what happens to a feeding routine in hot weather and baby is thirsty?

[RedKennedy]

what do i do - dd is 6 weeks old and Im getting there with the feeds every 3 hours or so - but if its boiling hot and she gets thirsty, do I let her feed on demand?
Will that throw things?
What about global warming?

confused of nw10
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[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

Longer feeds or feed on demand. But take the clue from the baby.

[katelyle]

What do I know.... but IMHO she's too little to go 3 hours between feeds. If it's hot she'll feed more often to get the liquid she needs. Why don't you want to feed on demand?

[magnolia1]

Feed when she wants to, nothing to do with the weather at 6 weeks it's all up to her

[MadamePlatypus]

At 6 weeks DD was feeding (bf) every 3 hours on demand - definitely not interested in feeding any more frequently, so not unreasonable. However, if you think she is thirsty feed her.

[maisym]

just bf on demand - follow what your baby wants. In the hot weather they'll bf more - just like us drinking more.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

bf on demand.

Tis best all round.

[RedKennedy]

might have come across wrongly - its so confusing -today I am reading the baby whisperer but tomorrow its What to expect..
But seriously - shes got herself quite neatly into a routine, which suits me nicely - was just wondering what happens when they do get hot - is the boob out constantly on hot days... thinking about going to the park you see (if i can find some clothes to fit me that is)

[DratherBdiggin]

She might have more frequent , but shorter feeds to take the foremilk, which is more watery etc etc.

[maisym]

wear something that you can easily lift up on one side. I wore my maternity tops for ages!!

The great thing about bf is that it's always there & wont go off in the heat - a real bonus.

[tiktok]

Red - ditch the books (which are confusing and contradictory) and respond to your baby, not the books

If your child was older and could ask for a drink in the heat, would you say 'no - you can't have one until three hours have passed since you last had one'???

No, of course you wouldn't.

You'd even offer a drink, thinking your child might be a bit thirsty.

Why are you scared responding to your baby according to her needs (and the weather) will 'throw' things? There is nothing great about routines, and they don't make life any easier - in fact, they can cause a lot of stress. If a three hourly schedule suits your daughter she will return to it without you needing to do anything. If it doesn't suit her, then why persist with it?

Not sure what global warming has to do with it, sorry!

[Gemmitygem]

at that age, those three hourly feeds are probably lasting at least half an hour, so I would stick with your routine, as long as she has plenty of wet nappies, as even with the routine I think she will be getting enough as long as she is feeding well for reasonable stretches... best of luck!

[tiktok]

Gemmity - are you saying that if a baby seems to be thirsty and needing another, unscheduled, feed in the heat, you would advise a mother to ignore this and stick to the routine??

[maisym]

bf on demand is best imho - think of yourself - in the heat would you go for 3 hours without a drink? Even if the feeds last for awhile - this is the time it takes for the baby to get the fluid it needs.

[potoroo]

Definitely feed on demand.

Correct me if I'm wrong Tiktok, but I think when it is hotter, breastmilk contains more water to keep little ones hydrated - is that right?

I noticed when DS was in Australia over summer he wanted to bf a little more on hot days, but not significantly. And once it was cooler he went back to 'normal' feeding.

[MadamePlatypus]

Red, I don't think the Baby Whisperer is very good on breast feeding - it left me very confused. The book is overly concerned with babies becoming 'snackers'. So many baby books written by maternity nurses (or whatever the term is) don't seem to be very good on exclusive bf, which isn't surprising given that a maternity nurse can't bf.

Many people find the Baby Whisperer has good points to make, but I definitely wouldn't take her bf advice as gospel.

[3andnomore]

Shaking my head at Gems advice.....I am sure you meant well, but really...like Tiktok said, would you leave a child without a drink once it is older, because it doesn't suit the routine? Lenght of feed is completely irrelevant, as it tells you nothing anyway....some Babys can get the same amount in 5 minutes that the next Baby gets in 1/2 h....as it depends on so many things.

[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

I think the trick of having a routine that works well is to be a bit flexible. You may wake them up and put them to sleep at a certain hour, you can bath them or take them for a walk at the same time everyday but what you should never do is to make them wait for a feed.

If you are trying not to disrupt the routine insisting in a longer feed may help a bit but... at the end of the day, the baby is the one who decides how often she wants to feed and for how long and there's not much else we can do about it

[cylonbabe]

if you are breastfeeding, then yes, you feed on demand.
she is only six weeks old. i would be feeding a six week old on demand anyways.

but you need to drink more water yourself.

for a bottlefed baby i would give water until her next feed was due.

[Gemmitygem]

Of course I'm not saying make the baby wait if they're thirsty or whatever. All I'm saying is, that if the baby is feeding well and for quite a long time every three hours, isn't overheated and isn't looking thirsty or asking for food, then I wouldn't necessarily feed in between the times. I"m of course not advocating leaving a baby thirsty or whatever, I'm only trying to say that every three hours is quite frequent as long as the baby is drinking well. Of course, act on your own instincts and follow what the baby seems to need. I'm personally a strong routine type person and have found that for me, it really settled the baby..

[barefeete]

I had DS1 in UK and he would feed 3 hourly like clockwork - a classic textbook baby. I had DD2 4 months ago and when she was 3 weeks moved from the UK to the British Virgin Islands (= bloody hot, Average temp 32 degrees!). I must admit i was initially confused as she started feeding a lot more than my DS had. I had to just go with the flow even though i am a big baby whisperer fan. I have since discovered that DD2 is just a different baby to DS1 and needs feeding more often than he did. She does get hot here and gets heat rash a bit but she can still go 3 hours between feeds the majority of the time. 3 months down the line i have learnt to just respect that what she is asking for is what she wants. IMO (and i am no genius at this and just stumble through each day!) Just go with your baby's flow. Make sure she has a good feed, offer the 2nd boob if she finishes the first and then you will know that she has had her fill. Good luck and i hope that this has helped in some way!!!!

[maveta]

i live in spain and it´s pretty hot here now, ds is 10 weeks and i bf on demand. i haven't seen much of a change in how he feeds that i could put down to the weather although i was expecting to. if he gets hot i strip him down, give him a flannel wash or a shower but don't find he particularly wants to eat more. he's almost always chosen to eat every 4 hours on the dot although that's his schedule, in the evening it could just as well be every 2... last week he started eating every 3 hours day and night which i assumed was the heat but in the last few days he's back to 4 hours and going through the night so it must have been a growth spurt.

so after a lot of waffle, just listen to your baby. the only book on bf i read did say something about snacking which really made me try not to feed him less than 2 hours apart at first until i realised that was ridiculous. no more books...

[3andnomore]

but gem the op asked that if it is hot and the Baby appears thirsty should she feed or stick to the routine....

Still trying to work out the Global warming comment in op, lol....

[tiktok]

Yes, Gem - OP was clear on this. She was worried about her baby getting thirsty and 'demanding' more feeds. You seemed to indicate she should ignore these signs. Glad to see you had misread.

[amijee]

i agree with tik tok on ditching all the books!! I literally threw all mine out after they made me feel 1. inadequate 2. depressed 3. a crap mum!

I was desperate to have a routine but had baby that was desperate to feed as often as 1-2 hrly and i didn't know what I was doing wrong...and then it finally dawned on me - it was the books that were wrong!

I have also spent a lot of time with ds in hot countries and yes, he did feed more frequently and I let him. ( I counted up 16 feeds in a 24 hr period when he was 3 mths old)

A year down the line and I am still feeding him - I believe it's cos my supply was so good with feeding him so frequently and not restricting when he wanted to eat.

They will naturally space out when they are older and are also on solids. Let your baby be your guide...

[RedKennedy]

thanks for all your replies -
firstly, i would never not feed my dd, im sorry if my op was confusing. it was rather late in the evening, and after reading said books and after listening to mil and friend telling me about routines, it got me to thinking - what happens when its hot..
Truth be told i kind of wanted to catch them out aswell, all their bollocks about letting baby rule my day etc etc.

i have put down the baby whisperer (after gleaning lots about different types of cries, but ignorning the bf advice)
and forgotten the 'snacking' crap (to be honest though, id only started reading it a day before i posted) and now i just
wap out the boob when ever and where ever it is wanted.

I do make her do 'paw' first though.


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