Feeding Schedules for Newborns: They Can Create Their Own

Trust your baby, he knows when he is hungry! The only feeding schedule a baby needs to be on is the one he or she creates for himself. When a baby is hungry he will howl and let you know, when he is full you will know too. If the child is not hungry waking him to feed him really makes no sense unless you have to leave and will not be available when he wakes. Making a hungry child wait until the clock says it is time for feeding is absolute nonsense. The very sound of his crying creates a need in the mother for her put the baby to her breast. The cry triggers her "milk letdown reflex".This reflexive is the milk letting down when he cries, it should be a clue to what nature wants to happen. Baby cries, mother feeds; so simple, it's really not rocket science. My son was exclusively breast fed until he was six months old and I breast fed him with supplemental formula and table food until he was a year and a half old even though I needed to return to work full time at three months.

He was c-sectioned after a day and a half of non-productive labor. The nurses did not want me to feed him in recovery, as he was c-sectioned. What the one had to do with the other was beyond me so I went ahead and fed him anyway. He kept looking for my breast and opening his mouth. To me these were sure signs that he wanted to be fed. So right from the start I allowed him to be in charge of his feeding schedule. When he was hungry he was fed. He was allowed to feed for as long as he wanted.

At my son's first check up my pediatrician insisted that he should not be allowed to stay latched on for more than 20 minuets per breast. My son wanted to stay for anywhere from forty minuets to an hour per breast! Now it is my understanding that the richer milk is released from the breast towards the end of the feeding. If the child stays latched on and continues to suckle he will get more of the richer milk, the cream if you will. I did not argue this point with the pediatrician but I kept feeding him as the child wished, not as the doctor saw fit. He was a healthy, happy, active baby. He slept through the night at five weeks and hit all of his early developmental milestones right on or ahead of target. He always came in on the long and lean side of the "National Average" which was fine with me. Tall and thin was right where he wanted to be. Removing him from the breast after twenty minuets when he had finally gotten to "the good stuff" was, in this Mom's opinion, not a very good idea. It would be like putting him on a calorie restricted diet, he would have been even leaner.

When a baby is thirsty he will look for the breast and take only the first milk that comes down. It is very watery and a perfect baby thirst quencher. When he is hungry he will stay latched on and continue to suckle until he has had his fill of both the lean and the rich milk, he knows what he needs and when he needs it. He also knows how to let you know. He came already wired that way. Trying to rewire his feeding schedule is cruel to both the child and the mother. He will fuss and eventually cry when he is hungry or in need of a diaper change. He will play happily or sleep peacefully if he is sated, clean and dry.

If allowed a baby will teach you what he needs, you need only be willing to watch, listen and learn.