Are you feeding on demand or by feeding schedule?

Question

If you feed on schedule, can you post what your schedule looks like? I’m currently on demand but I’m debating putting my LO on a feeding schedule.

Answer

We are doing Babywise so it is parent directed feedings. Their main point is if Baby is hungry you need to feed them even if it is not time yet in the schedule. 
Our feeding times
7am
9:30am
12pm
2:30pm
5pm
8:30pm (bedtime feed)
4:30-5am (middle of the night feed) - trying to merge this one with her 7am feed. We are getting close. 
Like I said we feed her if she is hungry even if it is not one of these times. We watch for her cues. It has been working pretty well for us but every baby is different.

Answer

Scheduled Feeding is super unhealthy, it essentially teaches the concept of not eating when hungry but eating when being presented with food.

Answer

A combination of the two. The only daily definite is she eats basically every 3 hours after her first wake up of the day and her bedtime bottle is between 8-8:30pm. Knowing that my toddler always naps 2ish hours after we eat lunch means if baby eats on a schedule baby will also nap at some point in that window. 🙌🏼 Bedtime is always 8pm for my toddler so it's easy to just put him to bed, then feed her and put her to bed. Type A here so schedules and knowing when things are happening make me happy 😂 
Here was yesterdays "schedule":
>>>6:30am-woke up for her 4oz formula bottle then back to bed. Whenever she wakes for this bottle sets into motion eating every 3(ish) hours after it. 
>>>9:45am-up for the day, 5oz breastmilk bottle. 
>>>1pm- 5oz breastmilk bottle
>>>3:45pm- 5oz breastmilk bottle
>>>6:30pm- 2.5oz breastmilk bottle. This bottle is always smaller around supper to tide her over until bedtime. 
>>>8:30pm- 4oz formula bottle. This bottle always happens between 8-8:30pm and then she goes to bed.

Answer

At the moment we feed on demand. I'd love to get him on a schedule as he's starting daycare next month. Does anyone have a program or book they recommend? I'd prefer it to be somewhat moderate. Someone recommended Moms on Call, which seemed way too militant to me.

Answer

I feed on a flexible schedule and LOVE it. If you want to start a routine, try feeding every 2-3 hours, not usually less than 2 hours or more than 4 (unless occasionally when it's more convenient for you or baby seems hungry earlier) and always make the last feeding about the same time every night. Pretty soon baby's metabolism with regulate to the routine and will naturally start to feed around the same times every day. My almost 12 week old's schedule looks like this: anywhere from 4-6 am he wakes for a feeding, then sleeps until around 7-8:30 and eats again. From there it's 10:30, 1:00, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, and anywhere between 9 and 9:30 depending on how tired he is. Anything within half an hour of his regular feeding time won't throw off his routine, so don't stress too much about following the clock. Do what works for you and baby!

Are you feeding on demand or by feeding schedule?

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