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Every parent knows that even something as simple and easy as keeping your baby fed is a huge ordeal when they are just a few months old. A newborn needs to feed every hour or so which can make the nursing process time consuming and exhausting. Sometimes, it can be easy to feel like you don’t have time for anything else but filling up bottles or breastfeeding. This is why it’s always smart to come up with a baby feeding schedule. This way you can keep track of how often you need to feed the baby, when you need to feed them and how much. All of these factors are greatly influenced by the age of your baby. And even one month can make a huge difference. So do you want to know how to make the perfect feeding schedule for your baby? Then this is the article for you. Read on to know more!
What Is A Baby Feeding Schedule?
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This concept is pretty self explanatory. A baby feeding schedule outlines how you are going to accommodate all your baby’s feeds during the course of your night and day. If you have a newborn then you know this is more or less round the clock. You should nurse or offer a bottle whenever your little one is hungry in the first few months. And your baby will let you know in a number of different ways. That’s right, crying isn’t their only cue. For the first few months it’s a good idea to follow your child’s lead, instead of trying to stick to a strict time-based schedule that’s bound to fall apart. This is what is often called “demand feeding” or “feeding on-demand.”
However, your infant is going to lack the ability to communicate with the verbal in order to show you that they are hungry. But there are several signs in terms of gestures and movements that indicate that they are ready to be fed. Here are a few signs:
- Bringing their hands to their mouth or sucking their fingers
- Turning their head in search of the breast or a bottle
- Squeezing their lips, licking or smacking them
- Clenching their hands
- Opening and closing their mouth actively
- Putting their head on the mother’s chest while being held
- Becoming unusually alert and active which can result in not sleeping for a long time
- Pulling up their legs
- Squirming around restlessly
Your baby can demonstrate either some or all of the aforementioned signs of hunger. Make sure you monitor how the baby behaves between feeding sessions so that you can start to easily recognise the signals your newborn is sending you.
How Often You Should Feed Your Baby
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重要的是要记住,每一个孩子different. So it can be hard to predict how often you need to feed your baby. It also makes a difference what kind of milk they drink. Breast milk digests more quickly than formula. So if you are exclusively breastfeeding, you might have to nurse your baby every hour and a half to 3 hours or so. However, as they get older, they’ll slowly start to nurse less often and fall into a more predictable pattern. If they’re drinking formula, your baby will probably want a bottle every 2 to 3 hours at first. As your child grows, they should be able to go 3 to 4 hours without eating.
How Much To Feed The Baby?
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1. Newborn To 2 Months
It is completely normal for your baby to have only about half an ounce of milk or formula at each feed in the first few days after their birth. This will soon increase to 1 to 2 ounces and by the time your little one is 2 weeks old they should drink about 2 or 3 ounces per feeding.
2. 2 To 4 Months
At this age your baby should drink anywhere around 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. Your baby is steadily growing but still depends wholly on breastmilk and formula for nutrition and hydration.
3. 4 To 6 Months
At 4 months, your baby should drink about 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. By the time your baby is 6 months old, they’ll be able to drink up to 8 ounces each time you feed them. At the end of six months you can slowly start to introduce your baby to a tablespoon of water which will be a nice change from their usual diet.
Making sure you’re feeding your baby often and enough can be frustrating and worrying. That’s why it’s important to come up with a schedule to keep you on track. This way you’ll know exactly when your baby wants to be fed and how much. Happy parenting!
