Feeding baby on a strict schedule?

[frugalandsimple]

Is there any benefit of feeding a baby on a strict schedule? So, if the baby is hungry before the next scheduled feeding, do you make him/her wait until it's time?

[Emerald_Mommy]

How old of a baby are we talking about?

[frugalandsimple]

How old of a baby are we talking about?

Under a year old.

[nodmicks]

I never did a schedule with my kids. I guess I figured since I eat a little/get full and then am hungry 1.5-2 hours later their little tummys might do that too.

I have 2 very healthy kids. I really had no clue there was a such thing as a feeding schedule but if it works thats great.

[jamie79]

Kids find their own schedules. Feed them when they are hungry

[Radish4ever]

Kids find their own schedules. Feed them when they are hungry

I agree - we never scheduled our kids - Grace came up w/her own patterns and we followed her lead on that .... no struggles!

[zakity]

I fed on demand (about every two hours - their schedules).

[McD]

We didn't schedule Wesley. I guess I don't understand the concept.

[Jerseygirl]

No schedule here either, with babies if they don't indicate hungry by every 2 hours I offer, by 2 years old I start encouraging a more adult schedule of 3 meals with a healthy snack when needed in between.

[Emerald_Mommy]

I've always fed my small babies on demand. Solids (started between 4-6 months) are more of a schedule. I liked to feed a bit of cereal in the mornings after we ate our breakfast and a bit of a veg or fruit in the evenings when we had our supper. Of course I was still nursing whenever they wanted as well.

With my oldest girls a schedule seemed to just naturally develop by the time they were 4-5 months old, except for growth spurts when they wanted to nurse all the time. My youngest is less than 3 months right now and she still nurses pretty frequently.

[Grayce]

I fed on demand, you never know when they will hit a growth spurt and need to be fed more often.

[guest56464]

I didn't put my daughter on a schedule until she was fully on solids. With the other two I just feed them when they're hungry. They'll stop when they're full.

[PennyPinchinPam]

I fed my oldest on a schedule. He took a bottle about every 3-4 hours but if he wanted one sooner he got it. So I guess my schedule wasn't so scheduled after all. LOL! He's 12 yo now, 5'8" tall and 140 pounds. Now he seems to eat non-stop.

[NoDebtMom]

Nursed on demand, even through the seemingly every 45 minute phases during growth spurts... established more of a schedule once solids started (during meal times). Some kids are still grazers past age one, too.

[justpeachy92]

I fed my babies whenever they were hungry, for me I could see the benefit of a schedule if I had multiples so I could attempt to keep some sense of sanity.