routine vs demand feeding- advice needed!

[Lou+Bubs]

I have recently been thinking about routine vs demand feeding.
I started my LO on a routine from the day she was born and she has been doing pretty well - she is pretty good with telling the difference between day/night, and her feedings are pretty regular. I try not to let her go longer than 3 hours as advised by the midwife. i am worried that she wont go longer through the night as she is used to just going 3 hours. What is your opinions on this? Also anyone who demand feed there babies did they sleep through the night earlier?

 

[Emma1980]

Fin has always been demand fed - he started sleeping 10 hours at night when he was 5 weeks old x

 

[OmarsMum]

I was so strict regarding feeding sice day 1. I feed on demand, but I noticed than my LO always leaves a gap of 3 hrs between feeds when he was tiny, then 4-5 hrs when I started to up bottles. It never affected his night sleep, & he started dropping night feeds one by one. When he was 3 mnths old, he dropped all night feeds & started to sleep through for 12 hrs without feeds in between.

I think it depends on the baby, I never had a hungry baby & now I'm struggling to let him take more as he only takes 4 bottles in 24 hrs

 

[mummytobe]

I guess im on a routine feed, every 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. although if she really is hungry before i will obv feed her. Feeding every 3 hours hasnt been a prob, shes been sleeping through for a few weeks now. I think for her, the routine has helped her sleep better, although could just be cowinkidink x

 

[Eala]

We demand fed from day one, which was tough at times, as my LO would feed every 2 hours. My HV told me she was a "snacker" and that I should try and distract her and give her water to make her go longer between bottles and get her into a routine. Tried that for 2 days, and we were all miserable, so decided to just ignore HV and do what felt right for us.

On her own, she started spacing out the time between bottles, and dropping feeds. She went down to 1 night feed at around 6 weeks, and then started sleeping through at 8 or 9 weeks. She's in her own routine now; 99% of the time I can predict when she will want her bottles.

I'd say do what feels best for all of you

 

[aimee-lou]

Same thing happened to me as with Eala. We demand fed and for a few days he would naturally go 4 hours between feeds, was gaining well etc, then we hit 2 weeks and boom, he wouldn't go more that 2.5 hours, was eating tonnes, waking 2-3 times in the night. I think we have had the longest recorded growth spurt in history as it took him until he was 3 months to start to space his feeds out. Luckily he started to go longer at night and went down to 1 night feed at about 6 weeks too. I just fed him every 2.5 hours, made our own little routine, and made sure he was happy.

From about 3 months we started to do a dreamfeed which helped him to sleep longer at night (til 5am rather than 2-3am) which helped me lol. He also started to go 3 hours between feeds and levelled off at 7oz per bottle. He did this all on his own. He's still not sleeping through, but it's hit and miss...sometimes he'll wake at 5am, sometimes 6.30, sometimes 3am. Just depends what we've been up to and what he's had during the day and what he took at his 10.30 dreamfeed. He's a hungry lad and even now on 2 meals a day, he's on 40oz avg!

 

[smokey]

I think iv been lucky as we are on our 3rd full uninterupted night and Brian is only 11 days old.
We feed to a routine if he is awake or just napping but if he is in a deep sleep we leave him to wake when he is hungry and it seems to be working so far, his general routine is a feed every 3 hours 8am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm he skips his 2am because he sleeps through and his 5am is anywhere between 5-6 depending on what time he wakes.
As long as he gets his 11pm so he doesnt miss 2 in a row then he seems happy enough like htis.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

We fed to a routine in the day, (and still do) and let her wake for feeds at night. She slept through at 6 weeks.

 

[minnie83]

We fed on demand from day 1, and she seemed to get herself into a routine after about 3 weeks. She feeds every 3 or 3.5 hours during the day, so we can always predict when her feeds are going to be throughout the day depending on what time her first feed of the day is (and that's usually around the same time every day). She wakes once in the night for a feed, last ones usually around 9pm, she'll sleep until 3 or 4am, have a bottle then go back to sleep until about 8am.

 

[xerinx]

I demand feed logan and always have. He goes 3 hours mostly during the day (sometime 2.5 if hes hungry) he always has a bottle at 11pm and then sleeps through untill 7am. He got himself in this routine at 4 weeks old

 

[JoJo16]

alice got into her own routine. i would feed her when she was hungry normally every 4 hours in the day but in the evening she will have two full bottles in 2 hours and then go to sleep. shes obviously stocking up for the night lol. she dropped 1 night feed about 6 weeks and then at 8 weeks dropped her other. shes now normally in bed at 8 and i give her a nother bottle at 10ish when shes not really awake and then she will sleep unill 8. if i dont give her another when shes gone to bed she will wake about 5 which is tooo early and then shes grumpy lol.

 

[special_kala]

we started off demand feeding and at about 4 weeks river got into a 3 hour routine and shes now on 4 hours. we just did what she wanted really

 

[sleeping bubs]

well its a bit hit and miss really Mckenzie now feeds every 3hrs during the day and sleeps between 8-10hrs it really depends wot time he wakes up in the morning for milk!! Today has been 07:30am, 10:30am, 13:30 (milk and food), 17:00 (milk and food) and hopefully 8pm!!

 

[Mynx]

Evie has been demand fed from birth. She demands, we feed When she was smaller she would go 2-4 hours between feeds, and evenings she would cluster feed, especially when she started sleeping thru the night. Now she goes around 3-4 hours between feeds, and if she's had a particularly big feed, she'll go 5 hours.
It all depends on growth spurts too, sometimes they'll want to feed every hour or two!

 

[dizzimaid]

Kaelyn has been on a feeding routine from the begining, feeding every three hours and she has slept thought the night from 2 weeks. With my oldest son i demand fed and it felt alot harder.

 

[Vici]

I demand fed from day 1 (although it was EBM for first 6 weeks) and slept through (12 hrs) from 6 weeks. By this time she'd got herself into her own routine of about 3 hourly x

 

[Pink_Tinks]

we started on routine, mainly because Harriet had such bad jaundice she had to be fed every 3 hours. however, she got to the stage where she would be hungry after 2.5 hours and scream till she was fed.

i just thought stuff this, i wouldnt wait if i was hungry! so upped her feeds, feed her on demand and its working fine. She usually sleeps from about 7.30pm - 1.30am, then again until 6.30 / 7am.

the whole 'waiting 4 hours between feeds' came from a bloke who did a study on humans...not babies...just humans in general and their digestive time. Babies are different and we all know that! they sleep, feed and poo and should be able to do this as and when they feel they need to.

 

[littlemissy]

It's reasurring to know that babies do seem to start dropping feeds by themselves. I am not sure if I am demand or routine just now!

We started off demand but then realised Lily was getting bad wind and we were feeding here every time she woke so attempted to switch to a routine. She's only 18 days old but seems to be in the habit of waiting 2.5/3hrs between feeds now. What I don't know is whether that's what she wants (demand) or because it's what I am aiming for!

I can't wait for her to sleep longer than a few hours though as so tired.

 

[xpinkness87x]

Oliver went 4 hours between feeds from birth. Some times he demands food within 3 - 3and half hours and we give it to him. But on other days he wont have full bottles and we have to keep feeding him... i think them days have been growth spurt days lol!

 

[Eve]

My little girl is fed on demand, they say it's a big thing to do when breastfeeding, so I just went with it lol and she eats every 1.5-2 hours during the day, but goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps until close to 7am and has done so since she was around a month old. Before that it was 5am for a feed then sleep again We were waking her when she was a NB as she was jaundiced and was too sleepy and wouldn't wake on her own at night or cry at all... so we did the every 3 hour thing to feed her and once she was clear of the jaundice and had the okay from our doctor we let her sleep and didn't wake her or force her to eat, that is when she starting eating more during the day and sleeping through the night on her own I think it all depends on the baby too. When I had my son he was on formula and he was every 4 hours like clock work. He was that way since birth lol. 8-12-4-8-12-4-8 LOL and he had a night feed until 8 months old and at 8 months I had to do the whole let him cry thing He never had his days and nights mixed up though or anything!