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Mommy & Baby: Feeding Philosophies
This should be easy, right? Your baby is hungry, and you feed
him. What’s the big deal? The big deal is that there are so many
philosophies that are thrown at moms regarding this topic. See
if any of these sound familiar:
Demand-feeding Hyper-scheduling Cry
feeding Demand schedule Self-regulating
schedule Rigid feeding Cue (responsive)
feeding Parent-directed feeding
Confused yet? Most moms are and that’s why they wing it. There
are groups that will promote a particular type of feeding based
on a political agenda (did you know that how you feed your baby
is a politically-correct hot button?) and philosophy. There are
others who will condemn you for even considering feeding your
child formula, regardless of your reasons.
I’m not going to condemn anyone here or even talk about what to
feed your baby. I just want to make you aware of your options
and suggest that parent-directed feeding (PDF) is good for
babies, mommies, and families in general.
How you decide to feed your baby will have a profound effect on
your child’s hunger patterns, sleep patterns, and general
disposition. When I talk about PDF, I’m not talking about
letting the clock rule when you feed your baby, but using a
flexible schedule. This generally serves both baby & mother and
takes much of the guess-work involved in feeding and parenting
out of the equation. It’s my experience that both mommy & baby
do better when the baby’s life is guided by this flexible
schedule.
PDF is a middle-ground between hyper-scheduling (letting the
clock rule your feeding routines) and demand-feeding (every time
your baby cries, you feed him). This method is child-oriented
(not child-centered or mother-centered); the mother cooperates
with her baby’s needs, and her baby learns to cooperate with his
mother’s guidance.
Much of parent-directed feeding requires some common sense and a
commitment to not be ruled by the clock and The Rules. No one
who practices PDF will tell you that you should not feed your
baby if he is hungry; your role as a mommy is to meet his needs,
and that includes adequate nutrition. Additionally, no one who
uses this method will tell you that you must let your baby wait
if he’s hungry—that’s being a slave to the clock, and not being
responsive to your baby’s needs. Instead, you will meet your
child’s needs without being enslaved to them or someone else’s
ideas of how you should feed your baby. That’s the freedom that
PDF can bring to your life and the life of your baby!
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