Feeding on demand?

[cho]

Lo is 5 days old and doing great
I have been trying to get him in to a routine of around 3 hours between feeds, sometimes he becomes hungry around 2 hours so i top him up with a ounce ect?
Sometimes he is quite sicky too and will sometimes bring up a whole feed, which then he is starving again!
Its annoying though as that then throws me out of routine, do you feed on demand or do you do the same or are you strict and stick to around the hour?
What do you do if lo brings up feed and then is hungry? i think he is sick from the wind and all the winding movements that go on?

We have just bought him a pacifier yesterday as he was constantly wanting to suck, he seems a lot more content, and its making between feeds slightly easier to pace him out.

 

[happigail]

I feed completely on demand, I cant leave her hungry, its the only reason she cries other than massive farting sessions. At this stage (5 weeks) I think (fingers crossed) she is getting into a 3/4 hour routine by herself.

 

[lozzy21]

I feed on demand, id be well pissed off if i was hungry but was told i couldent eat because it wasent tea time so im not going to do it to her lol

If shes sick but still hungry, i wait 5 mins and then give her more. Niamh needs to be burped after every oz or she brings it all back up.

 

[cho]

yer i just try give him top ups if he is hungry still
I wind Dylan after every ounce too, but sometimes i think all the movement can sometimes make him sicky, how is niamh doing lozzy?

 

[stephx]

I feed on demand, for the first 2 months it was all over the place, mostly every 1.5- 2 hours... It does even out as they get older but as your LO is still so little, I would just give him what he wants

xx

 

[AlwaysPraying]

I fed on demand for the first two mOnths and still do now I guess (he's three and a half months). He was eating every 1.5-3 hours for the first couple weeks which was tough. Quickly after that he fed closer to every 3 hours. Now I will feed every 3.5 - 4 hours. But now I'm feeding more on my shedule rather than his. If we go out I know if I can feed before we leave or when we get back. I can tell if he's able to last closer to 4 hours or if he's hungrier and needing to eat at 3 hours.

 

[charlotte-xo]

i feed on demand hes usuallt pretty good and can go 2-3 hours but now i think hes going through a growth spirt its more like 1.5-2 hours very tiring lol..but i dont like to think hes going hungry just for convinience..i think hell go longer as he gets older

 

[Eala]

We fed on demand, which in the early days could mean LO was feeding every 1.5 to 2 hours. My HV told me off for her "snacking" and tried to get me to go 3 hours between feeds. We tried one day of this, then thought "sod the HV" and went back to demand feeding.

LO gradually lengthened the time between feeds herself, and started taking more and more. Much less stress for us all in!

Maybe he'll be less sicky if he's taking smaller amounts more often? I seem to remember a BF'ing counsellor showing me a ball which was the size of a baby's stomach at a week old, and it's absolutely tiny!

 

[starrybean]

Oooh, you had your baby! Yay! Hope everything went well for you!!

I feed LO on demand, she usually goes between 2-3 hours between each feed, having 2-3oz at a time

She is also a sucky baby though and if she doesn't settle too great I have given her some warm boiled water and she sucks a little bit and then usually falls back to sleep and is fine then until her next feed

 

[Kitten-B]

Feed on demand too. Did try to get to 3-4 hours between feeds but it just didn't work fir us esp in the last week. Hoping it's just a growth spurt as during the day LO wants fed every 2 hrs and as a bottle and winding can take nearly an hour only have an hour off in between - feels like it never stops! Hve decided not to even think about a routine till he's 2-3 mths old.

Our LO can be sick often too, although getting better. If he is he's hungry almost instantly and we will give him another bottle. Think it's best to best to be led by him. The minute I think we're getting into a routine/pattern it all changes again anyway! X

 

[you&me]

I am not completely sure you can get a 5 day old baby into a routine?...they don't know how to read a clock to tell the time , so therefore when they are hungry; they are hungry...it is as simple as that to a baby.

I would feed him on demand and let him lead the way, I know it can be harder when you already have another little one at home to tend after too...but it may stop him gulping a huge bottle every three hours when he is over hungry, only to sick it all back up.

His feeding pattern will change all the time, he will likely feed more next week (at 2 weeks old) due to a growth spurt etc etc....the same at 6 weeks and 4 months.