like clockwork?

I am conflicted about Baby Munchkin's feeding schedule. Let me just state right off the bat, that since the minute he was born, I have been conflicted about his feeding schedule. The nurses in the hospital insisted that he be awakened every three hours to be fed. I contended that sometimes when a baby is asleep, One Should Not Wake Him! I struggled with that question for the first, oh, 3 months of his life. Not to mention, they suggested 3, 6, 9, and 12, am or pm. I have since learned that my baby, like me, prefers Even Numbers: 8, 12, 4, 8. And four-hour intervals are just fine with him. Anyway, this has always been hard for me. Since he was born fairly small, I want to be sure and feed him enough... but since the "obesity epidemic" is all over the news, all the time, I don't want to overfeed him or set him up with bad life-long habits.

Now, he's in daycare three days a week. And they have their own particular way of doing things. I applaud the "teachers" in the Infant 1 room -- handling 10-12 babies can't be a picnic. They have their methods and try to get the kids on somewhat of a similar schedule, so they can have a bit of breathing room. Namely, they want the kids to eat around 10 and nap from 11:30 to 1. Well.... I'm sorry to inform them that MY Baby gets sleepy earlier than that. 10:00 am (sometimes 10:30) is the witching hour for us. I can almost plan my day by it, when he's at home on WFH days or weekends. And he'll sleep until approximately 11:30 or 12. At which time he is probably hungry, since he last ate at 8:30 or 9. At least, this is how it works when we are together. Clockwork. Easy. Predictable. Not necessarily THEIR schedule. But that's the way he is. Shouldn't they know that all kids are INDIVIDUALS? (And, in my cattiest mood, isn't 11:30 to 1 the LUNCH HOUR? Doesn't it make more sense for the kids to have lunch then, and naps AFTER lunch? Or are we trying to schedule the ADULT lunch break at the lunch hour? Hmmm?)

I'm aggravated that I keep trying to tell these ladies "Here's how I'd like it to work," in my nicest tone of voice, and they keep responding with things like, "It just depends on how he feels -- you know, sometimes he gets sleepy earlier in the morning." Well, Not when he's with me. I'm just at a loss. Do I conform to their way of doing it? Do I insist that they do it my way? Does he care? Is he spending his days up there screaming his head off because he's sleepy at 10, and they'd rather feed him? Are they wasting my hard-earned formula and writing on his daily report card: "refused bottle?" (Yes.) Does he ever refuse a bottle with me? (Rarely.) Do they sometimes feed him a mere 1.5 hours after the last feeding? (Yes.) Why??

One word summation: Argh.