How do you demand feed and help Bub sleep with a scheduled life?

[Ladylove]

With DD I did sort of a baby-led schedule if that makes sense. So at first, as others have said, I muddled through it but I paid attention to when she naturally became sleepy or hungry and encouraged feeds/put down times around that.

I also made appointments work for baby and I, rather than trying to work around times that were stressful or not practical.

I always fed her right before going out as I was not comfortable feeding in public yet because DD was a bit unsettled and we were both still learning to BF (position, pain and attachment were issues for us). Sometimes she would of course demand a feed while out so I did have to find somewhere quiet. I did express milk of an evening or morning too so that I had the option of offering some EBM if we were out so that is an option too, though expressing can be an added hassle so it is not for everyone.

So essentially I did demand feed but tried to pre-empt feeds too. Encouraging a sleep routine was very important to me though, more so than a feed routine, so I always put her sleeps before anything else. And as mentioned, I framed her sleep routine around what she was instinctively inclined to do anyway. So if she seemed commonly sleepy at say 10am, 12pm or whatever I made sure we would be somewhere where I could put her down. Preferably at home but also timed car trips and walks at sleep times hoping they would encourage her to sleep. It didn't always work though of course! And that was ok. Mind you this was all based around one child, not two so I am sure I will be throwing my own hands up in despair in a month or two!!

[JLeigh29]

Lady love - That's what I did with DS1 and am trying to do similar with DS2. Yeah, the sleep is more important than feeds because, as Hoti said, I can offer earlier or more frequently if I need to. Most of our regular appointments are in the morning, so I'm trying to be home around lunchtime to at least have one opportunity for a decent nap each day. So far not much joy with the resettling/encouraging that long nap (40 mins is standard), but I'll keep trying...