The Importance of On-Demand Nursing
On-demand nursing helps establish and maintain milk supply
Our bodies are designed to produce only enough milk to supply the baby's needs. If baby is not actively suckling, the breast will not produce milk. The breast will produce milk at a steady rate throughout the day, according to the baby's needs. If baby wants to nurse every hour but you force him to wait two hours between feedings, your body will mistakenly think that he only needs half as much milk as he actually needs.
On-demand nursing teaches baby to trust his own hunger cues
Babies are a clean slate in the early months. Their little brains are like sponges, sucking up everything they can possibly learn from their environment. They don't even quite understand the things going on in their own bodies. If a baby's needs are not met as they arise, and if he is made to wait before getting what he needs, he will learn to mistrust his own hunger cues. Some studies suggest that this may lead to obesity and eating disorders later in life.
On-demand nursing lets baby know that his needs will be met in a timely fashion
Babies cannot manipulate or be "spoiled." Answering his cries will not turn him into a needy baby - quite the opposite, actually. If he learns that his needs will be met in a timely manner, he will be less likely to become clingy and desperate. He will have no fear of abandonment, and as such will be able to be more independent.
As much as we may want our babies to fit into our schedule, it's just not practical or wise to try to force them into a routine that does not come naturally to them. A baby is not a robot - he is a living being, a little person, and he cannot be expected to follow a strict schedule. If you allow your baby to set his feeding schedule, meeting his needs as they arise and learning to work around his schedule if need be, he will be much healthier, and you'll both be happier for it.
Published by Amy Weekley
I'm a stay-at-home mother of two, loving every minute of it. Writing has long been my hobby, and I figure it's time to share my work with the rest of the world. Enjoy! View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentI couldn't agree more with the these points in your article! I nursed my son on demand when he was an infant and I wouldn't have had it any other way :)
I'm late in responding, but I wanted to say I nursed without a force schedule - but, eventually they developed a cylce where in the beginning it was every two hours and it then changed to three and then four hours between feedings. I followed what the baby needed and it worked out very well - twenty-four months for the first one and sixteen months for the second.
You raise very good points. I'm not a parent, but whenever I do have children, I planned on making sure a schedule was set in place; though I think that would be more up to the mother. LOL.
It never occured to me to nurse my baby any other way. Whenever anyone advised me to put them on a schedule, I just tuned them out. I honestly think they have better control over their eating habits today because of this.
I often wondered about the feeding schedule, more so now since I am close to being a mother. Thanks for the advice. I like the sound of feeding my daughter on demand, not by a clock.
Great article, although I didn't nurse I did feed my daughter whenever she was hungry.
Outstanding article. I breastfed all of my kids on demand and they are all healthy and secure.
I had a woman condescend to me after I told her that my daughter still doesn't sleep through the night. She suggested scheduled nursing, I ignored her. 4 months later, she still isnt sleeping through the night, but we do just fine.
Deborah -- many doctors do indeed encourage a nursing schedule. I think it's the old "Dr. Spock" school of thought. Sleep trainers, rigid feeding schedules, all that. My old pediatrician encouraged feeding schedules, and when I tried to follow a nursing schedule with my daughter, it was a disaster. My supply was wrecked, my daughter was unhappy, I was miserable. Then I went back to on-demand nursing, and things went better, and as I researched more and more I learned that it was indeed the best thing to do, for mom as well as baby.
I'll second or third the previous people who commented. I eat on demand so why would I put my baby on a schedule. The idiot nurses at the hospital who were still practicing medicine like it was the 1960s tried to insist on a 4-hour feeding schedule. I couldn't wait to go home, and the minute I got home nursing progressed as nature intended with no problems. I have no idea how a mother can listen to her baby cry when she can easily soothe the baby with nursing.