demand vs routine - which is best?

[princessellie]

which do u think is better, routine feeding or demand feeding? i am having to routine feed leyla atm because she doesnt demand enough lol

which do u think is best?

x

 

[Blob]

Demand, if i had put Tabitha in a routine it would have been hell she wanted food soooo often!!

 

[FEDup1981]

i think young babies need to be fed on demand, once they are old enough to start getting into a routine of meal times, say 6+ months, then routine, but demand to begin with x

 

[Serene123]

Demand x

 

[clairebear]

Demand feeding. But you will notice as she gets older it falls in to a routine all on its own x

 

[ryder]

I think kind of half and half... It really depends becuase they go through growth spurts when they are newborns constantly. And like the others said they get into a routine as they get older, start solids etc. I think if your baby is taking teeny feeds quite often you can safely push then into drinking a big larger feeds less often. Although with bfing sometimes they are comfort feeding etc too.

 

[nataliecn]

I've found during the day - my little guy feeds randomly.
But I've noticed personally, through the night it seems to generally be within a half hour of the same time each night that he wants to feed. So it's almost like he's getting himself into a little bit of a routine with his night feeds already.
As much as I'd LOVE a full routine, I definitely think it's on demand!

 

[mommyof3co]

I think demand is better, in the very beginning Hayden didn't demandoften...the first few days even he went way more than the 3hrs they are "supposed" to go and I was told to make him nurse, I never did, he ate only when he was hungry. Then it went to him seemingly eating all the time...always changed.

 

[elm]

Elliot has developed his own routine for morning and evening feeds, he does vary it a bit during the day though. I'm on the side of on demand too though I'd love it if it was more predictable sometimes! x

 

[Shifter]

I can't speak from rounded experience, but I can say that it has been impossible to put Jack on a routine so far! If we wake him for a feed he just falls asleep again within seconds!

I want to get him into a routine, having read Tracy Hogg and been very convinced by her ideas and techniques but as we are currently trying to get feeding going after a slow start a routine doesn't suit us so much yet. We just have to feed him whenever he will take a feed.

I think ultimately it comes down to what works for you and your baby. I know that I struggle when he seems to demand food every hour from time to time and I trust Tracy Hogg enough to believe that he can't possibly be hungry when he has just fed well. Trouble is, atm, it's hard to tell if he's feeding well each time as we are both still learning. But if your LO only demands a feed every three hours anyway then go for it!

 

[PeanutBean]

Demand but sometimes they don't know what's good for them. Babies tend to think any discomfort is hunger in the early times. It is possible for them to upset their tummies if they keep on feeding loadsnd often when really there isn't any room. But a mum soon learns what's best.

 

[Shifter]

I think it's also quite easy, especially for new mums, to misread other types of crying for hunger. If you're using a routine then you know when your baby actually is hungry and when their crying might be for something else or when they just want to comfort suck. If a baby is taking a good, productive half hour feed then they simply don't need feeding again for a few hours, but some mums might think the baby is demanding another feed one hour later. SO as long as you learn your baby's signals well and avoid such mistakes then "demand" feeding transforms itself into a routine anyway.

 

[Ell87]

Demand feeding definitely.

 

[ANGYPANGY]

i actually like the routine i find if i let my little one go over 3 hrs then she gets fussy and feeds crazy for the rest of the day wanting to go 1-2 hrs instead of the regular 3 hrs. My little one fits sleep so she cries when she gets sleepy so some people will give their opinon that she is hungry again when i know that she is just fighting sleep. you will soon learn to figure out their routine. And during growth spurts they might feed sooner then usual

 

[milkmachine]

i feed on demand, i am noticing that her demand is becoming a routine though but thats all her

 

[soon2b6]

I would always demand feed a BF baby as I was told breast milk is less sustaining than formula so I wouldnt feel confident putting a routine in place when they are really small.

 

[Momconsigns]

I have 64 months of breastfeeding experience. I say demand at first then agree as they grow a routine usually establishes.

 

[freckleonear]

20 or so years ago routine feeding was often recommended by health professionals. Consequently a lot of breastfeeding mothers found that their milk dried up after a few weeks or months, due to lack of stimulation. Demand is definately the best way to ensure an adequate milk supply, although if a baby is very sleepy for the first week of life it may be necessary to feed more often than the baby demands! Aaron was very sleepy at first due to pethidine, and would have happily starved himself if I didn't wake him up often to feed (remind me never to have pethidine again!). After a few months he settled naturally into a loose routine. It never really bothered me if he didn't stick to it though.

 

[PeanutBean]

Aaron was very sleepy at first due to pethidine, and would have happily starved himself if I didn't wake him up often to feed (remind me never to have pethidine again!).

Does pethidine make them sleepy? I had pethidine and Byron was crap at feeding until he got all jaundiced. It was awful. No-one said the pethidine could have caused it...

 

[Shifter]

Aaron was very sleepy at first due to pethidine, and would have happily starved himself if I didn't wake him up often to feed (remind me never to have pethidine again!).

Does pethidine make them sleepy? I had pethidine and Byron was crap at feeding until he got all jaundiced. It was awful. No-one said the pethidine could have caused it...

Yes, it's well known that pethidine (and all opiates offered for labouring mums) make babies sleepy and interfere with BFing. There are also opiates in epidurals, so you get much the same with them too. That's part of what makes BFing c-section babies so hard, the high dose epi