The Schedule

When the triplets were born we lived and breathed by 'the schedule'. They came home from the NICU on a three hour feeding schedule. It was not long before they were eating every four hours at night.

They were getting breastmilk but I was pumping, not nursing, so we knew exactly how much they consumed. We charted every feeding, diaper change, medicine dose and sleep time. It helped us communicate with each other, stick to a consistent routine and probably most importantly gave us the illusion of control. Even though actually we had little control with three infants.

Now the difference is we have one breastfed baby and it is not looking like I will have any chance to get him on a schedule.

He eats on demand which has turned out to be every two to three hours often with 'snacks' in between. In the evenings, right when I finally decide to crawl into bed, he gets insatiable and wants to feed on and off for over two hours.

Last night I decided to pump and supplement him with formula to try and fill him up. He consumed three ounces of breast milk, then topped that off with eight ounces of formula!! No wonder I haven't been able to satisfy him. I was worried he was going to get a stomach ache so I tried to slow him down and give him his pacifier after each couple of ounces. He still wanted milk.

The upside was that after this binge he slept soundly for over three hours.

He is already around nine pounds and at this rate he will catch up with his 22-23 pound siblings in no time.