Possibly a daft question but!

[finallypregnant]

Many of you say feed on demand with your new born - usually around every 3 hours for example.

Does that mean feed baby and then you have 3 hours or is the 3 hours including the feeding time so for example if baby takes 30 minutes to feed you only really get a 2.5 hour break? Does that make sense? I know every baby is different though so just looking for a rough guide.

[StripeyMama]

Feed on demand means exactly that - there are no real timings involved for a newborn! DD fed pretty much non stop for the first few days - I got toilet breaks but that was about it.

[needtoasksomething]

Its counted from the start of each feed.
So if baby starts feed at 2pm then next feed would start at 5pm on 3 hourly feeding..

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes, start--> start
so if baby feeding every hour and feed takes 45 mins you get 15 mins
It's not as bad as it sounds

[needtoasksomething]

But yes, feeding on demand does vary a lot with how often they feed!

My DS2 (4 weeks) feeds on demand and I would say goes 3 hourly on average, but that can vary from 2 hourly to 4 hourly really... (luckily he seems to be feeding more like 2 to 3 hourly during the day and then going 4 hours at night now, which is nice )

[StealthPolarBear]

my DS could feed, need another one after half an hour and then fall asleep for 4 hours!
They don't always feed because of hunger so I suppose that's part of the reason why it's so haphazard. Even now at 11 mo my DS still has a feed an hour after his last one if he's tired and fancies being fed to sleep/

[terramum]

Ignore the clock. Much better to follow the baby's cues & offer a feed when they show signs of wanting to. If you aren't sure if they want a feed then offer one...

If the baby is especially sleepy or having trouble feeding then offering the breast at least every 2-3 hours (timed from the beginning of the feed) is preferable. But you might well find that a newborn feeds more often than that as they will want to be close to you (breastfeeding is not just about food ) just as they have been in the womb and because they have such small stomachs

These links might be useful FP:
www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/hunger-cues.html
www.llli.org/FAQ/schedule.html
www.llli.org/FAQ/frequency.html
www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/frequent-nursing.html

[tellnoone]

I can't answer the question because I don't look at the clock! I just go with the flow, so to speak.