Oh dear I think there's some confusion here. My last post freaked everyone out and I'm not sure why. Let me just make something really clear. She isn't on a four hour schedule yet. She's fed on demand and has been since day one. (well day two actually because the hospital force fed her formula for the first 24 hours).
Her brother Little S was fed on demand too and then at about 4 to 5 months old he then settled into the classic schedule of 8am, 12, 4, and 8pm (not counting bedtime or night feeds)
I'm thinking that maybe this type of feed schedule is very European. You see in France I guess since everyone eats like clockwork the babies tend to settle in to the same routines. You feed the baby when you eat. With Little S I didn't enforce that schedule he just fell in to it naturally and all the mothers I knew had the same thing happen around four month time. It just seemed natural to me. Then I read that the milk becomes richer at four months, the baby has a more mature digestive system and the feeds are slightly longer but more spanned. It just became natural for us that he would eat when I ate.
I would never dream of putting her on a schedule before four months. And we co sleep so she eats all night on demand and will until at least a year.
Anyway the current weight problem isn't due to being schedule fed. It's because she is such a heavy sleeper and she wouldn't wake up for feeds. She is fed on demand but not being very demanding. My breast weren't getting enough stimulation and the milk wasn't increasing or changing much. That's my best educated conclusion.
The good news is that she gained weight! At last night's weigh in she was 200 grams heavier. The pediatrician smiled, I smiled and the the pediatrician said, "it's a good thing you followed my advice!"* And I just stared at her dumbstruck.
Then she started preaching about vaccines and that's when I sighed and said to myself I'd need to change pediatricians after all. But that is for another post.
*the Pediatricians advice was to take Primperan, drink more water, eat eggs to make more protein rich milk, and pump to see how much milk I had...none of which I did and all of which were a sign of her ignorance about breastfeeding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
That's so great she gained weight!
Well done. I'm still envious of your 4-hour plan. A did fall into a routine, but it was more like from 2 hours to 3 hours. A 4 hour stretch was a rarity, even at night.
I don't think I could go on breastfeeding after 6 mos if my kids didn't fall into a schedule that fit around our family life. I will always let them feed when they're fussy or hurt (comfort feeds) but I don't count those as actual feed times. You know like when you're chatting with friends and they are fussing like crazy. The boob works wonders! I will be eager for her to fall into an eventual schedule though.
Great news for Charlotte and you! I am excited for you both! Now I understand the routine thing! I was jealous too of the 4 hour plan! I feel like my little one nurses all the time and she is 6 months! Good luck and keep eating little Charlotte!
Melinda
Good work mommy! I'm so pleased to hear about her recent weight gain.
Your pediatrician is really an idiot, isn't she?
She just doesn't know much about breastfeeding that's all. There is a knowledge gap there and she tries to fill it with nonsense that "sounds" right.
Post a Comment