Do formula fed babies cluster feed at night
Cluster Feeding Your Newborn: Helpful Tips
If you’re breastfeeding, you might find that your little one sometimes keeps you busier than usual from time to time. Occasional sudden increases in the frequency of feeds, usually caused by growth spurts, are sometimes known as cluster feeding.
Cluster feeding affects breastfeeding moms in particular; however, formula-fed babies can also feed more frequently at certain stages of development.
Why do babies cluster feed? When does cluster feeding start? When might it end? What’s the best way to cope with a cluster-feeding baby? Keep reading for the answers to these questions and more.
What Is Cluster Feeding?
Cluster feeding is a term used to describe when a breastfed baby wants to be fed more often than usual at certain times of the day.
Every baby is different, so it’s difficult to define precisely when normal feeding crosses the line to become cluster feeding. As a breastfeeding mom, what you’ll notice is a marked increase in the number of feeds compared to what’s been normal so far.
But what does normal even mean, given that the frequency of your little one’s feeds tends to change anyway as your little one grows?
Well, right after birth, your newborn baby’s stomach is still very small, so in the first few days it’s normal for your little one to eat very often — perhaps every one to three hours — to get all the nutrients she needs.
Then, during your baby’s first few weeks and later when your baby is about 1 month old and 2 months old, her stomach gets bigger and she gradually starts taking more milk at each feed. The gaps between feeds also usually get longer.
If your baby starts cluster feeding, this trend is suddenly reversed. When this happens, it might seem as if you’re back to square one, and that your little one has reverted to the constant feeding you experienced in those first few days or weeks.
But don’t worry: Cluster feeding is a common and normal stage in your baby’s development.
While it may be a little more tiring for you, it’s actually helping her grow and develop.
Why Does a Newborn Baby Start Cluster Feeding?
Bouts of cluster feeding can occur if your little one is having a growth spurt and needs more food to fuel this rapid development.
Despite their name, growth spurts aren’t always related to an increase in your baby’s size and weight; you could also see a spike in your little one’s appetite when she’s working on developing new mental or motor skills.
In the first year, babies tend to experience the most rapid growth in the first two months after birth, so there may be a higher chance of cluster feeding during this period.
A growth spurt often occurs at around the beginning of the second week, and another one is common between three and six weeks, but every baby is different. There’s no knowing precisely when your little one’s hunger pangs will strike, or how long the cluster feeding phase will last.
Do Formula-Fed Babies Cluster Feed?
The short answer is yes, they can. Although formula-fed babies usually feed less often than breastfed ones because breast milk is digested faster than formula, formula-fed babies, of course, also experience growth spurts — and the associated munchies — as well.
If you’re formula feeding your little one, there’s a chance that she may eat more frequently — and even cluster feed — during these periods, too; but it’s also possible that the interval between feeds will stay more or less the same and she’ll just want to take a little more at each feed. Paced bottle feeding is a good method to use if you prefer your baby having more control over the pace of feeding.
How Long Does Cluster Feeding Last?
Feeding patterns can vary continuously for as long as your baby is breastfed or formula-fed, but bouts of cluster feeding generally occur during the first few weeks and months after your little one is born.
How to Deal With Cluster Feeding
Bouts of cluster feeding can make those first few months — already a tiring time — seem more challenging, but it’s important to go with the flow and ride out those periods of more intensive feeding. Remember, the growth spurts won’t last forever.
In the meantime, try and get as much rest as you can in the “calmer” periods, and take steps to avoid getting sore nipples, such as making sure your baby’s mouth is deeply latched, and using different breastfeeding positions from time to time.
Rather than setting a rigid timetable for feeding your baby, keep an eye out for feeding cues — the signs that he’s hungry — and let him feed “on demand” as much as possible.
Signs that your baby is hungry include turning towards your breast (rooting) if he’s breastfeeding, as well as smacking his lips or putting a fist in his mouth and sucking on it.
Reach out to your healthcare provider or enlist the help of a lactation consultant if you need help with cluster feeding or any other aspect of breastfeeding.
Our downloadable go-to breastfeeding guide is also a great source of tips and advice.
How to Tell if Your Baby Is Still Eating the Right Amount
All the changes in feeding patterns that can occur during those first few months of your little one’s life can be confusing. If you’re at all unsure, check in with your baby’s healthcare provider.
In the meantime, here are some ways to check your baby is getting enough milk:
Pay attention to your baby’s feeding cues. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s hard to be sure exactly how much milk your little one’s had. Keep in mind that your baby’s feeding sessions can vary in length, and he’ll usually stop eating when he’s feeling full. If you’re bottle-feeding, you might be unsure whether your little one has gotten all the breast milk or formula he needs from the bottle. Signs that he’s still hungry might include putting his hand in his mouth or smacking his lips after draining the feeding bottle dry. Fidgeting or looking distracted mid-feed could mean he’s no longer hungry.
As your little one’s feeding patterns become established, you’ll soon get to know his unique signals and cues.Keep an eye on your baby’s growth. As long as your little one’s size and weight gain are on track, he’s probably eating the right amount. Your baby’s healthcare provider will be keeping track of all this for you.
Count those dirty diapers. What goes in must come out, so counting wet and poopy diapers is another way of keeping tabs on your baby’s intake of fluid and nutrients. After the first 5 days, around 6 or more heavy wet diapers and about 3 or 4 poopy ones every 24 hours is a good sign that your little one is getting enough milk. Incidentally, all those diapers — whether they end up filled with meconium, regular poop, or pee — could be earning you great gifts, discounts, and coupons. Download the Pampers Rewards app to get started.
Will Cluster Feeding Make My Breast Milk Run Out?
Your little one’s feeding actually stimulates milk production, so in most cases your body will ramp up the supply to meet demand during periods of cluster feeding.
Stress or illness may decrease your milk supply temporarily. Ways of overcoming these temporary glitches include staying hydrated, eating healthily, and getting a little more rest (if you can).
Some medications can also affect your milk supply. If you think a medicine that you’re taking could be reducing the amount of breast milk you make, talk to your healthcare provider. Your provider might be able to suggest an alternative medication for you while you’re breastfeeding.
If you think you might not be producing enough milk, you can always ask your provider or a lactation consultant for personalized advice on how to increase your breast milk supply.
Caring for a newborn baby is a full-time job and, just like any other rewarding occupation, it can have its more relaxed and its busier periods. For most moms, times of cluster feeding fall into the latter category!
But there’s a big upside to all of this: As you watch your little one growing and changing from day to day, simply knowing that each bout of cluster feeding is fueling the next stage of your baby’s development will make the extra effort seem worth it in the end.
Cluster Feeding and Frequent Feeding in Newborns – Happiest Baby
By Dr. Harvey Karp, MD, FAAP
What is Cluster Feeding?
Cluster feeding is pretty much what it sounds like...it's back to back nursing sessions that your newborn can demand every 20 minutes to 2 hours. These feeds—one after another—help her boost your milk supply while she is going through a growth spurt. Cluster feedings can sound like a lot (because they are!), but there's an advantage to grouping feedings close together.
Encouraging Cluster Feeding
When you give your sweet little baby a series of quick milky meals every 1-2 hours they load your baby’s system with calories to keep her well stocked with nutrition through the night.
Good sleep is closely linked to feeding. If your baby wakes up hungry night after night, good first steps are to boost daytime calories, add a "cluster feed" in the early evening and end your night by dream feeding your baby. Each one of these feeding strategies are like "topping off the gas tank.
" Your goal is to give your baby enough "fuel" to keep her tummy from rumbling at night—a top cause of frequent night wakings.
Because your goal is to help your baby sleep at night, the best time to encourage a cluster feed is between 4 p.m. and bedtime.
So if your baby starts crying 60 minutes after a feeding, calm her with the 5 S’s and then see how she acts. If she’s opening her mouth and searching for a nipple, give a little more milk.
Can Cluster Feeding Cause Stomach Pain?Some doctors warn parents not to overfeed babies for fear that the milk might back up and cause colicky pain. But this is nonsense.
The women in the !Kung tribe in Southern Africa nurse their babies 3-4 times an hour, and their babies rarely—if ever—have colic.
Give cluster feeding a try, and you'll see that a baby with a full tummy is usually a happybaby! And likely you’ll be happier too if cluster feeding is your solution to waking less often in the middle of the night!
About Dr.
Harvey KarpDr. Harvey Karp, one of America’s most trusted pediatricians, is the founder of Happiest Baby and the inventor of the groundbreaking SNOO Smart Sleeper. After years of treating patients in Los Angeles, Dr. Karp vaulted to global prominence with the release of the bestselling Happiest Baby on the Block and Happiest Toddler on the Block. His celebrated books and videos have since become standard pediatric practice, translated into more than 20 languages and have helped millions of parents. Dr. Karp’s landmark methods, including the 5 S’s for soothing babies, guide parents to understand and nurture their children and relieve stressful issues, like new-parent exhaustion, infant crying, and toddler tantrums.
View more posts tagged, Sleep
Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to help! Connect with us at customercare@happiestbaby.
com.
Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.
30 Tips for Breastfeeding at 0-3 Months
Breastfeeding is one of those things that is so hard to get right in the beginning. But months later, you know exactly what to do in those first few days and weeks with your newborn.
Breastfeeding (LF) is different from anything you've done before and you need to learn LB very quickly. You will need a lot of breastfeeding advice when you are just starting breastfeeding. You have to figure out when the baby is hungry, if the baby is getting enough milk, how to latch on, how to hold the baby on the breast, how to establish a feeding schedule, how to pump, and the worst thing is when you miss the hunger signal and get a screaming baby, how to calm the baby so that he was content and calm.
Most mothers think that the child will somehow tell (signal) when he is hungry.
Important note:
Some of these items may contradict what you have read elsewhere. This is because most often such advice does not indicate the age of the child. The baby is changing so much that the advice for a newborn is different from the advice for a 4-month-old or 6-month-old baby. Here we will cover how to start breastfeeding right after birth and up to 4 months old so that you can successfully breastfeed your baby.
1. Sucking gives you a rush. The more the baby suckles, the more milk you will have in the future
Sucking leads to a rush of milk. It will take at least a few minutes of sucking to trigger this flush. At the beginning, it can be very difficult to keep the baby at the breast for a long time to wait for this rush. But this is only the first time.
Another way that sometimes causes hot flashes is to hear the baby cry. Crying is a signal to your body that your baby is hungry.
Milk is produced and stored in the breast. When the baby begins to suck, milk is released very quickly. This milk is not thick, like water, a child needs to quench his thirst. After a few minutes, the flow of milk slows down as the milk changes to a fermented state. This milk is a complete baby food, quite fatty. Therefore, it is important that the baby does not turn off during the whole time, but receives both the first milk and the second.
The amount of milk produced is in most cases a fairly simple system. The more the baby suckles (even if no milk comes out), the more the mother's body produces milk. More sucking signals to the mother's body - more milk will be produced. Therefore, there is absolutely no harm in letting the baby continue to breastfeed after you think he has finished, and there is nothing wrong with feeding him "too often". The extra suckling will mean that your body will produce more milk for the baby.
You can't really overfeed your baby with breast milk, but you can overfeed with formula.
This is another great reason to breastfeed your baby.
The term "feed on demand" is used quite often. This means that you allow your baby to have breast milk at any time.
This is very important, especially in the first days or even weeks after birth. Since breast milk may not be enough for full feeding.
2. What are the hunger signals of a newborn?
The only person who can tell you that your child is hungry is your child. But a newborn cannot say "I'm hungry." So how do you feed him on demand (when he's hungry)?
One way is to recognize the first signs of hunger. These include: turning the head from side to side, sucking hands. Crying is a later signal. It means you missed an early signal. For newborns, the time between early and late signals is 5 to 15 minutes because their tummies are small and empty quickly.
Note on eating hands:
Note on eating hands: Everyone will tell you that this is how babies explore or teething. Both statements are true and this is a perfect example of why advice should always be age appropriate.
Because the study begins no earlier than 3-4 months after birth, and teething begins at 4-5 months.
Until this age, sucking on hands is an early sign of hunger. But, as a young mother, this can be overlooked. You and your baby are getting to know each other and in a few weeks you will be able to pick up hunger signals well.
It is normal for a newborn to fall asleep while nursing because your milk contains hormones that promote sleep. Try to breastfeed as long as possible to get both first and second milk. But do not worry if the baby falls asleep during feeding. At this age, you will not create any bad habits.
You will worry about sleep later. Everyone agrees that sleep training should be done after at least 4 months. In fact, a baby's brain starts producing its own melatonin at about 4 months of age.
No matter what you think about training methods, in a newborn (0-4 months), breastfeeding has the highest priority. Feed your baby as often as possible to increase the volume of milk.
Your milk supply increases and is fully established by 3 months, so it is important to build up early. And after 3 months it can be changed a little, but it is very difficult to do this.
3. The time between feedings during the first week should be no more than 2 hours during the day and 4 hours at night
Always breastfeed (or offer to breastfeed) at least every two hours, even if you feel like you just fed your baby. The two-hour window is small and it will feel like you are doing nothing but breastfeeding.
The two hours between feeds is the period from the start of one feed to the start of another. In fact, when you finish feeding, you realize that soon you need to feed again. So when you start breastfeeding, set a two-hour timer on your phone.
If the baby shows signs of hunger earlier, feed him and restart the timer. This will come in handy the first time, while the periods between feedings are very small.
If you're more of a pen-and-paper lover, having a visual chart to track your baby's feedings can be a useful addition to a two-hour timer.
Many new moms find it helpful. Feed tracking can serve as a guide to show your pediatrician or breastfeeding consultant if your baby is having trouble gaining weight. It will also be helpful for identifying patterns, learning about early nighttime habits, and creating a "routine" when your baby is 12-16 weeks old.
You can ignore this advice and just wait until the baby cries to signal that he is hungry. But at this moment it is much more difficult to make him suck - patience is now at a low level, because he is very hungry. Once you finally calm your baby down, he will suckle vigorously. And then she will scream, trying to tell you that there is no more milk. All because he didn't stop to get his milk flowing. The parents then try to use the pacifier to soothe the baby, which will soothe the baby, but will further increase their hunger over time. If you are in this situation, see point 19.
At night for the first week, let the baby sleep for only four hours and then breastfeed.
After the first week, do not wake the baby for feeding, but always breastfeed the baby if he wakes up during the night.
If you sleep well and your baby sleeps many hours at night, you may have lactation problems. To understand why nighttime feeding is so important, see #12.
4. Training your husband/partner to breastfeed can be the difference between success and failure
Breastfeeding is difficult at first, and you may envy your formula feeding friends because now their lives are easier. However, everything will change after you go through this learning path.
To do this, you need to have knowledge of GV, described in detail in this article. But your husband also needs to know a lot about breastfeeding in order to help you as much as possible. It is extremely important to explain to the husband how breastfeeding will benefit the child. Just read this article with your husband.
5. A rule of thumb is to breastfeed for at least 15 minutes at one breast.
This rule ensures that the baby gets both first and second milk. Switching too quickly from one breast to another will give the baby a lot of low-fat milk. See item 21 to understand what kind of milk the baby is currently receiving.
If the baby is still hungry after 15 minutes, switch to the other breast. One breast can produce enough milk for a baby, but newborns are impatient - they don't want to wait for more milk to arrive.
We recommend that you start the next feeding on the same breast that you ended the previous feeding on, if you were feeding on both sides. And start with the opposite breast if the previous feeding was only on one side.
This is because the baby's initial suck will be the most vigorous, so by regularly alternating breasts you will help your body regulate a more even supply of milk from both sides (although some variation is normal). This will also ensure that there is enough "emptying" on each side to prevent clogging of the channels.
Accidentally skipping a feed on one side or feeding on the same side twice in a row can lead to blocked milk ducts on the neglected side. You can find out more about this in point 16.
It is very difficult to always remember which side the baby was on last time.
Tip:
Wear a hair tie or some kind of lightweight bracelet around your arm. After feeding the baby, change the elastic on the hand with which you want to start the next feeding.
6. Your breasts are never empty and how cluster feeding works
There is one misconception about breastfeeding: when you breastfeed, your breasts empty out and it takes time for your breasts to fill up again. Your breasts are constantly filling up because your body is constantly producing milk. At some moments, the chest may seem fuller, and at others - empty.
This usually happens because you haven't fed your baby for a while and the body has deposited milk in the breast glands. When the glands are full, milk production slows down. And when they are empty, milk production is faster. As soon as the child begins to suck, the glands empty. After a while, the milk will stop flowing and you think your breasts are empty. But if you wait about 15 minutes, sometimes earlier, another tide will come in, and so on.
Also, in the evening your breasts will appear empty, but they are not. Evening milk usually contains more melatonin which helps the baby to sleep. The baby does not produce melatonin on its own until it reaches a certain age, so babies usually sleep after feeding. Your breasts will also appear empty if the baby is preparing for a burst of growth and is constantly breastfeeding. This does not mean that you are not getting enough milk or that your baby is not getting enough.
Feeding multiple times in a row or very close to each other is called cluster feeding . The child does this to increase the amount of milk he receives. This often happens when a child has a sharp growth spurt.
The rule of thumb for growth spurts is that they occur at about 3, 6, 9 weeks, and 3, 6, 9 months. If all the baby wants to do is breastfeed, let him. During these periods, you need to produce enough milk for him.
Cluster feeding also occurs when a baby feeds from one breast and then switches to the other because it is not full yet. In fact, this is a marathon to increase the volume of feeding, simulating a request for large volumes of milk.
7. One breast can produce more milk than the other. And babies have their preferences
It is not uncommon for one breast to produce more milk than the other, but it is important to try to breastfeed as evenly as possible. If you are not breastfeeding on both sides, one side will completely stop producing milk.
Another reason why babies prefer sides is how you hold them, depending on whether you are left-handed or right-handed.
Interestingly, most babies prefer the left side because they can hear your heartbeat.
8. The baby feels strongly about the mother
There is another reason why timer advice is so helpful. It lies in the fact that it is very easy to lose track of time with all the guests and relatives who came to see the newborn.
The child may be hungry, but because he is not with you, he does not know how to signal his hunger. To a newborn, you smell like milk. Therefore, when hungry, he knows to look for breasts. However, he is unable to find the breast when held by someone else. And when the child is returned to you, he will be excessively hungry and will immediately begin to scream. Most babies, when they reach this state, have difficulty latching on to the breast.
Just don't have a lot of family and friends parties in the first weeks after birth. I would like to invite someone - one or two guests. So that you can control everything, both communication and feeding.
9. Put down your phone and look at your baby
Making eye contact while breastfeeding is one of the first ways your baby will bond with you. During the first few weeks, your baby's best vision is from your chest to your face. This means that while the baby is breastfeeding, he can see your face.
So put your phone away and enjoy these moments. Very soon, this special time of connection will remain in a distant memory.
10. Up to 3 months, your milk supply is constantly increasing
Breastfeed more frequently, including at night, to ensure maximum milk supply. Try not to move away from the newborn for more than a few hours.
If/when you return to work, set a good pumping pattern. It may happen that you feel a decrease in lactation. For example, the child is not satisfied. Alternatively, record a minute of the crying baby on your phone and listen at work imagining your baby. The reason this works is because crying is the baby's way of letting you know they're hungry (see point 2).
11. Breastmilk is digested in 60-90 minutes
If your baby asks for a breast every 60 minutes and you think he can't be hungry because you just fed him, then most likely the baby is hungry. Breastmilk is digested so quickly and well that breastfed babies need more frequent feedings at first than formula-fed babies. This is very important to understand if your child is exclusively breastfeeding.
A warning about the term Velcro baby. When the baby is 7-10 days old, the first growth spurt occurs, and its main task at this time is to increase your supply of breast milk to meet the needs of the growing body.
And remember, GW won't always be this hard. The most intense and frequent feeding at the beginning, and over time the situation will become easier.
12. Feeding at night does increase your milk supply
Your body determines how much milk to produce each day. For the first 3 months, you produce a different amount of milk every day, and keep increasing it.
When a baby is 3 months old, the amount of milk he needs every day no longer changes. This is why breastfed babies usually gain weight much faster at first and then slow down. Whereas formula-fed babies gain weight more slowly at first, but gain more as they get a little older: 4 months and older.
Breastfeed as often as possible for the first 3-4 months. You cannot overfeed your baby.
Feeding your baby at night is extremely important. The hormone that produces breast milk is restored at night while you sleep. This is why you will always have much more milk in the morning than in the evening.
13. Encourage suckling of a sleepy newborn
In the first few days of life, newborns are very sleepy. And often the baby falls asleep after a small amount of milk, because milk contains melatonin.
But you want your child to get good nutrition. And plus full feeding means that your breasts are emptied as much as possible, and signals the need to produce more milk faster.
14. Make sure baby swallows milk
This is SO important because milk usually comes after you leave the hospital and come home. If for some reason your milk is not coming, your baby will not get enough fluids. In a few hours, he will begin to suffer from dehydration and starvation. Pay special attention to this and call your pediatrician immediately if you are concerned.
15. Breastfeeding and recovery should be your number one priority for the first few months.
It is very tempting to start shaping your baby's sleep patterns before 4 months of age, but it's still better to spend time on breastfeeding. And grandiose tasks: to clean everything, rewash, restore the figure and get to work, let them wait a little more. A little later, you will have enough time for all this. But in the first few months, babies need to breastfeed a lot to increase your milk supply.
If you focus on feeding on demand and not on baby's sleep, you will be ready to breastfeed your baby for as long as he needs. And after a few months of breastfeeding, the child will tune in to a regime in which there will be time for planned sleep.
No matter what sleep plan you have, during the first 4 months, put your baby to sleep in any way possible. GV, swaddling, holding on hands, rocking, swing and more. Many moms love swings as they can be slowed down every two weeks or so until they stop moving. Then you can put a non-moving swing next to the crib, and then put the baby in the crib.
16. When milk begins to flow, the duct may become blocked.
When you leave the hospital, you will be warned that if you develop a fever, call your doctor immediately. This is due to mastitis, an infection that can occur in the breast.
In such cases, the breast becomes sore and usually hot to the touch. There is a feeling of fever and chills, an increase in temperature. Why does this happen?
When milk comes in, it comes in quickly, so it's very easy to get blocked ducts, which can lead to mastitis. To prevent this, when you have milk, breastfeed your baby as soon as possible.
The incoming milk will make your breasts hard. If there is pain and/or swelling in the breast, try to breastfeed on that side as often as possible. Try using a breast pump (manual or electric).
Milk can still come out because there are many ducts. Another way is to take a warm washcloth or heating pad and apply it to the side of your chest that causes pain (where you have a clogged duct). Then pump and/or breastfeed. It is important.
When feeding, help the baby, massage the breast from the armpit to the center. It is in the armpit that there are blockages.
If you can't manage on your own, invite a masseuse. Sometimes one breast massage is enough and the ducts are released.
17. If breastfeeding hurts, check baby's nipple bite
Feeding should not be painful. Make sure you help your baby get a good grip on the nipple without placing the nipple directly under his or her nose. This will provide a good hold.
Another option you can try is to lie on your back and place the baby on your stomach next to your breast. Then guide the baby towards the breast and help him latch onto the breast. So they usually stick well.
If you continue to have problems with latch on, we strongly recommend that you see a breastfeeding consultant to check if your baby has a tongue or lip frenulum problem. Frenulum problems can lead to malnutrition and painful breastfeeding.
18. Crying and refusing to breastfeed does not mean that the baby is not hungry
If the child is happy, then yes, it means that the child is not hungry. But if he's upset or fussy, he's probably hungry.
You either missed signs of hunger or the child did not show visual signs of distress. If in this state you cannot get the baby to eat, try to calm him down to almost sleep, and then try feeding again. You can also try step 19.
Breastfeeding can sometimes be associated with pain associated with breastfeeding. Be mindful of which feeding positions your baby seems to be happiest in. The child may experience some discomfort when he is held in his arms. This is especially true for newborns due to the Moro reflex (disappears at 3-6 months).
It may be more comfortable for your baby if you swaddle him before feeding.
19. Breastfeeding trick when you missed a newborn's hunger signal
Every parent has at least once been in this situation: a very hungry baby who doesn't breastfeed because he's upset.
The solution is to feed the frustrated child a little. To do this, express some milk (within 5 minutes). Take a clean syringe without a needle, fill it with milk and feed this milk to your baby. Repeat as many times until he calms down.
20. When is the child full? And the importance of burping
If you're having your first baby, you have no idea what a well-fed baby looks like. A well-fed newborn is like a drunken sailor. His eyes usually barely open, and he looks pleased (and drunk).
As you get older and more awake, it becomes more and more difficult to tell if a child is full. So when the baby has eaten, hold him on your shoulder and see if he burps. After he burps or holds him for a few minutes, turn the baby towards you and place him between your breasts so that his head is under his chin. Then pat your baby on the back and see if he wants to sleep or is just content.
When feeding and burping, it is especially important not to overfeed the baby. Especially if your baby is only a couple of months old.
Overfeeding may not seem so alarming, but its consequences can be difficult to manage. For example, if you overfeed your baby and put him to bed, he may vomit because he drank too much milk.
Babies can be extremely dangerous to vomit because they cannot roll over on their own. Some babies cannot spit out all the milk from their mouths and risk choking on their own vomit.
In addition, when a baby vomits, he also empties his stomach. And if you have just breastfed your baby, then your milk supply has dried up and you will not be able to feed the baby again for a while.
21. The baby suckles sluggishly at the breast. So he got drunk?
When the flush occurs, the first milk flows out almost by itself. Here you will notice that the child swallows very quickly in order to keep up. After this flush, the milk comes out more and more slowly. The baby goes from swallowing milk to slow sucking.
For example, every 4-5 seconds a baby can suckle 1-3 times. This milk is fatty and comes out slowly. Let your baby sit for a while during this stage, as this milk will help him stay full longer.
22. Breastfeeding position and correct grip
Over time, you will find the positions that work best for you and your baby. But at the initial stage of breastfeeding, use the poses: cradle, cross cradle and grab (from the armpit), because here you can clearly see how your baby sucks.
Ideally, the mouth should cover the entire area around the nipple. If it is pressed only against the nipple, it will cause you severe nipple pain and will be ineffective for suckling the baby.
If you find it difficult to get your baby to take a deeper latch, don't wait, contact your breastfeeding consultant. This may be a sign of small lips and/or tongue.
After the child has latched on and covered all or most of the areola, you need to pay attention to the position of his lips. Lips should be loose. If one lip is curled, gently push it out with your fingers. If that doesn't work, try removing and re-inserting the nipple and the area around it into your baby's mouth.
Position the child as close to your body as possible and avoid holding the child in the air. Place a few pillows under your elbow and a few under your baby, or use a breastfeeding pillow.
23. You can only lose weight after the first 3 months of breastfeeding
In the first months, the amount of milk must increase, so your body does not allow you to reduce any stores of substances in the body. Once your breast milk volume is set to around the end of 3 months, you will see your weight drop. In fact, most of your weight will drop between 3-6 months.
24. Your postpartum clothes
It's such a weird stage where you've lost weight (relative to pregnancy) and your maternity clothes look silly, but you can't wear your normal clothes yet. In addition, most of the regular clothes will not fit due to the increase in breast size. So start picking out styles and look for good options for postpartum and caring for young children even during pregnancy.
25. Learn to express milk by hand
Hand pumping while the baby is at the breast is a great way to speed up pumping while keeping the baby busy.
There may be times when you cannot use a breast pump. Then the ability to properly express milk will come in handy.
26. Ask for a consultation with a breastfeeding specialist while still in the maternity hospital
Feel free to ask questions in the maternity hospital. Experts are happy to share their knowledge. Ask to see your breasts, if necessary, to massage the breasts.
27. Expressing milk is not as effective as breastfeeding
One of the worst breastfeeding tips: Express milk to increase breastfeeding. Your breast pump, even the most beautiful one, will help you breastfeed about 5/10, while your baby will help 10/10.
The exception to the rule is when you cannot force the baby to latch on and you need to express milk to give the baby some milk and calm him down before latch on (see point 19). ).
28. You don't have to worry about pumping to create a "milk can" in the freezer. Your priority is to learn and breastfeed
There is no need to set up a milk bank right away. First, learn how to breastfeed. In the beginning, the baby needs all the milk that you produce. It makes no sense to put some of this volume in the freezer.
If you plan to return to work, you can build up enough stock just a few days before you go to work.
It is best to be only a few days ahead of the baby, as the milk changes all the time in response to the baby. For example, if a baby gets sick, the baby's saliva goes into the breast during a feed and tells your body to increase the amount of antibodies it needs to fight the disease, helping the baby get better faster. You will miss such a signal if you are weeks or months ahead of the child.
Alternatively, after a few weeks you can start expressing milk after your morning feed. It is important to do this in such a way that you increase the amount of food produced without reducing the amount of food the child has that day.
If you are expressing milk, you should always record the time you express because the amount of milk varies throughout the day. Morning milk has more volume. And night milk will be less, but it is fatter. And it will contain more prolactin - a hormone that causes milk to regenerate overnight, and melatonin - a hormone that promotes sleep. In this regard, it is recommended to express milk after the morning feed due to the large volume produced at this time of the day.
29. Breast milk storage guidelines
Freshly expressed breast milk must be stored carefully to ensure the safety and health of your baby. It can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 hours and refrigerated on ice for up to 24 hours.
Milk can be frozen in a regular freezer for up to 6 months and in a "deep freeze" (-16 degrees Celsius or lower) for up to 12 months.
If the milk smells of curdled milk, then it has definitely gone bad. If in doubt about the quality of milk, it is better to throw it away. Don't risk your child's health.
When you thaw milk before drinking, it must be used within 24 hours. If thawed and not used within 24 hours, discard immediately. Therefore, it is useful to store milk in small volumes and defrost “on demand” if you are far from the child, so as not to waste “liquid gold”.
Do a lipase test before storing milk. Lipase is found naturally in breast milk and is beneficial for the baby. However, it can change the taste and smell of milk. If the level of lipase in breast milk is high, which again is perfectly normal, and you store breast milk, a large amount of lipase will make the milk sour and soapy.
Most moms find out they have high lipase levels because the baby refuses to eat thawed milk. It is worse if the mother finds out after she has already stocked up on milk, and she herself is far from the child.
Visual analysis for lipase can be done independently.
Express and freeze a small amount of breast milk for 5 days, then thaw. If you notice an odor, if the milk is sour, or if your baby rejects it, you most likely have a high lipase content.
To remedy this, first scald the milk before freezing. That is, heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling (small bubbles) and then refrigerate and store in bags.
30. Soothers and bottles
Bottles sound good. You can give someone a bottle and they will feed your baby. The reality of bottles compared to conventional feeding is that there is actually a lot more work to be done with them. You need to express milk, then wash the pumping accessories thoroughly, prepare the bottle, give it to someone, bottle feed the baby, and then wash the bottle well.
When breastfeeding, just put the baby on the breast and you're done. You spend some time hugging your baby while he suckles.
Mixture may seem easier to use. It seems easier in the beginning because the baby can eat formula at night and you don't have to get up. But after formula feeding for a while, you will realize that it is a constant bottle washing and a lot of money spent on good formulas. In the end, breastfeeding is much easier: you always have something to feed your baby at no additional cost.
The pacifier is used to soothe the baby when it cries. But getting excited and/or crying is a signal of hunger. The pacifier is a temporary solution that can simply upset the baby even more because he is still hungry.
When a baby cries and you give him a pacifier, he sucks the pacifier, knowing that sucking produces milk. Babies are born with this urge to suckle because they need to suckle a lot, foraging and storing food for their growth. The newborn sucks on the nipple with pleasure, waiting for his mother's milk. Another 10 minutes have passed, he is very hungry and upset. It is difficult to get a very hungry frustrated baby to suckle (see point 2). As a result, you either give him a pacifier again and make the problem worse, or give him formula because you can't get him to latch on.
Do you think your baby needs a pacifier?
You can do it!
Breastfeeding is work. But once you get the hang of it, it gets a lot easier.
Once you have read this far, you already know everything to start feeding a newborn. There will be many doubts and questions during the GW process. This is good. And you will get answers too. Happy GW.
Your baby is so lucky that you are his mother!
Mobile WAP File exchange ObmenVsem.org (sasisa)
Add file
File search
TOP 100 Users
TOP-500 Files
Photo [1004718 files]
Video [309326 files]
Games [1639files]
Programs [1503 files]
Creativity of the inhabitants [1203 files]
Images [536397 files]
Animashki [93127 files]
Audio [11119files]
Music [41808 files]
Themes [1558 files]
Books [12644 files]
Articles, Documents [250 files]
Flash (Flash) [5333 files]
Other [1023 files]
Information
Suggestions and comments on file sharing.
Exchange rules
Online [603]
List of moderators
Menu
Convenient mobile WAP file hosting will allow you to download and upload your file from your phone and share it with your friends. Upload your own file and get a direct link to it. In addition, the file will be displayed in the file hosting itself and will become available to any user. To upload a file to the Internet from your phone, you must be registered on the ObmenVsem.org mobile portal. Upload, download, share absolutely any files using our file hosting for phones. This is the new address for the former exchanger sasisa.ru
Featured
Music: millions of songs!*
Worldwide videos + search!*
Erotic stories!*
XXX Videos and Pictures!*
Free Downloads!*
9033 - abuse.
