to share with you all a revelation regarding 'feeding on demand'?

[EccentricaGallumbits]

I have ed my self with what I think may be an unusual and radical kind of idea.

I feed myself on demand!

When I am hungry I eat something!

When I am thirsty I have a drink!

Sometimes I need a bit of comfort in the form of choclate or cake and it makes me feel good.

Some days I am hungrier and thirtsier than others and then I eat and drink a bit more, more often.

Sometimes I fancy a snack.

Why on earth would anyone expect a baby to be any different

Who thought it would be a good idea to make babies feed at certain times of the day, even if they needed a little something at other times?

Why is the thought of babies acting like other humans so horrific?

Wretched I don't think anyone would accuse someone who was unable to feed a baby for a bit while they dealt with another child neglectful. Although i admit i've not read the whole thread so maybe someone has said exactly that? I thought the thread was more about people who could feed a baby that was thirsty or hungry, but choose not to as 4 hours haven't gone by yet.

Sorry for getting your name wrong, Choceyes...I did wonder as I was typing it, but so sleep deprived lately that anything before about 10am I'm almost useless

Good point about not all babies being suited to the follow-their-cues thing. I think what struck me was just the surprise that no one - midwives, friends,. even my mother had ever told me about - or in some cases even noticed, the cues that babies sometimes give.

I certainly didn't notice them with my first. Which made it really hard to know what to do. So I think it ought to be mentioned in antenatal education, perhaps...all babies are different and different noises mean different things but once you figure them out it really does help. I do remember ds1 doing a particular noise when he wanted a feed - I'd pick him up and he would sort of whisper something like 'ef- ef- ef' in my ear, that was another signal for milk.

you're right Jane - dd does it too.
I don't know what i was doing in the early days - on demand was too frequent, especially as it took over an hour for one feed.
but that was inexperience more than anything.
she's 14 weeks now and she does things like hand in mouth (not helpful when i'm trying to put the boob in her mouth
and she sits in her chair (or on the floor wherever she is), turns her head as far as possible and tries to latch on to thin air.

DD started off with a different cry when she was hungry. So it seemed really easy to know if she was hungry as opposed to bored / tired / uncomfortable. Unfortunately, as the reflux got worse her crying all became the same. In the worst days it felt like she screamed every moment she was awake. So no possibility of feeding cues from sounds she made. She was also shwoing signs of Sandifers syndrome, so no other reliable visual clues either.

I really every one has to accept that all babies are different. Just like all adults. We don't all eat the same things at the same time.