BF moms

My DD is 3 weeks old and I am EBF. I keep hearing everyone tell me that the baby will get on a schedule. Is that just true for FF babies because I feed on demand and she eats at random times.

Re: BF moms

i ebf for 3 months while on leave. it was on demand. I did start a routine at night when she was 8 weeks old. bath, story time and then nurse. that was all done no later than 815pm. she woke up twice in the middle of the night for a feeding. as she got older it she would wake up once. then she started sttn.

Re: BF moms

its true for bf babies too. dd got on a schedule - in the beginning it didnt seem like much of a schedule bc i felt like i was always nursing her, but it was even though it was technically on demand. i think around 3 weeks old it was eating every 2 hours...timing it from the beginning of each feeding (not the end).

BF moms

DD did get on somewhat of a schedule eventually. Like the pp mentioned, it was more every 2 hours, then every 3 hours, etc than set times. I did like keeping things a little flexible so that I could get to doctor appts, library classes, family gatherings and just manipulate her feedings however I needed to that day.

Re: BF moms

DD didn't really get on a nursing schedule until about 5-6 weeks. Even then, the schedule was not really about the time of day she ate. It was more about wake, eat, change, sleep, wake, eat, play, change, eat, sleep, wake, bathe/play, eat, sleep, etc.
The only thing consistent was eat at 10:30p from a bottle of pumped milk bc she would sleep until 3am. If she didn't get the bottle and I BF she would wake up at 12:30 and then 3a.

Re: BF moms

My daughter did not really get on much of a schedule until I went back to work at 3m. I didn't mind at all though.

Re: BF moms

In my experience (I EBF DD until she was 1), you will get into a routine, but not necessarily a schedule. I couldn't tell you exactly what time DD would eat every day, but I could tell you that we woke up, BF, played, napped, etc...in that order...and our routine would changed as DD got older, or went on growth spurts and BF all day...I always fed on demand and it worked out so well for us. If I had to go out, I'd offer DD the boob to top her off, or just BF when we got to where we were going. No need to be on a strict schedule IMO. Do what works for you.

Re: BF moms

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm just finding it difficult to make plans with people to come over or to try to get out and do some errands. I really want to get out with DD for a walk but feel like I can't because what if she needs to eat? Am I just going to sit on the sidewalk and feed her? Maybe I'm being selfish for wanting to get out of the house a little bit, but I'm starting to feel ljke a prisoner.

Re: BF moms

DD is 10 weeks and also EBF. We are not on a schedule. The only consistent thing I do is nurse her to sleep at night sometime between 10 and 11p, and she generally wakes up bet 5 and 6a.

I go back to work in 2 weeks and hopefully will be moving into our new home within a month. I'm hoping with these 2 things, we will establish more of a routine.

ETA I just saw your follow up about wanting to get out and completely sympathize. When I take DD for a walk, I will feed her and then take her out. Whole other story that she's not a fan of the stroller and I usually end up holding her and pushing the stroller!!

Also, are your parents or friends nearby? I've taken DD to other peoples' homes and can just feed her. I'm at my parents all the time and it's not the most exciting but it does break up the monotony.

Message edited 10/17/2013 4:51:11 PM.

BF moms

It's stressful in the beginning! Definitely don't feel bad about feeling tied down, just know that's normal in the beginning. By around 6 weeks I got DD into the eat, play, sleep routine which helped a lot. Once she ate, I knew I had 30-45 minutes of awake time before she got cranky or needed to sleep. Then she napped about an hour before needing to eat again. I used her first nap of the day to shower and get ready, then when she woke I would feed her and run out the door as soon as she was done. I didn't really care where we went but I needed to get out. It was usually just one stop and then when she was ready for her next nap we'd head home. If I had to get out at a specific time and she wasn't ready for a full feeding I would still "top her off" just to buy myself some extra time.

As far as having people over or going to visit family, can you just use a nursing cover? I didn't love doing it in public but in someone's home I had no issue using a cover. In the beginning I had family over nearly every day and after a few weeks I started getting out whenever I could. Otherwise the days dragged sooo much.

Re: BF moms

Posted by EandF

DD is 10 weeks and also EBF. We are not on a schedule. The only consistent thing I do is nurse her to sleep at night sometime between 10 and 11p, and she generally wakes up bet 5 and 6a.

I go back to work in 2 weeks and hopefully will be moving into our new home within a month. I'm hoping with these 2 things, we will establish more of a routine.

ETA I just saw your follow up about wanting to get out and completely sympathize. When I take DD for a walk, I will feed her and then take her out. Whole other story that she's not a fan of the stroller and I usually end up holding her and pushing the stroller!!

Also, are your parents or friends nearby? I've taken DD to other peoples' homes and can just feed her. I'm at my parents all the time and it's not the most exciting but it does break up the monotony.

Re: BF moms

Re: BF moms

DD and I go for a walk everyday. I just plan it for after she eats. I started visiting places that had nursing rooms like BBB and BRU. I then found out that most malls have nursing rooms so I will go there now too. I will run to the bank or CVS quickly, but other than that I avoid places that don't have a place to nurse.
If I am going to have someone over, I will ask them if they mind me whipping a boob out while they are there, or I will go excuse myself (really only my male relatives are the only ones I excuse myself for).

It's totally normal and not selfish at all.

BF moms

Have you thought about pumping?

Re: BF moms

Message edited 10/17/2013 9:56:13 PM.