Parenting Forums

Posted: 26 May 2006 at 9:50pm | IP Logged

There seems to be conflicting advice now adays in the UK as regards schedules and demand feeding.  When I had my first daughter 17yrs ago you were to feed them every 4hrs whether they liked it or not, when I had my second daughter 13yrs ago it was totally demand feeding, feed the baby when they want it.  Now I have had Ols and he is 14mnths old there seems to be a swing a bit more back towards a schedule and not total demand feeding, although demand feeding is still the most popular at the moment.  4hrly was always the recommended feeding time and every 2hrs before 6wks...

To be honest having fed both ways I find demand feeding by far the easiest.  Although you are feeding more often I find it less tiring than trying to make baby fit into a schedule, there is nothing more tiring than a hungry baby crying.  After the first 6wks of feeding they do settle down and don't need feeding quite so often.

I think as with all these things you need to find what works best for you and your family and stick with it regardless of others opinions.

Good luck hope all goes well for you. hth

Posted: 26 May 2006 at 10:19pm | IP Logged

i'm so into demand feeding. being totally disorganised would mean mine going hungry!  like sam, i found it so much easier and less tiring feeding on demand.

each to their own though.

zo x

Posted: 27 May 2006 at 1:41am | IP Logged

my m/w told me it should be 4 hourly so i tried keeping to that, well i was in abit of a stress when molly wasnt gaining much weight and when i told the h/v my feeding pattern she had a right go at me saying i should have fed in demand (horrid lady),

i wasnt none of the wiser as mols is my 1st and to be fair she put me right off breast feeding as soon as she went i put her on formula, im gutted but when i have my next im doin what i think not what im told cause in some cases it can be wrong!!

good luck with whatever you decide xx

Posted: 27 May 2006 at 9:14am | IP Logged

I fed on demand - feeding 4 hourly would have been a nightmare for me as Edward settled into a routine himself of feeding 3 hourly for rather a long time. I think it depends on what sort of person you are - if you need strict routine then try to set up a strong schedule but I am like Zoe - completely unorganised - and letting Edward lead me worked best.

It also means you pick up on growth spurts quicker rather than leaving them to cry when they are hungry because it isnt their feeding time yet.

Posted: 27 May 2006 at 1:04pm | IP Logged

I fed on demand.  Get yourself one of those breastfeeding bangles, they are like £2.99 I don't know how much that is in Canadian Dollars, but it's probably not much. 

Unfortunately my baby was very hungry and I wasn't producing enough milk to keep up with him so I bottle fed and breastfed when he was 2 months old.  Then ended up bottle mainly.

Good luck x

Posted: 28 May 2006 at 11:31pm | IP Logged

Hope this helps?

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBfrequency.html