Fort Worth, Texas,
23
August
2016
|
10:14 AM
America/Chicago

4 reasons your breastfed newborn doesn't need a feeding schedule

The Doc Smitty looks at your breastfeeding baby's needs

Here are four reasons I don't recommend putting a breastfed newborn on a feeding schedule:

  1. They need comfort and bonding. Imagine being thrown into a brand new, anxiety-provoking environment with no skills for calming yourself and no way of escape. Plus, the person who can give you comfort is right there. Sure, you can cuddle them to help, but sometimes they just need to nurse.
  2. They are hungry. I can't wait three hours to eat. I'm pretty sure if I could only eat 1-2 ounces of a liquid meal, I'd be starving before three hours came up again as well.
  3. Scheduling can hurt your milk supply. Frequent feeds help your milk come in. I've seen too many babies who've been on a rigid schedule come in at 1 week with lower weight gain. Then we are scrambling to get mom's milk supply up so that they can maintain breastfeeding.
  4. They will find their own schedule. Implementing a rigid schedule out of the nursery is not necessary. By paying attention, you can discover an ideal schedule for you and your child and help them keep to that without having a rigid schedule.
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