle... (sometimes, like in 3rd world countries, they can't really afford formula and it is watered down for the baby).  Even the antibodies that your milk provides will adjust in concentration, so that when your baby is weaning and drinking less and less milk, the concentration of antibodies will actually be more concentrated (to fight the same germs that you're both exposed to).  Breastfeeding is a really wonderful gift to give your baby, but of course the most important thing that your baby needs from you is your love and consistency.

On a more personal note, I am currently nursing our 6th baby.  With my first baby, I did nurse her a lot... every time she seemed hungry or tired or upset... and we hardly ever heard her cry (you're still going to hear her crying in the carseat or at diaper changes sometimes... ).  She breastfed so often for so long, that I didn't get my periods back for 2.5 years!  With later babies, I did not have the time to sit with them to nurse all the time, so if they were tired or upset about something, I was much more likely to just hold them or carry them around and that worked too to help them stop crying.  Looking back now, it is my personal belief that it is better not to breastfeed them for every emotional need of theirs.  I wonder if it sets up a pattern for their life, that every time they are upset or bored they will run to the fridge (this is a little problem of our eldest now).  I am no psychologist or anything, but I only mention my experience so you have something to think about when your baby is fussing and you are trying to decide whether or not she needs to breastfeed.  They fuss for many things, and you want to meet the needs of your baby all the time to build that trusting relationship.... sometimes they need a clean diaper, or need to make a BM, or they're cold or hot, or tired and overstimulated.... there's lots of things that you can do to make sure your baby never has to cry very much.

[Skylark]

Great advice, momtomany! Totally agree with you!

[skinnykim]

on demand!

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