You probably won't be able to find anywhere else what you are about to read.  Well, at least, not in the way I am going to put it.

I probably will get myself into trouble with the breastfeeding advocates for sharing what I am going to share but I am going to do it anyway because the whole purpose of setting up this website is for me to share my experiences (especially my experiences in breastfeeding) so that people won't make the same mistakes I made and I am still living with the consequences of some of my mistakes.

Before I start, I would like to get some things straight (again!) :

So here I go!

BA : You should demand feed your baby.

Me : There is nothing wrong with feeding on a schedule.

I must stress that there are babies that do well under demand feeding.  But there is nothing wrong with having some kind of a schedule if you find that it helps you to continue with breastfeeding and keep you from becoming a emotional basket case (like I was).

But here are some 'advantages' :

1.It is sometimes better for the mother who is having difficulties coping with a baby and on top of that coping with the 'demands' of demand feeding, to follow some kind of a schedule.  Otherwise, you are going to get burned out very soon because you will find yourself feeding the baby every time he cries, which can be as often as every hour!   I know of people who gave up breastfeeding after a few weeks because they simply cannot take the fatigue and frustration.  I myself almost gave up after 2 weeks of following the lactation consultant's (hereafter known as 'LC')  instruction to feed my baby on demand.  I could not rest and sleep when I kept expecting the baby to wake up or start crying any minute.  I was like on code red standby every minute of the day and very soon, I was on the verge of a breakdown.

2. It is less stressful for the new mother because firstly, you will not be constantly wondering when your baby is going to cry for food.  After feeding your baby and putting him down to sleep, you know roughly how much time you have to take a nap, or do other things.  Knowing this allows you to be able to relax.  Secondly, scheduling the feeds allows you to have some decent amount to nap time in between feeds.  Thirdly, You eliminate a lot of uncertainties with a schedule.  Let's say you feed the baby every 3 hours.  You know that if your baby cry one hour after his feed, he is probably not crying because of hunger but for other reasons.  You won't be led to make the most common mistake new mothers who are trying to breastfeed often make - constantly wondering whether you have enough milk.  A lot of mothers I know are stressed because they think they don't have enough milk.  The reason why they think so is because their babies kept crying and they were taught that when a baby cries, it means he is hungry.  They have not learned that babies cry for a great variety of reasons.  Once they are stressed, their milk supply gets affected.  The whole thing is a vicious cycle.

3. It establishes your confidence in breastfeeding when you know roughly when your baby gets hungry and you won't constantly wonder if you are giving enough milk to your baby.  After your schedule is more or less established, your let down actually comes faster because your body is already conditioned.  Again, this will help your confidence.