When to switch from On Demand Feedings to

Question

When did you / was recommended to you to switch from feeding on demand to more of a schedule?

Answer

Sometimes they will schedule themselves and that's great but often the schedule doesn't really settle in for a lot of kids until 6 months. Until then, they need to eat when they are hungry or need comfort. I always tried to make a routine of things like walks and sleep and see if the feeding would fall into place that way, rather than worrying about the timing in between feeds.

Answer

Be careful with the schedules because some babies don't do well with them. Babies need to be fed when they are hungry! So it might be hard to put them on a rigid schedule, but you can definitely try! In my opinion The gentlest way to do this is to let you and baby naturally find a routine. My little one is 7 weeks and sleeps two four hours stretches with feedings in between and then during the day she eats every 2-3 hours. I am EBF by the way. What helped me was a bedtime routine. Babies really do need to be parented to sleep and really the entire process of getting her ready takes a few hours but is worth it. We give her a bath, give her tummy time and playtime on the gym, change her onesie and give her a baby massage then I rock her to sleep. We turn on the fan for white noise and play some womb sounds. She usually comfort nurses until she falls asleep too.

Answer

My little is 3 months old and I'm trying more of a schedule with him, but really until you introduce solids it's Ok to do on demand.  They should be in some sore if schedule...about every 2 to 3 hours during the day and longer stretches at night. Talk to your pediatrician if you are concerned at all about frequency.

When to switch from On Demand Feedings to

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