Infant Feeding Schedule

Bottle or Breast

No doubt new parents will have taken lengthy consideration in deciding which mode of feeding their new infant will have. Whether it is bottled formula, breast, or a combination of both, every parent, especially the mom, will have a true motivation as to the reason he or she chooses a particular feeding method.

In terms of opting to breastfeed, many parents decide on this option because of the following perceived benefits:

• Greater opportunity to bond and be physically close to the newborn with the much encouraged 'skin-to-skin' contact.
• No bottles and nipples to sterilize.
• Breastfeeding is free and can be continued on for as long as parents wish
• Breastfeeding allows the freedom to feed wherever, whenever baby needs it.
• Breastfeeding provides all the nutrients a baby needs in order to grow and be healthy.
• Antibodies passed from mom to infant in the breast milk help prevent infection.
• Breast milk apparently causes less digestive problems in infants.

On the reverse side of this issue, parents choose to bottle feed formula milk to their infant for the following reasons:

• Practical and flexible choice – easier for baby to be taken to day care or be looked after by dad if mom has to go out as bottles can be prepared in advance.
• Ease in measuring the intake of milk the infant is getting.
• Formula fed babies usually require less feedings due to a slower digestion of formula milk.
• Moms that don’t breastfeed do not have to be cautious about what they eat with a fear that certain undesirable things can be passed on to the infant.

As with any choice of infant feeding method, there will always be downsides which counteract the positive elements to the choices. Parents should never randomly decide on which method to use as it is always best to research and take advice from others to clearly weigh the benefits.

Infant Feeding Schedule: Finding What’s Right for You

So many new parents allow a tiny baby to dominate their lives from the moment they are born. The great thing about having a new baby is the ability to nurture him and establish daily living patterns that suit the parents and rest of the family and fit in well with the existing daily routine.

Having a newborn can and will turn life on its head for the first few weeks. In preparation for this, it is a great idea to consider and plan how the infant feeding schedule will best fit in along with allowing baby to sleep, mom to rest and everyone to have that much enjoyed quality time as a family. To new parents, it often feels like they are feeding their infant all the time, and this can be stressful and worrisome. For the first few days be it bottle feeding or breastfeeding, the infant will need to eat every couple of hours. For those who opt for formula, the easy way to cope with this is to pre-prepare bottles for the day ahead and before bedtime, too.

Fortunately for those moms who choose to breastfeed, none of this preparation is required. However, for moms who breastfeed, the stress often comes with perfecting the art of breastfeeding in the first place. Once this has been properly established, however, feeding can be enjoyable and relaxing for mom and baby.

In essence it’s all about finding what is right for parents as individual couples. When being given advice, it is nice to be aware of handy hints and tips on how others have coped with feeding regimens, but these may not suit the lives of every couple.

What’s Normal?

The answer to this is quite simply: there is no 'normal'. One of the biggest challenges that new parents face is the fear of criticism from others about the choice of feeding mode and even more so how they go about establishing a routine for the feeding.

One of the best things to do is actually not get too stressed out about establishing a routine at all. Amazingly, often is the case that baby will naturally fall into a pattern of hunger that for many parents falls around the same times over a twenty-four hour clock. One choice that needs to be made is whether to demand feed when baby cries or alternatively feed baby at a set time that the parents choose, such as every four hours.

As with anything there are pro’s and con’s to each theory and we would not have survived today if we only stuck to one option, so if one theory doesn’t work then try the alternative. Being new parents should be an enjoyable experience, and the important thing to remember is that a newborn will come to no harm if the infant feeding schedule is not established straight away. Relax, and baby will relax. If parents are stressed, the infant will pick up on this, and it is these problems that can indeed interfere with establishing a routine.