Hi guys,
My lovely little man is 2 weeks old and I am bf and was wondering how long you feed on demand for? So many books say they should go 3 hrs bt feeds but he most often only goes 2 max even though he weighs 10.6 and was born 8.14.
What should I be doing?
Thanks

hey,

my little man is now 11 weeks and I am still feeding on demand when he wants it like to day I think that he is on a growth spurt! He has put himself in a 3 hour routine which helps but I normally just feed him on demand.

in the first 6 weeks I just fed him on demand when he wanted it. he now weighs 15lb 14.5oz. he was born 8lb 9oz. at 2 weeks he was 9lb 10oz.

i have never read a book on how to feed my baby, i just go with the flow with what he wants

HTH

Ems xx

My daughter is 14 months old and I'm still BFing although only the night feed now. I always fed her on demand and this worked beautifully for us. Of course if I thought she needed a feed and she hadn't asked for one I'd offer her anyway. But otherwise I was completely baby led. And yes they do sometimes spend long periods cluster feeding, but it's important you let them do it because they are building your supply up, or putting their order in for later as I've heard others describe it! If you want some good advice on breast feeding I'd go to a BFing cafe (see NCT website for local ones) or contact La Leche. Books are all well and good but there's no right and wrong approach, it depends what your parenting style is. For example I was baby led all the way so anything that recommended strict routines was out the window.
Good luck!
Rx

If your baby makes his own routine then great but if he asks frequently it is because he needs it. Formula takes ages to digest so that is why babies will go three or four hours. Breast milk only takes an hour to digest and you never know how much they have had so it is possible when he asks after two hours he is hungry. The older he gets you may find he goes longer as he is better at taking more milk and as he is able to see more things and do more they tend to be distracted more easily but at a young age they often want to feed lots. Its normal. Ignore the books. You and your baby know best x

In the first 6 weeks it is especially important to feed on demand as this is when your supply is established!

Babies tummies are tiny, at 2 weeks they're nt even the size of a ping pong ball yet! So a tiny amount of milk is needed, but because reastmilk is perfect, it's digested easily and quickly, babies feeding 10-12 times a day at this point is perfectly normal

There has been studies that have shown that imposing a feedin routine on breastfedbabies can cause failure to thrive, so it's very important to feed on demand. They will regulate themselves later on, but don't expect too much too soon. At 13weeks we're just getting g into a nice routine with it, though if we're at home all afternoon e will feed more regularly than if we're oyut, just cos h can!

I fed on demand until DD was 4 months, and then put her into a bit more of a routine then. As others have said, it's important to make sure you feed on demand in the early days whilst you establish BF.