Schedule your breast milk for baby

SCHEDULE

 Much has been said in favor of demand feeding; much, too, in favor of a rigid schedule. Those who favor the latter emphasize that the average baby requires a sufficient amount of milk at four-hour intervals to satisfy his hunger and grow properly-and this is a great convenience to the mother who will know just when to feed him. While this is true, it fails to take into sufficient account the fact that all babies are not the average baby. No two have the same appetite; some are hungry sooner than others, or eat less at each feeding and need to be fed more often; some want to sleep longer at a stretch than others. 

We believe it is important to satisfy a baby's hunger and thirst when they arise. This will not spoil the baby; on the contrary, it will make him less demanding if he is happy and satisfied. It is worth remembering that when you follow the self-demand method you are working toward a schedule. Both self-demand and rigid time- table methods have the same objective: to give the baby enough to eat and establish a routine that helps the mother find time for everything else she must do. Often, they arrive at this objective in about the same length of time.

Mothers who follow a fixed schedule usually modify it sensibly, so in the long run it comes close to the demand method. For example, they feed the baby early if he is crying rather than let him wear himself out and fall asleep exhausted. Similarly, many mothers on the self-demand method will wake the baby if he happens to be sleeping about four hours after his last feeding; they know he will be glad to eat and that he is bound to awaken soon in any case and want food just when his mother is busy with something else. Whichever system you follow, remember that you are working toward a goal. Some infants do well on a four-hour schedule from the beginning, while others won't be able to wait that long, or' won't be regular at all for several months.

It is wise to feed babies who weigh less than seven pounds more often than once every four hours-every three hours at least. Be flexible about the 2 :00 A.M. feeding. Babies sleep through the night as soon as they are able to go that long without food, so don't deprive your child of that feeding in the hope of speeding the time when you won't be disturbed at night. It helps to be flexible about the feeding that precedes the night one, too. That is, put it off till you go to bed if the baby is sleeping, so he won't be likely to awaken quite as early for his next one.