SHORT SUMMARY (272 words or less)
I read this book for personal reasons, with a baby on the way. I’ll be honest, I probably only got through about half of it. I’ll probably try some variation of this technique when the baby comes. Basically, the philosophy exposed in the book is a Parent Directed Feeding (PDF) model. The fundamental of the PDF model is to provide baby with full feedings at periodic schedules (2-3 hours in the early months), and to avoid snack feedings. The PDF method indicates that after a full feeding, baby should have a period of wakefulness so she does depend on the feeding to fall asleep. So, the cycle is basically feeding + wakefulness + sleep. Parental assessment has a role as well, so the PDF method isn’t strictly regimented. Parental assessment of baby’s cues enable the parent to decide to feed the baby again. The key is that there should not be snack feeding, all feedings should be full feedings. Thus, the PDF method strikes a balance between a strict regiment and a loose cue based feeding.
LONG SUMMARY
Note: One early lesson of 2017. Other than the American two-party political system, nothing is more divisive than discussions about parenting style. Like politics, it’s mostly a third rail subject, primarily because people’s identities, confidences and insecurities are wrapped up into the shared experience. So I’m going to recap and review the book as I read it, not as a commentary on other approaches. One thing is for sure, life is certainly changing, given that I’ve even picked up this book Last caveat: I fully expect all of this to go out the window when we are just in survival mode after having this baby.
-The authors point out that two main “styles’ of feeding have taken hold in the modern Western World. Cue feeding and clock feeding. Authors believe that both of these styles are inadequate.
-Cue feeding equation: baby’s cues = feeding. Basically, feed every time the baby cries. The authors point out several weaknesses with this approach: (1) baby’s that don’t cue but that still need to feed may not get the regular feeding since the mother is not hearing the cues (cries); (2) the related exhaustion from constant feeding may cause her to give up breast feeding.
-Clock feeding equation: regimented schedule = feeding. Basically, feed baby on a set schedule (e.g., every four hours) and stick to the schedule regardless of intermittent cuing from the baby. The authors also point out weaknesses with this approach: (1) If a prior feeding was inadequate or ineffective and a baby is cuing that he/she is still hungry, the baby has to wait for the next feeding time; (2) the relative infrequent feeding may cause mother to give up breast feeding due to low milk supply.
-Author’s suggest a third approach: Parent Directed Feeding (PDF). The PDF approach is a hybrid between the cue feeding and clock feeding approaches. The equation is something like: feeding = cues + schedule + parental assessment.
-Part of the PDF system includes the following cycle: Feed -> Wakefulness -> Sleep. The authors suggest that the parents using this method are able to assert a sense of rhythm to the baby as the baby feeds and sleeps. You don’t let the baby sleep immediately after feeding. The idea is that the baby does not get reliant on the breast/immediacy of food to fall asleep. Rather, according to this theory they learn to comfort themselves to sleep.
-Alright, this summary is about to get weirdly specific about the human body and breast feeding. I apologize in advance.
-The sucking action from the baby signals to the mother’s pituitary gland the release of two hormones: prolactin, which helps make breast milk, and oxytocin, which helps the release of breast milk. There are also two kinds of milk: fore milk and hind milk. Fore milk is located towards the front of the breast and hind milk is “let down” after the sucking signal initiates the oxytocin. The hind milk is more nutrious with a higher caloric density than fore milk.
-According to the book, frequent cue-based feeding encourages the baby to receive more fore milk than hind milk. The book argues that the PDF method–a mixture between scheduled feeding and cue feeding–focuses on quality over quantity. The basic premise of PDF technique is that the baby should be fed to fullness during every feeding. This contrasts with the cue feeding approach where it is difficult to differentiate which feeding is a snack feeding and which feeding is a meal feeding.
-During the first 3 weeks or so, the mother should aim to feed on 2-3 hour schedules. Basically, the idea is that the next feeding session starts around 2 to 2.5 hours from the end of the last feeding session.
-There’s a long description of different feeding techniques–I’m not even going to try getting into that.
-Summary of year 1 baby feedings:
Phase 1 (weeks 1-8): 8 or more feedings per 24 hours for first two weeks and avg 8 feedings in weeks 3-8, eliminating middle night feeding. Feed every 2.5 to 3 hours.
Phase 2 (weeks 9-15): Transition down to 5 to 7 feedings. Between weeks 12-14 baby transitions to 3 to 4 hour feeding and drop the late evening feeding.
Phase 3 (weeks 16-24): 4 to 6 liquid feedings, 3 of which are supplemented with baby food.
Phase 4 (weeks 25-52): Process to move child to three meals a day.
-How to drop a feeding: 1. Stretch from 3 hour to 3.5 hour routine. Needing to wake baby consistently is a strong indication that she’s ready to drop a feeding. 2. Dropping middle of night feeding between 7th and 9th week usually. 3. Dropping late evening feeding, around three months of age. This sometimes is the hardest to drop. Baby is ready to drop feeding when she’s reluctant to feed late and/or is sleeping during this time.
-Wake time and nap time: Keep baby awake during first few weeks during feeding. Try not to let baby fall asleep at feeding. Talk to baby and interact during wake time.
Book Summaries. Less than 272 words. 