Baby feeding schedules

Baby feeding schedules benefit new babies as well as new mothers and the entire family too. A well-fed baby is a happy and settled baby. Resting between feedings is extremely important if you are a new mom. It can seem hard or even impossible to develop any sort of schedule especially with newborns though. The trick is not to think of your babys feeding schedule as being the same as your own eating schedule. Never try to force a schedule on your baby. Instead, let your babys natural habits shape the schedule.

As your baby grows it will become easier and easier to create feeding, sleeping and then playtime schedules. Getting started can seem tough, but it is important to remain patient. Take the opportunity to get to know your baby and learn to communicate with him or her. Youll soon be able to tell when your baby is hungry, sleepy or needs changing.

If you choose to feed your baby formula it might be a little easier for you to create a schedule because the preparation involved often requires more schedule-like habits. If youre breastfeeding you will want to feed more often in order to improve your breastmilk supply as well as keep your baby happy and full. Breastfed babies often eat more smaller meals.

When To Feed

You never want to restrict your babys food and not feed them if theyre hungry. Nutrition is extremely important to development. Babies need more than three meals a day and feeding time is also an important time for parents to bond with their baby.

Take cues from your baby and feed him or her whenever they indicate that they are hungry at first. This doesnt seem like much of a schedule, but youll soon find that your baby will want to eat at fairly regular intervals. If you plan to breastfeed only then it is completely ok to feed your baby on demand and its also easy to do so. it can be harder to feed on demand with formula.

When youre just getting started there are a couple of rules of thumb to help you out breastfed babies generally need to eat every two hours, while formula-fed babies tend to be hungry every three to four hours. These rules arent set in stone and each baby is going to be different. These are good intervals to begin with though as you learn about and bond with your new baby.

How Much To Feed

A newborn baby needs to be fed small amounts often. Dont worry if your baby only wants to eat a little during one feeding or if they seem to want to eat a lot during another. Dont force your baby to eat more and give them more when they want more. While you are learning about your baby and starting to pick up on his or her cues, your baby is also learning how to survive. Eating is an important part of survival and your baby is eating to live.

It’s only fair to share…