Have you attended a parenting class for newborns, or maybe a birthing class? You were given the lecture about feeding schedules, and shown the schedule you need to keep for your newborn baby. Then the pediatrician you have selected starts on the same story. He tells you about the schedule you need to use. Suddenly you feel a little worried about all of this feeding stuff.

You are starting to feel like you need to get an alarm clock to remind you to feed your baby every two hours. It is time to relax, put away the clock, and listen to the best advice you will ever hear, from the real expert in baby feeding schedules. This expert can let you know the precise schedule which is required for your baby. Are you ready to meet the expert?

If you are an expectant mother, your expert is still formulating their plan in your womb. If you are a new mother already, the expert may be lying in your arms, or in the crib right now. The only person who can actually tell you their feeding schedule and be right is your baby. The schedules everyone else wishes to give you are great guidelines on how often you should feed your baby, but are not going to be your reality.

How should you use the schedules from the nurses, doctors, and other experts? Use them to know if you may be waiting too long between feedings. Most of these guidelines tell you a newborn will want breast milk every 2 to 3 hours and will eat around 8 to 12 times per day. As your baby knows, there will be times during the day when they want to eat in 1 1/2 hours, and you may get a break once in a while where they wait 4 hours. If it goes much over 4 hours, you probably do want to wake the baby and try to get them to eat.

The time table is a little different on formula fed newborns. They are going to eat every 3 to 4 hours normally, with around 6 to 8 feedings per day. Plan on your baby drinking about 2 to 3 ounces of formula each time. Again, if the time between feedings goes much over 4 hours, go ahead and wake the baby to eat.

Does this news make you feel a little more relaxed about your baby feeding schedule? Too many parents become overly concerned about scheduling everything instead of learning to listen to their tiny expert. Your baby knows when they are empty and want more. If you are not producing enough breast milk you may have a baby demanding to eat more often, which is fine. As you feed them more often your milk supply will begin to increase, giving them more nourishment. In the end, the only real measurement of success is watching your baby grow properly. As long as they are growing at the right rate, then you two have found the right schedule together.