Is is best to nurse on demand or keep a baby on a scheduled feedings? My newborn seems to always be hungry; he eats almost every hour or two and sometimes after 30 minutes. He eats anywhere from 5-15 minutes.
On demand, but at night keep the lights off (night lights help), don't talk, be as boring as possible. Newborns only have a little room in their tummies for food so they're hungry more often. As he grows his feedings will spread out more.
you need to nurse on demand. your baby is only a week old it will take quite some time before feedings become more predictable but anytime he has a growth spurt it won't be uncommon for him to nurse around the clock.
I am NOT a nurse-on-demand person, in general, but for newborns I absolutely would. A schedule will start to develop around 2-3 months, if I remember correctly, although it won't be solidified until a little later. A brand new baby needs to eat when s/he says s/he needs to eat.
Absolutely on demand. That sounds completely normal for a nursing newborn. A newborn is growing rapidly and needs nutrition to sustain that. Breast milk is digested faster than formula because a baby's body doesn't have to work so hard to digest it since that is what it's made to eat. Also, nursing isn't all about nutrition, it is also for comfort and security. This is all new to them and breast feeding, being held in mama's arms, is a baby's one constant. It doesn't last forever :)
I nursed on demand and slowly we got into some sort of schedule.
I nursed on demand for about the first 3 months. Then my son just seemed to fall into a schedule all on his own. The first few months is hard and stressful because IMO I felt like I was never able to get anything done except for nursing. I promise it does get easier and less of a demand. I bf my son until he was 20 months old. Good Luck and Stay Strong!
I always nursed on demand never a schedule. I never wanted to think I was holding back on a possbly hungry child, plus if they just needed some comfort from nursing I was more than happy. You can always try burping then going back on to see if maybe he is just getting gas that makes him seem full. Hope this helps ((HUGS))
I breastfed my son and for the first few weeks boy did he feed.Your baby will have feeding days where he/she is building up the milk supply for the next few days.The more milk he/she drinks the more your breasts will produce milk.
So for the first few weeks I would feed on demand. Then after a while you will see a pattern emerging and the scheldule will sort itself naturally.
Make sure after a while that your baby is using your breasts for feeding and not for comfort -lol
Breastfeeding can be hard work at first but it gets easier and its so rewarding and worth it.
Make sure you are eating well,lots of stews,wholesome foods etc and you sleep when the baby's sleeping.
Best of luck
B.
I tried to schedule it... didn't work. She was angry because she was hungry, and I was frustrated because she wasn't going according to my "schedule"...After about 3 days of that I started feeding on demand, and she made her own schedule. Also... it's normal for a breastfed baby to nurse every 2 hours.. My dd was nursing every other hour for the first month, now at 4 months she nurses anywhere from 1-4 hours during the day, and 5-9 at night. (I really love the 9 hour ones. lol) They are doing a lot of growing and developing at this age, and every time they hit a growth spurt, and a lot of times a milestone they get hungry. All that growing up is hungry work!
I agree with what most others have posted; newborns generally aren't ready for a schedule and it could cause problems if he isn't able to feed as often as he needs to. I would feed on demand at least for a while yet, because he's building up your milk supply, and his tiny tummy needs to get a little bigger to allow for more milk. :-) Newborns grow by leaps and bounds (inner growth as well as outer!), so they should be fed when they need it! Newborns will not overeat, unless there is a medical problem or they're being force-fed, but they can *undereat* if you try to schedule them too soon. Being underweight is usually a bigger problem than being "overweight" at this age!
If he's eating more often than he was before, he's probably building up your milk supply due to (or in preparation of) a growth spurt. Give him some more time, and let yourself skip unneccessary housework, etc. for now if you need to; just relax and enjoy this time to bond with him. It won't last long. ;-)
I have always nursed on a schedule, I love it, my babies love it, and they sleep through the night much better!! It makes our lives SO easy! I know what time they need to eat so I can run to the store, leave them with daddy, or grandma for a few hours if I NEED to. It's great!!! I LOVE schedules!! Good luck with your little one!
On demand. Make sure he is emptying the breast completely before switching. The hindmilk is more filling and fattier, which is good for brain development.
hold him off until at least 2 hours, 3 would be better.......& then he'll learn to do longer feedings which will ......then allow for that 3 hour time lapse.
If you allow him to feed for only 5-15 minutes, then you will be stuck in this nonstop, round-the-clock routine that will quickly drain you & your energy!
Good Luck!
You should definitely feed him whenever he wants, at least until he is 3 months old. I think even 15 minutes may not be long enough to nurse. Try to get him to stay on longer, and then he might go longer in between.
I wish I would have nursed on demand when my twins were born. My mother-in-law and a few others told me to put them on a 3-hour schedule. Subsequently, my pediatrician told me that I needed to follow-up with formula because they were losing weight. I did that for a month, then I decided to take matters into my own hands and nursed on demand. My mother-in-law fought me most of the way, but then I was able to nurse exclusively and they did much better. I found out later that my MIL never nursed herself and she used to be a nurse (which she always makes a point to let me know)! Her reasoning was that she didn't want me to feed them too much because she didn't want them to get fat since obesity in kids are on the rise - can you imagine that!
Anyway, nurse on demand now and in about 2-3 months they will go to every 2 hours and then around 7 or 8 months they will go to 3 hours (that was what my twins did). They do this on their own -I didn't set the schedule until they showed me the signs. Then when they had a growth spurt (at 3 months, at 6 months and at 9 months for me) they nursed more often to get you to build up more milk for them. This would last about a week and then when I had enough milk built up, they would go back to their schedule. I always fed them both at the same time.
Good luck!
Feed your baby on demand. He knows what he needs. If you withhold food from him, you'll have to live with the screaming and the guilt. What good would that do? His demands sound normal to me.
