3. If necessary, set a feeding schedule

I have touched on scheduled feeding under 'The Whole Truth about Breastfeeding' so I won't elaborate too much on it here.  If you do not have some kind of a schedule, breastfeeding can be very tiring for you.  Some 'experts' say that feeding your baby on a schedule may lead to under-feeding and dehydration.  I beg to differ.  Because I have done so and many others have done so.

To me, it is better to have a schedule (provided you exercise wisdom and discretion and vigilantly monitor growth signs) and succeed at breastfeeding, than to try to cope with 'demand feeding' and hate the whole experience (thus not able to enjoy your baby) and eventually give up breastfeeding altogether.

Sometimes, babies just want to suckle for comfort and if by allowing them to do so at your breasts, you are going to be burned out, then you have to exercise your discretion and do something about it.  My record for feeding Dominic was one and a half hours.   One of my friends actually breastfed her baby for 2 hours in one sitting.

Setting a feeding schedule will eliminate all these 'uncertainties' about breastfeeding.  Sometimes, I find Breastfeeding experts' advice hardly consider the well-being of the mother.  Of course, I think it's also the extreme cases (like a mother who is having problem coping with the 'demands') that are often 'neglected'.  In the initial months of having a baby, the well-being of the mother is very important.  By having a feeding schedule, you will be less prone to fatigue and blues and generally will recover faster physically and mentally.  Having said that, if you are ok with feeding on cue and enjoy the experience, by all means, do what suits you.

From my own experience, and from what I heard from other mothers,  babies have a tendency to become 'snackers'.  In other words, they will be crying for your breasts every hour or two, just to suckle a few minutes.  Of course, without taking sufficient food, they will be hungry again in another hour or two.  And the cycle goes on.   Your baby might end up with too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk.  This might aggravate the problem for colicky babies. If you want to feed on cue, do encourage your baby to have a full feed each time.  It may be very tempting for you to put your baby to sleep when he falls asleep after a few minutes of feeding (especially when you already have a hard time trying to get him to sleep).  But it is better that you wake your baby up and get him to continue feeding.

The American Association of Paediatiricans actually issued a statement against scheduled feeding citing examples of parents who had following scheduled feeding and ended up with malnutritioned and dehydrated babies.  Well, to me, it's not the method that is wrong but the stupidity of the parents who had not monitored their babies growth and exercise flexibility and allowed their babies to suffer.

So will you under-feed your baby?  I don't think so.  Of course, you should always exercise flexibility and not let the clock dictate you to the dot.  Every 2 to 3 hourly feed should be sufficient for a full term baby. 2-hourly means from the start of the feed to the start of the next feed, eg. 2pm, 4pm, 6pm.  It is important to get this right.