Ask:
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?
Answer:
I BF my dd and she was on a schedule but not all the time I mean she did have her growth spurts where should would camp out all day on me but other than that it for for my own peice of mind and sanity trips alone to the store and I knew that she would be ok and not hungry for my dh while I was gone. It was nice to just know when she was going to be ready to eat next also so that I could get some things done around the house and for my self. I guess i just do better being scheduled. I mean more people have a routine that works for them. It is not for everyone.
Answer:
A base schedule is good, but as everything w/babies, prepare to adjust. They go thru growth spurts. When ds was little and in daycare, there was a baby there whose mother dictated a stern, strict 4 hr schedule. The poor little guy was starving at 3 hrs, lethargic and pale at 3.5 hrs. She was not a nice person, either. The baby does learn from your lead, but also know that babies change all the time, and so should we.
Answer:
A schedule is nice, but as a base is right. If you have a basic schedule then you can plan around it. But when baby is hungry feed him/her. They know better than anyone how much they need and when. At 4 months you should start weaning them at night (if they haven't themselves).
Answer:
No strict schedules here! If my babies were hungry, I fed them. They did always eat every 3 - 4 hours, but not because I would make them wait, that was just how often they got hungry.