Baby feeding times by age
Tips for the First Year
Every baby may get hungry on their own unique schedule. That said, most infants in the first months of life will eat every 2-4 hours, depending if they are nursing or drinking formula. Once they eat solids, they’ll gradually drink less.
Eat, sleep, pee, poop, repeat. Those are the highlights of a day of the life of a brand-new baby.
And if you’re a new parent, it’s the eating part that may be the source of many of your questions and worries. How many ounces should your baby take? Do you wake a sleeping baby to eat? Why do they seem hungry all the time? When can your child start solids?
Questions abound — despite Grandma’s insistence, the answers have changed since you were a tot. It’s now recommended that newborns, even formula-fed ones, eat on demand (consider it good preparation for the teenage years) and that babies wait to start solid foods until they’re 4 to 6 months old.
On day one of life, your baby’s stomach is the size of a marble and can only hold 1 to 1. 4 teaspoons of liquid at a time. As your baby gets older, their stomach stretches and grows.
It’s hard (or impossible, really) to know how much milk your baby is taking in while breastfeeding. But if you’re bottle feeding due to any number of valid reasons, it’s a bit easier to measure.
Here, from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a typical feeding schedule for bottle-fed babies.
| Age | Ounces per feeding | Solid foods |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 2 weeks of life | .5 oz. in the first days, then 1–3 oz. | No |
| 2 weeks to 2 months | 2–4 oz. | No |
| 2–4 months | 4-6 oz. | No |
| 4–6 months | 4–8 oz. | Possibly, if your baby can hold their head up and is at least 13 pounds. But you don’t need to introduce solid foods yet. |
| 6–12 months | 8 oz. | Yes. Start with soft foods, like one-grain cereals and pureed vegetables, meats, and fruits, progressing to mashed and well-chopped finger foods. Give your baby one new food at a time. Continue supplementing with breast or formula feedings. |
Every baby is unique — but one thing that’s pretty consistent is that breastfed babies eat more frequently than bottle-fed ones. That’s because breast milk is easily digested and empties from the stomach a lot quicker than formula.
Breastfed babies
There’s no rest for the weary. According to La Leche League International, you should begin nursing your baby within 1 hour of birth and provide about 8 to 12 feedings daily in the first few weeks of life (yeah, we’re exhausted for you).
At first, it’s important not to let your baby go more than 4 hours without feeding. You’ll likely need to wake them up if necessary, at least until breastfeeding is well established and they’re gaining weight appropriately.
As your baby grows and your milk supply amps up, your baby will be able to take in more milk in less time at one feeding. That’s when you might start to notice a more predictable pattern.
- 1 to 3 months: Your baby will feed 7 to 9 times per 24 hours.
- 3 months: Feedings take place 6 to 8 times in 24 hours.
- 6 months: Your baby will feed around 6 times a day.
- 12 months: Nursing may drop to about 4 times a day. The introduction of solids at about 6 months helps to fuel your baby’s additional nutritional needs.
Keep in mind that this pattern is just one example. Different babies have different paces and preferences, along with other factors that influence the frequency of feedings.
Bottle-fed babies
Like breastfed babies, bottle-fed newborns should eat on demand. On average, that’s about every 2 to 3 hours. A typical feeding schedule may look like this:
- Newborn: every 2 to 3 hours
- At 2 months: every 3 to 4 hours
- At 4 to 6 months: every 4 to 5 hours
- At 6+ months: every 4 to 5 hours
For both breastfed and bottle-fed babies
- Don’t give liquids other than formula or breast milk to babies under a year old.
That includes juices and cow’s milk. They don’t provide the right (if any) nutrients and can be upsetting to your baby’s tummy. Water can be introduced around 6 months when you start offering a cup. - Don’t add baby cereal to a bottle.
- It can create a choking hazard.
- A baby’s digestive system isn’t mature enough to handle cereal until about 4 to 6 months of age.
- You could overfeed your baby.
- Don’t give your baby any form of honey until after their first birthday. Honey can be dangerous for a baby, occasionally causing what’s called infant botulism.
- Do adjust your expectations based on your baby and their unique needs. Premature babies are likely to follow feeding patterns according to their adjusted age. If your baby has challenges like reflux or failure to thrive, you may need to work with your doctor on the appropriate feeding schedule and amount they should be eating.
Schedules are the holy grail of every parent. Your child will naturally start to fall into a feeding pattern as their tummy grows and they can take in more breast milk or formula at one sitting.
This may begin to happen between 2 and 4 months of age.
For now, though, focus on learning your baby’s hunger cues, such as:
- rooting around your chest, looking for a nipple.
- putting their fist in their mouth
- smacking or licking their lips
- fussing that can escalate quickly (don’t wait until your baby’s hangry to feed them)
Once your baby is a few months old, you may be able to introduce a sleep/feed schedule that works for you.
Let’s say, for example, your 4-month-old wakes every 5 hours for a feeding. That means if you feed at 9 p.m., your baby wakes around 2 a.m. But if you wake and feed the baby at 11 p.m., just before you go to bed, they may not rouse until 4 a.m., giving you a decent chunk of nighttime winks.
In general, if your baby seems hungry, feed them. Your baby will naturally eat more frequently during growth spurts, which typically occur around 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age.
Some babies will also “cluster feed,” meaning they’ll feed more frequently during certain periods and less at others.
For example, your baby may cluster feed during the late afternoon and evening and then sleep longer at night (yay!). This is more common in breastfed babies than bottle fed babies.
Worried about overfeeding? While this isn’t really possible to do with an exclusively breastfed baby, you can overfeed a baby who’s taking a bottle — especially if they’re sucking on the bottle for comfort. Follow their hunger cues, but talk to your pediatrician if you’re worried your little one may be overeating.
Your baby is probably ready for solids if they’re 4 to 6 months old and:
- have good head control
- seem interested in what you’re eating
- reach for food
- weigh 13 or more pounds
Which food to start with? The AAP now says it doesn’t really matter much in what order you introduce foods. The only real rule: Stick with one food for 3 to 5 days before offering another. If there’s an allergic reaction (rash, diarrhea, vomiting are common first signs), you’ll know which food is causing it.
As your baby grows, move from pureed baby food to ones that have more texture (for example, mashed banana, scrambled egg, or well-cooked, chopped pasta). This generally happens around 8 to 10 months of age.
Your supermarket offers a variety of baby food products, but if you want to make your own, keep it sugar and salt free. Additionally, at this stage, don’t feed your baby anything that could be a choking hazard, including:
- hard foods, such as popcorn or nuts
- hard, fresh fruits, like apples; cook to soften or chop into very small pieces
- any meat that isn’t well cooked and very well chopped (this includes hot dogs)
- cheese cubes
- peanut butter (though talk to your pediatrician about this one — and the benefits of introducing diluted peanut butter before the age of 1)
As your baby nears their first birthday, they should be eating a variety of foods and taking in about 4 ounces of solids at each meal. Continue to offer breast milk or formula.
By 8 months, babies are drinking about 30 ounces a day.
Oh yeah, and buy some stock in a company that makes stain-fighting laundry detergent. It’ll pay for college.
Babies aren’t cookie cutter. Some will gain weight easily, while others will have problems. Things that can affect a baby’s weight gain include:
- having a birth defect like a cleft lip or palate, which creates problems feeding
- having a milk protein intolerance
- being premature
- being fed with a bottle versus the breast
A 2012 study of more than 1,800 babies found that the infants who were fed with a bottle — regardless of whether the bottle contained breast milk or formula — gained more weight in the first year than babies who nursed exclusively.
Your baby’s doctor is the best one to advise you on a healthy weight range for your baby.
How, when, and what to feed a baby are top worries of every parent — but there’s good news: Most babies are pretty good judges of when they’re hungry and when they’re full — and they’ll let you know it.
You just need to present them with the right choices at the right time and pay attention to their cues. If you have any questions or concerns, your pediatrician is there to help you along the way.
Newborn and Baby Feeding Chart in the 1st Year
Whether you’re a first-time parent or a seasoned caregiver, figuring out why your baby is crying can feel like a guessing game. Fortunately, paying attention to your baby’s daily feeding schedule can help reduce some of the guesswork.
By following a feeding schedule, you might be able to avoid some of the fussiness associated with hunger, and you’ll be able to more easily tell whether he’s more likely to be wet or tired instead.
Whether your little one’s a newborn, a 6-month old, or even a 1-year-old, read on to find out how to come up with a feeding schedule and adjust it to your baby’s needs as he grows and develops.
Baby Feeding Chart at a Glance
As you watch for those delightful baby milestones — from first smiles and giggles to sitting and crawling — it can be hard to keep track of everything related to your baby’s feeding schedule.
Fortunately, you don’t have to. We've assembled all the necessary details in the chart below, including feeding frequency and portion information.
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Feeding Schedule for Breastfed Newborns
From the moment your baby is born, she begins to grow at a surprisingly quick pace. To fuel her development and keep her well fed, be prepared to nurse about every two to three hours.
By the time she’s a week old, your little one may begin to nap for longer periods, giving you more time between feedings. If she’s sleeping, you can maintain your baby’s feeding schedule by waking her up gently when it’s time to feed.
Tips to keep in in mind if you’re breastfeeding:
The length of time between feedings is measured from when your baby begins nursing, not when she stops.
Ensure your little one latches on properly. This can be difficult when you’re starting out, especially for first-time moms, but over time your baby may begin to latch comfortably. Speaking to a lactation consultant could be helpful.
As your baby grows she may nurse at a faster rate.
Alternate between breasts during each feeding.
Look for signs that your baby is full. She may turn away from the breast, nurse at a slower rate, or lose interest. Once she seems full, end the feeding
Your baby’s healthcare provider may recommend adding vitamin D oral supplements to your baby’s diet. Follow the provider's instructions to ensure your baby gets the proper dosage.
Nursing your baby on demand or every couple of hours around the clock can seem like a lot—and it is! At the newborn stage, your baby can’t take in much milk in a single sitting, so frequent feeding is needed to make sure she's getting enough. Later on, as your baby's daily routine (including her sleep and awake time) becomes more predictable, you'll have an easier time following a regular feeding schedule.
Feeding Schedule for Formula-Fed Newborns
Formula-fed newborns will need about two to three ounces (60 – 90 milliliters) of formula per feeding to start with.
Newborns fed from bottles are able to take in more during a feeding than a breastfed infants. This allows you to space out feedings by about three to four hours.
As your baby reaches her 1-month milestone, she will need at least four ounces per feeding to get the nourishment she requires. Your newborn’s feeding schedule will gradually become more predictable over time, and you’ll need to adjust the amount of formula as she grows.
3-Month-Old Feeding Schedule
Now that you and your baby have begun to develop a routine, it can be difficult to make slight alternations. However, as your baby grows and her feeding needs change, you’ll need to adjust your baby’s feeding schedule accordingly.
For Your Breastfed Baby
At 3 months, your baby is becoming more active, will begin to breastfeed less often, and may sleep for longer periods of time at night.
You may have to nurse just six to eight times per day at this stage (or about every three to four hours).
If your baby’s healthcare provider sees that he’s gaining weight and growing at a regular pace, then he’s probably getting the right amount of nutrition.
The number of wet and soiled diapers is also a great indicator as to whether or not he is eating well. Your baby should have about four to six wet diapers a day.
See your baby’s healthcare provider if you’re concerned that your little one may not be getting enough to eat.
For Your Formula-Fed Baby
As your little one continues to grow, you’ll notice that he wants to eat more during each feeding and begins to sleep for longer intervals at night.
Slight adjustments to your 3-month old’s feeding schedule may include:
Increasing the amount of formula to about 5 ounces per feeding
Giving your baby formula about six to eight times per day
Switching the newborn nipple size or style on your baby’s bottles to make it easier for him to drink from the bottle.
6-Month-Old Feeding Schedule
At this stage, your baby’s healthcare provider may recommend you expand your baby’s diet to include solid foods.
With these menu additions on the horizon, having a 6-month-old feeding schedule will come in handy!
When a baby is ready to try solid foods, a single grain baby cereal mixed with breast milk or formula has traditionally been the first solid food to be introduced, followed by pureed vegetables and fruits. However, there's no medical evidence that indicates introducing foods in any special order offers any benefits.
Keep in mind that solids are only a supplement at this stage, and that breast milk or formula is still your baby’s most important source of nutrition. Continue to include about 32 ounces of breast milk or formula in your 6-month-old’s feeding schedule of three to five feedings per day to ensure your baby gets the necessary vitamins and minerals.
You may be able to start weaning your baby off of night feedings; however, every baby is unique. Speak to your baby’s healthcare provider to see if it’s time to cut down on nighttime feedings and to learn what you can do to encourage the process.
7- to 9-Month-Old Feeding Schedule
Months seven through nine can be a good time to add a greater variety and quantity of solid foods to your baby’s diet. He may need fewer daytime feedings, now — about four to five.
Purees of meats, veggies, and fruits are recommended at this stage. Introduce your baby to these new flavors as single ingredient purees then gradually add combinations to his meals.
Your baby may slowly begin to wean off breast milk or formula as his growing body demands solid foods for nutrition.
There is no correct time to wean off breast milk or formula. Speak to your baby’s healthcare provider to learn more about the cues and signs that can let you know when your baby is ready for more solid foods.
10- to 12-Month-Old Feeding Schedule
Exploring new textures may now be a big part of your little one’s meals. As he grows, he may begin to self-feed with finger foods such as cut-up bananas, dry cereal, and pasta and even demand certain flavors that he enjoys more.
As you continue to replace breast milk or formula with solids, your baby’s healthcare provider can help determine how to balance out your baby’s meals.
Blends of different foods can be introduced during mealtime and added to your baby’s feeding schedule. Your baby may eat about three to four times per day. Be sure to avoid offering foods that pose choking hazards such as grapes, peanuts, and popcorn.
Finger feeding can be fun for your little one. Always be sure that his food is cut up into pieces that are small enough for him to be able to pick up and chew without being at risk of choking. After some practice, he’ll be on his way toward wholesome, independent eating habits.
1-Year-Old Feeding Schedule
Now that you’re celebrating your baby’s first birthday, it’s also time to celebrate his feeding accomplishments. Your baby’s feeding schedule can now include almost all the healthy and nutritious foods you eat, with a few minor exceptions such as raw honey and choking hazards like nuts.
Your baby may be eating less frequently now, as he is able to take in more food in one sitting. Give your 1-year-old approximately three meals and about two or three snacks a day.
This is the time to add cow’s milk to your baby’s diet. However, too much milk is not always good, and should be kept to about 16 to 24 ounces per day if your baby is able to tolerate lactose. Check with your baby's healthcare provider if you have any questions about how and when to introduce cow's milk.
You can continue to nurse your baby if you wish. There is no correct time to wean him off of breast milk; rather, it is recommended that to continue breastfeeding for as long as it is right for you and your little one. Consult with your baby’s healthcare provider if you have questions about the weaning process.
As your baby grows and develops, his feeding needs will change. Having a baby feeding schedule at the ready can help you track your baby’s mealtimes and anticipate when he’ll start to be hungry.
This is just one of the ways you can help keep your little one happy and developing well. Having a feeding schedule in place also gives you some extra freedom to spend more time enjoying his many milestones.
Of course, if at any time you have questions or concerns, reach out to your baby’s healthcare provider for personalized guidance and advice.
Until what age is breastfeeding recommended?
How long can I breastfeed?
Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF* place great emphasis on continued breastfeeding in children older than 1 year of age, recommending that this process be continued up to two years of age or beyond. After 2.5 years, the child goes through the process of natural extinction of the sucking reflex. Gradually, he nullifies all feedings, simply ceasing to need the sucking process as such.
WHO is known to recommend breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and beyond if the mother wishes.
Domestic pediatricians, based on practical experience and scientific research, voice the figure - up to 1.5 years. In any case, the choice remains with the mother and will depend primarily on the readiness of both the mother and the child to stop this process. It is not recommended to stop breastfeeding during the illness of the child, during the period of his vaccination, during other stressful conditions, as well as in the summer season. It is possible to successfully save HB even after a year, but under a number of conditions.
Is it good to breastfeed after a year?
After a year, breast milk changes its composition, but not for the worse. The main reason for these changes is that milk is no longer the main food for the baby, and other functions come to the fore. The older the child becomes, the more the concentration of immunoglobulins in milk increases, which protect the child from diseases. Studies have shown that in the second year of lactation, the content of total protein in milk increases, as well as such an important protein as lactoferrin.
Breast milk contains leukocytes and a number of anti-infectious factors, as well as antibodies against infectious agents previously transferred by the mother.
- Breastfeeding after a year should not "interfere" with the organization of rational nutrition of the child, providing for the introduction of basic products, dishes, the formation of a diet and a certain ritual of eating. GW during this period should not be a "snack". The child must learn in a timely manner to eat from a spoon, chew, observe certain rules of behavior at the table.
- Breastfeeding after one year should not "prevent" the child from growing up. Such child's emotions as resentment, pain, boredom, irritation, anger, feeling of loneliness, selfishness should not be “jammed” with breast milk. It is during this period of growing up that many mothers make a big mistake, without realizing it themselves, offering the breast not as a source of food, but as a source of emotional satisfaction.
This can lead to a painful attachment of the child to the mother, later development of independence skills , which will burden both the mother and the baby himself. Instead of breast milk in these cases, the child may be offered such signs of attention as tactile caress, playing, reading a book, playing with plasticine, paints, etc.
If, for various reasons, mother and child do not see each other during the day (mother at work, baby in kindergarten, etc.), then it is reasonable to keep evening and one night breastfeeding (if the child wishes).
Author: d.m.s. Lukoyanova Olga Leonidovna
Breastfeeding on demand
You can often hear from a nursing mother: "I feed on demand, my baby requires a breast every 3.5 hours." Or: “I have always fed on demand. In a year, we already had 1 feeding in the evening, and my child calmly refused to breastfeed. Before talking about the demand of the child, it is necessary to find out what modern women mean when they say - "I breastfeed.
"
Modern mothers consider breastfeeding essential for feeding their baby. Just for feeding. Breast milk is food, the mother supplies the baby with the nutrients necessary for growth and development. When a baby suckles at the breast, he eats. Breastfeeding makes sense only as a process of supplying proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements.
During suckling, the baby receives the necessary nutrients with mother's milk. This is the absolute truth. There is another unconditional truth, which is not given any importance in modern society, it is not taken into account and is not considered. Breastfeeding for a child is communication with the mother. We need to figure out how the child understands feeding on demand? Can he understand anything at all? Is there any difference for him how he is fed, for 15-20 minutes after 3.5 hours or in some other way?
What is on-demand feeding
On-demand feeding of a newborn baby means putting it to the breast for every squeak or search.
Squeak and search movements in newborns, even as early as the second or third day of life, begin to appear much more often than after 3.5 or 2.5 hours. The need for attachments increases rapidly, and by the 10-12th day of life, the need to attach to a child may occur 15-16 or more times a day. Applications vary in duration. The baby can fall asleep and sleep while sucking for, for example, 1.5-2 hours. Can release the breast after 1-2 minutes. And then ask her again. Why does a child need such frequent contact with his mother's breast?
That's why. Being in the mother's belly, in a calm, familiar environment, listening to the noises of the mother's body, being in a warm, cramped, confined space, the baby sucked his fist, fingers, loops of the umbilical cord, swallowed amniotic fluid. Learned to suck and swallow. After birth, experiencing discomfort for any, the most insignificant reason, the baby tries to get rid of it. You can get rid of discomfort by getting into the usual conditions of a comfortable stay.
The only place where the baby after birth can feel the sensations familiar to him is in the arms of the mother. The only familiar action is sucking. The only familiar taste and smell is the taste and smell of milk and lube in the areola. Milk and lubricant have an odor and taste similar to the taste and smell of amniotic fluid. Therefore, experiencing discomfort, the baby squeaks, or begins to look for an object to suck with his mouth. Ideally, it is immediately applied to the chest. The baby becomes warm, cramped, he hears the beating of his mother's heart, breathing, grumbling in the intestines, he sucks and feels the familiar taste and smell. If such an action happens constantly, the baby gains confidence, no matter what happens, he will solve all his problems with his mother. The place of comfort is now under the breast, and you can suck on the breast.
This whole process is biologically justified. A newborn child does not feel the feeling of hunger, this feeling is not formed in him.
It will begin to form at about two months of age. How to feed a creature that does not experience hunger ?! How to encourage him to take some action to get food? This can be done only at the expense of some other incentives. This stimulus for the newborn is constant bodily discomfort, thanks to which he wants to suckle all the time! The most intense, frequent and prolonged sucking in infants is observed in the first two or three months of life. It is in these first months that the main weight gain of the baby occurs.
Feeding in the first month
Baby falls asleep with the breast in his mouth, sucking for a while. Falling asleep deeply, lets go of the chest. After sleeping for a while, he wakes up, and is applied on waking. After sleep, he can stay awake for some time, for example, an hour and a half. During wakefulness, he may feel discomfort 2-3 times, for example, from a completely natural desire to pee, and having called his mother for help, having kissed for a couple of minutes, he will do his deeds.
Then he will want to sleep, feel discomfort and, kissing his chest, will again fall asleep sucking. After some time, he will wake up and attach again. Then again a little "walk". And after some time, he will fall asleep at the chest again.
The daytime naps of a one-month-old infant feeding on demand vary in duration and number. There can be 4-6 dreams during the day, and they can last from 5-15 minutes to 2-2.5 sometimes 3 hours. "Around" each dream, the baby is applied to the chest, and applied between dreams several times. At night, the child falls asleep at the breast. Usually in the early morning hours, he begins to fuss and apply. In the morning, he almost never fully wakes up. The baby sleeps, from time to time, sucking on his mother's breast. Waking up in the morning, the baby is again applied to the chest. If you count all the attachments that have happened in a baby of one month of age, then approximately 16-20 attachments are obtained. This is how a newborn human cub behaves if it is given the opportunity to behave in accordance with physiological and psychological needs, which, by the way, are genetically determined.
The child of the first months of life does not separate his personality from the personality of the mother and from her breast. Mom and her breasts, and everything connected with them, are the universe of the baby and himself.
In most cases, a modern woman, being afraid to “accustom a child to hands”, strives to limit his requests for suckling. A pacifier and a bottle of tea or water come to her aid in this matter. They, too, can be sucked ... The need for sucking seems to be satisfied. But only the need for communication with the mother during suckling is not satisfied, the peculiar chain of mutual assistance and cooperation between mother and baby is destroyed, the formation of maternal affection and concentration is disrupted. Is the difference in the two actions noticeable to the reader: the baby cried, the mother took him, put him to her chest and started rocking him, or gave him a pacifier and started rocking the stroller, even with the words “Why are you crying, my sun?”
The modern woman who gives a pacifier and pumps a stroller is not a bad person who deliberately harms an infant.
She is simply in captivity of prejudices regarding the relationship between mother and baby. She does not know how to behave correctly, does not know what to do in accordance with the natural needs of the child. If you tell her what the child really needs, she will exclaim in horror: “What is it, don’t let him get away with?!” Indeed, the child of the first months of life must not be let off the hook. For a woman who does not know how to comfortably carry a baby, and who does not know how to feed him in various positions (sitting, lying, standing and even moving), this can be very difficult. Especially if she is not sure of the correctness of her actions.
An action that should become automatic for the mother of a newborn: when the baby cries or shows other signs of anxiety, put the baby to the breast.
What's next?
The baby is growing. A fairly stable rhythm of daytime sleep begins to form in him, and a 3-4-month-old baby behaves quite differently from a newborn.
Feeding on demand at this age looks something like this...
- At three months, the baby has 10-12 feeds during the day and 2-4 at night. There are frequent applications for a short time, but their number is reduced. There may be a long night break in feedings, about 5 hours, but this is very rare. Much more often the night break is 2.5-3.5 hours. By this age, the baby's body is noticeably rounded.
- At four months, the baby begins to breastfeed noticeably less frequently. The main feedings are associated with sleep: the baby suckles before bedtime, during awakening and during sleep, both daytime and nighttime. In this regard, he has a fairly accurate feeding regimen. And many babies stop breastfeeding when they wake up after daytime sleep, sometimes as early as 2.5-3 months.
- At five months, the baby has 8-10 daytime feedings and 2-3 nighttime feedings, as well as in the fourth month of life, they are organized around dreams - the baby eats when going to bed and some babies suckle when they wake up.
- Feeding regimen changes at six months. The most active sucking shifts to the last 2-3 hours before waking up from a night's sleep. The period of daytime wakefulness can be divided into two periods: in the morning, when the baby sucked during the night is rarely applied to the breast, and in the evening, when attachments become very frequent. In total, there can be 7-10 day applications and 3-4 night applications. At this age, the baby begins a period of acquaintance with new food - pedagogical complementary foods. Sometimes there are attachments associated with the introduction of complementary foods, the baby “washes down” samples of new food with mother's milk. But many children do not want to drink complementary foods. When complementary foods are introduced to an on-demand baby, it is never meant to replace feedings with complementary foods. This is practically impossible, because the main feedings of the baby are associated with sleep, and mother's breakfasts, lunches and dinners, during which the baby gets acquainted with new food, are located between the baby's dreams, during his wakefulness.
- At seven months, the frequency of applications is about the same.
- At eight months, the feeding regimen changes. Since the baby shows high motor activity and is very busy exploring the surrounding space, in the daytime he forgets to breastfeed. In this regard, the number of daily feedings can be reduced to 6-8 times. The baby compensates for the reduction in daytime feedings by increasing the frequency and duration of nighttime feedings up to 6 times.
- In the second half of the year, babies who stopped breastfeeding on waking from daytime naps recall this habit again. The baby’s daytime sleep in the second half of life, as well as in the region of a year and older, looks something like this: the baby falls asleep sucking, sleeps quietly for a while, for example 1-1.5 hours, then starts tossing and turning, fiddling, worrying, at this moment the mother lies down next to , gives him a breast and the baby can fill up 10-15-30 minutes sucking. Mom may well use this time for her own rest - lie down, read, while the baby sleeps while sucking.
I know my mother, a lover of embroidery, who used this time specifically for embroidery ... - Breastfeeding becomes more frequent at nine to ten months. In the daytime, this is 4-6 full feedings and about the same number of attachments for various reasons. The baby has new reasons for attachment. If, during active actions to master the world, the baby fills a bump or gets scared, he calms down with his mother's breast. There may be situations when you can comfort the baby by sitting next to him and hugging him. At night, 4-6 feedings remain, the baby begins to suckle more actively in the morning between 3 and 8 hours.
- At eleven months, a baby can already have 2-3 complete complementary foods. Initiation to adult food in the mind of a child is not associated with breastfeeding: attachment to the mother's breast is something other than the desire to get enough of the product they like. As a rule, after the baby has eaten, he feels the need to attach himself to the breast.
The number of daily feedings remains the same in the child, but the number of short-term attachments increases. There are active mid-morning feedings between 4 and 8 o'clock in the morning. - At ten or twelve months, the baby, if he is already walking, can sometimes breastfeed every time he comes to his mother, i.e. about every 15-30 minutes. Attachments around dreams and night sucking persist. Therefore, if a mother says that a child suckles once or twice a day, this means that there is no feeding at the request of the child. There are restrictions imposed by the mother, with which the baby has come to terms. He treats breast sucking like food, sucks on a pacifier or a finger to fall asleep or soothe, or falls asleep just like that, without calming down.
- At twelve months, the baby is applied in about the same way.
- At the age of one and a half years, there may already be one daytime nap, so there are fewer attachments associated with sleep. Preserved for morning sucking.
The baby is very free with his mother's breasts. Sometimes it happens that he comes up to suck just for pleasure. For example, like this: he comes up, climbs on his knees, looks into his mother’s face, smiles, starts to swarm in his shirt, gets breasts, smiles at his breasts, sucks for 30 seconds and leaves.
As for the number of feedings per day when feeding a child on demand, their number is almost never less than 12. A newborn has 12 or more attachments, mostly they are all associated with dreams. And a child, say 1.5-2 years old, can also have about 12 attachments, only 3-4 are associated with sleep, and the rest are short-term attachments for various reasons. I suggest to all mothers reading this text - do not count the application, do not notice their duration. Breastfeed your baby as often as he asks, when you feel the need to.
Mothers who do not think about breastfeeding without looking at the clock may get the impression that when feeding on demand, the mother can do nothing but feed the baby.
This is wrong. After the birth of a baby, a mother begins another life, she is called life with a baby. That's all. The child is with the mother, not the mother with the child! Feel the difference! You need to be able to organize your life in a different way, in the first months, of course, the help of loved ones is very necessary. In the tradition of many peoples, it was customary for the first 40 days after childbirth to remove a woman from any housework and household chores, she was engaged only in a child. In some nations, objects that the mother of a newborn touched were considered “unclean”, therefore, they preferred to protect the mother from the rest of the household, allocating her a separate “corner” of the house, where no one bothered her and she did not interfere with anyone. Among the Slavs, such a restrictive custom was called a six-week. By 1.5-2 months, the rhythm of daytime dreams begins to form, and the baby has a kind of “regime”, the mother becomes more free.
For a mother who can't imagine breastfeeding without looking back at the clock, and who is sure that the “right” baby is the baby lying quietly in her crib all the time, feeding on demand will be a complete hassle.
It will be much easier for such a mother if she stops looking at the clock and ties the baby to herself with a large scarf or uses a patchwork holder (sling). It will become easier for her if she stops running between the nursery and the kitchen, but takes the baby with her to the kitchen and carries him around the house with her, doing housework, in a box, a cradle, a special chair, if she tries not to put him off often, and pick up as soon as possible, postponing the baby only in case of emergency and not for long.
Breastfeeding is not the same as house arrest. In the conditions of modern society, it is possible to organize the exit of a nursing mother to work from about 6 months of age of the baby. If necessary, you can start working from the age of 4 months, but, of course, it is better not every day of the week and not full time. It is the responsibility of a breastfeeding consultant to help a mother organize her return to work.
Sometimes, when I advise mothers on breastfeeding, I suggest that they forget for a second that they are already living in the 21st century.
I propose to return, for example, to the cave and ask what they will do if the child woke up at night, how to calm him down? If you are walking through the forest and trying not to attract the attention of predators, how to make the baby silent? If the child is thirsty, what will you give him? What is the baby used to, for thousands of years of its existence? To the fact that he sleeps on his mother while she wanders through the forest with a digging stick in search of roots, and wakes up when mother stops. Since mom stopped, then there is time to wake up and suck. Therefore, even now the child sleeps well, tied to the mother with a patchwork holder, wakes up when the mother, having done a few household chores, sits in a chair to take care of the baby.
Some mother, reading about the cave, will get offended and say that she is a civilized creature. But please think. Man, mother's breast and mother's milk have been created by evolution over millions of years. They are made for each other.
Baby food has created progress and more recently. The skills of motherhood and breastfeeding have also been lost by our society quite recently. A person is not physiologically adapted to artificial feeding and a pacifier. The mother's breast will not produce enough milk at 6-7 feedings per day. Nature did not know, when creating man as a mammal, that the time would come when the need for breastfeeding would be satisfied by some kind of pacifiers and nipples.
Changes that occur during the formation of the personality of a child who did not have full contact with the mother during prolonged breastfeeding are noted by modern research by psychologists and sociologists. These are changes with a minus sign. It would be better if they were not, these changes.
Breastfeeding is not only important for the baby, it is also important for the mother. During on-demand feeding, the woman's feelings change, a stronger attachment to the baby is formed, the woman becomes more sensitive to the needs of the baby.
