How much to feed a six week old baby

Six-Week-Old Baby Feeding Schedule & Amounts

By Motherly Updated April 6, 2022

With a six-week-old baby, the feeding schedule can still feel like it's dictating where, when and what you can do. While some baby feeding conditions are optimal—like that comfy rocker in your baby's nursery—there are simply other times when you need to break out the bottle or breast while on-the-go. The more you get out of the house with your baby, the easier it gets. We promise!

How much should a six-week-old baby eat?

The American Academy of Pediatrics and La Leche League recommend the following feeding schedules and amounts for 6-week-olds.

Breast milk: 2 to 3 ounces every 2 to 3 hours

Formula: 4 to 5 ounces every 4 hours

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recommends that parents should follow the responsive feeding method, also known as feeding on demand, which looks to the infant's hunger cues for when to feed. The schedules below are just examples—be sure to follow your baby's hunger signals to know when your little one is ready for the next feeding. As babies get older, their hunger cues and feeding times start to become a little more predictable.

Related: 2-month-old baby milestones

What’s a good feeding schedule for a six-week-old baby?

Remember, it's more important that you follow your baby's cues than adhere to a set schedule, so schedules outlined are general guides of how frequently you'll feed your baby—not hard-and-fast rules.

These guidelines also apply primarily to infants born full-term and without any underlying medical conditions. For preterm infants, babies with certain medical conditions or for any specific questions pertaining to your child, be sure to consult your child's pediatrician for a more customized feeding schedule.

Can six-week-old babies sleep through the night?

In the beginning of your baby's life, you were probably advised to wake them up every two to three hours for breastfeeding or every three to four hours for formula-feeding. That didn't leave an opportunity for much sleep, did it? Now that your baby is rounding the corner to 2 months old, they may be naturally sleeping longer stretches. If they are gaining weight and you have the sign-off from their doctor, you should be able to let them sleep longer stretches between feedings at night.

Related: Baby Sleep Guides & Schedules

Is your six-week-old baby feeding constantly?

Let's face it: There is a lot to enjoy about feeding times for babies. It's not just about filling their bellies, but also about getting snuggles and comfort—which is something they crave during the fourth trimester. Cluster feeding is also common at this stage, which can help fill their tummies so they can sleep longer stretches at night. However, if it seems like your 6-week-old baby is feeding constantly and they are gaining a healthy amount of weight, you can explore other reasons for why they are fussing (like a wet diaper or discomfort) or stage a distraction (like some play time on the floor or offering a pacifier) before feeding.

If you are breastfeeding, you may notice your milk supply regulating at this point—as evidenced by less tender, full breasts and reduced leaking. If you are formula-feeding, you're probably also becoming a pro at eye-balling how much formula your baby needs for any session. It's amazing the things we can quickly become so skilled at, isn't it?

6 Week Old Baby | Sleep, Weight And Routine

Half-way into the fourth trimester, your 6 week old growing baby is adjusting to the world more and more each week.

Major development is happening; you’ll see physical growth, but the growth in the brain is happening even more rapidly. Keep reading to learn about your baby’s development and which milestones to expect at this time.

How much should a 6 week old baby eat?

A 6 week old baby eats between 24 and 32 ounces (around 700-950 ml) of breastmilk or formula in a 24 hour period. She is still eating 8-12 times a day, or roughly every 2-3 hours.

Breastfeeding your 6 week old baby

At some time between six weeks and twelve weeks, you’ll notice some changes in your breasts. You might worry you aren’t making enough milk. It’s reassuring to know this is actually a time to celebrate, not worry. Everything’s coming together and you’re moving on to the next stage of lactation.

Here are some things you might notice during the transition:

Your breasts feel much softer – even before feeding. If you have been used to your breasts feeling firm or even hard before feeds, the sudden change is often a shock. Friends and family – and even your doctor – might give you the impression, or even tell you, your milk has ‘dried up over-night‘. But you can relax — it will be there when you need it. In the early weeks of feeding, your breasts store lots of excess breast milk between feeds but now your body is efficient enough to make it on demand. The hormone prolactin is no longer pushing your breasts to make more and more ‘just in case’. Now your baby is fully in charge – or you are, if you’re exclusively pumping
You might not feel the let-down or milk-ejection reflex so much, or not at all. If you have been leaking between or just before feeds, you might find that isn’t such a problem anymore. These is a further sign your body is working more efficiently now – not a sign your breast milk has gone
Your baby might have fewer bowel movements. Some babies continue having bowel movements several times a day, but it is also normal if your baby poops just once in a day
If you’ve been pumping regularly, you’ll probably notice a decrease in volume around this time; this might be a shock if you have come to expect a full bottle per session. Rather than storing lots of extra breast milk, which you could access whenever you wanted, now you need to pump more frequently to collect less. It’s not a drop in milk supply. Expressing and bottle feeding is not part of nature’s original plan for lactation; direct feeding at the breast is the natural way.

6 week old baby feeding

Expressing milk for your return to work, to supplement breastfeeding, or to exclusively feed your baby, are modern aspects of breastfeeding. Your unlimited breast milk credit card runs out now, and you need to move to a piggy-bank method of expressing, in advance of being apart from your baby.

If you’re exclusively pumping in place of direct feeding, you probably won’t notice much of a change; when you express additional breast milk to store in the freezer is when you’ll notice it most.

Improving your pumping technique can maximize the amount you express. If you haven’t done so already, learn how a specific technique can double the amount of milk you express.

Unfortunately, the timing of all these changes happens at a time when babies experience Wonder Weeks and/or a growth spurt. Not only does it feel as though you don’t have enough milk, but your 6 week old baby also acts as if you don’t. Many parents are concerned by this but these are normal stages in your baby’s life.

Many mothers, unfortunately, wean their babies earlier than hoped, or move to mixed feeding when they don’t need to. Less than 50% of infants are still exclusively breastfed at three months, as many mothers have introduced formula because of concerns about low milk supply. Doing this, in fact, can lead to low supply but there are things you can do to reverse it.

Read more in BellyBelly’s article How To Increase Milk Supply Fast | 9 Best Things To Do.

6 week old weight gain and baby’s growth

Most babies gain around 1 pound a month for the first 6 months of life. Remember that every baby gains weight on her own timeline. Your individual baby’s weight at 6 weeks will depend on her birth weight. Genetics also plays a big part in the rate of growth.

It’s good to remember not all growth shows up on the scales. Growth in length and head circumference are also important.

The average baby grows about an inch a month in the first 6 months too. This slows down a bit in the second half of the first year. However, all babies develop differently and at different times. Growth is also influenced by genetics, health, and the sex of your baby.

In some weeks you’ll see more development in measurements other than weight. Looking at all aspects of the physical growth of your little one will give you a more accurate picture of her wellbeing.

Reach out to your baby’s doctor if you have concerns regarding your baby’s health or growth.

Remember that breastfed babies might put on weight differently from babies who are formula-fed.

6 week old sleep

Remember ‘sleeping through the night’ is an expectation that even older children and adults don’t meet in reality.

By the time your baby is 6 weeks old, she might have a longer stretches (4-6 hours) of sleep at night. Some babies, though, still wake every 2-3 hours to get more feeds in the nighttime hours.

Making the decision to co-sleep could be the solution you choose to get as much sleep as possible. Parents can work together to come up with creative ways to make sure they are all getting the rest they need. When it comes to sleeping habits, families will make their own decisions based on what’s right for their dynamic.

You will make the right choice for your family.

Settling

Baby crying peaks around now. The good news is it shouldn’t get much worse and will soon start to get much better. This, combined with rapid development from the typical growth spurts around 4-6 weeks and the Wonder Weeks at 5 and 8 weeks, means these next few weeks will be intense for your infant and those caring for her.

Remember, wakefulness and unsettledness are a normal part of your baby’s development at 6 weeks old, and it doesn’t always mean your little one is hungry, tired, or in pain. Many infants really are just going through a stage and your role is to soothe and comfort, rather than solve, the distress. It might be helpful to know night waking is believed to offer some protection from SIDS.

Colic

As a new mom, you might wonder whether the amount of time your baby cries is normal. You might have questions about this thing called ‘colic’. At 6 weeks of age, babies are at the peak of colic.

To learn more about colic read our article What Is Colic? 5 Common Questions Answered.

If your baby has reflux or is showing signs of discomfort, reach out to your healthcare professional.

Infant massage

Baby massage is a wonderful aid during this period. If you haven’t already tried it, introduce it and make it a positive part of your bedtime routine.

You might find a class offered by your child health nurse, community health center, or well-baby clinic. You can also find instructors who run private or small group classes.

Your local library should also have books and DVDs you can borrow to support what you learn in class or to use even if no classes are available locally.

Learn more in Baby Massage – 7 Amazing Benefits For Your Baby.

Babywearing

Babywearing is another tool both parents might find helpful to settle and soothe your baby to sleep during this time. It’s important to choose a safe and comfortable baby carrier; there are many on the market and some are better designed than others.

You can find out more about them in our article Choosing a Baby Carrier Or Sling – 7 Styles to Choose From.

Remember, it’s hard to learn anything new when you are tired, hungry or in pain. When you introduce it, choose a time when your baby is fed, rested, and calm. You can practice getting the carrier on and off using a doll or teddy, so you’ll know what to do before you try it with your baby.

You might be less anxious if you have someone with you to help. Your local babywearing group is a great place to go for information and support in choosing and using your baby carrier.

6 week old baby milestones

Social smile

You’ve probably seen a fleeting smile on your baby’s face in the first weeks – more likely while he was sleeping. Many people describe these smiles as a result of ‘gas’. We now know these first smiles aren’t really ‘proper’ smiles but reflex actions. Babies have even been seen to ‘smile’ in the womb before birth.

You might see your baby’s first real social smile at around the 6 week mark. This delightful milestone will usually be in response to your smile, your facial expressions, or your voice, and you’ll see more and more of them in the coming weeks.

This is just the beginning of your baby’s learning about how to interact with you. It’s an exciting start to your relationship and the sharing of emotions.

Play and baby’s development

At 6 weeks of age, your baby’s immature brain is wiring itself for all sorts of future development. You’ll be seeing some of that earlier wiring starting to connect.

The vague arm movements you see are the early attempts at deliberate movement. Your baby’s successful attempts to get her hands to her mouth are the beginnings of purposeful gross motor skills.

At the 6 week mark, you might also see your little one getting excited as you bring her near the breast or show her a bottle; she is beginning to predict what happens next.

Your 6 week old baby will continue to crave social interaction and engagement with parents, siblings, and other family members; your face is still her favorite thing to gaze at.

She’ll also enjoy looking at new things and generally observing the world. But she has no ability yet to screen out stimuli, and no language to indicate when her brain needs some ‘white space’ while she processes all this input. Watch out for non-verbal signs she’s had enough and allow some down time between play sessions.

Signs of overstimulation and that baby might need a break:

Fearful or wary facial expressions
A blank expression
Attempts to move or turn away
Jerking or appearing startled when there hasn’t been a fast movement or loud sound
Turning the head away or simply closing her eyes
Pouting and whimpering.

When your baby is going through a tough developmental stage, you might find yourself wishing she could just tell you what she needs.

If this were possible, here is what she might say: 10 Things Your Crying Baby Wants You To Know.

You and your baby are continuing to be more in sync with one another. With each passing week you see your baby a little more alert and interactive. It’s a lovely reward for all your hard work so far.

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 necessary 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 nutrients it needs 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 breast in mouth, sleeps 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 deliberately harming 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, attachments as well as in the fourth month of life, are organized around dreams - the baby eats when going to bed and some babies suck during awakening.
At six months, the feeding regimen changes. 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 application 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 when waking up after 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 fun. 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.

Moms who don't think about breastfeeding without looking at the clock may get the impression that when breastfeeding on demand, the mother can do nothing but feed the baby. This is not true. 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 be offended, saying 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. Deeper affection and understanding are not only preserved in infancy. They persist for life. For clarity, imagine what happens to a woman’s feelings if she tries to “withstand” a child, endures his crying, anxiety. What happens to a woman if she uses the recommendation from one very popular parenting book: "Go to the child if he cries for more than 15 minutes"? Speaking in abstract terms, humanity is interested in reviving the practice of breastfeeding. The revival of this practice is impossible without mothers realizing the true reasons for the child's need for attachment to the breast.

Lilia Kazakova, pediatrician,
Head of Breastfeeding and Child Care Consultants

Baby's daily routine at 2 months: development, sleep, feeding

03/21/2019

At 2 months, your baby is not the same as it was only 4 weeks ago . The baby becomes more active, his sense organs develop, his sleep and wakefulness change. We tell you what you need to consider when shaping the daily regimen of two-month-old children on breastfeeding and artificial feeding.

Sleep at night

By 2 months you will notice that your baby's sleep patterns are changing. The biological rhythms of the baby continue to form, and the duration of night sleep gradually increases. The child will begin to go into the night earlier - at 22.00-23.00 hours. But for the time being, bedtime is not as important as whether the baby gets enough sleep. Many babies sleep for about 9-10 hours at night with waking up for feedings. How long you should be between night feeds is best discussed with your pediatrician. The time of the morning rise is also not yet constant and not always at 7 in the morning.

Daytime sleep

The duration and time of daytime naps are still different, as well as the time of wakefulness between them. In general, a two-month-old baby sleeps approximately 4-5 hours during the day. And sleep segments are now usually from 30-40 minutes to an hour. During the day, the child sleeps from 4 to 6 times - depending on the time of getting up and leaving at night.

Baby can be active for up to 1 hour or 1 hour and 15 minutes. But you should not allow overwork and focus also on the signs of fatigue and the duration of the previous sleep.

If a two-month-old baby calms down, loses interest in surrounding objects, starts rubbing his eyes, directs his eyes to one point, for no reason starts to get nervous and asks for food, then he wants to sleep and it's time to go to bed.

How many hours of sleep do you need in general? A newborn needs 14-16 hours of sleep a day.

By this age, you already understand the baby better, and it will be easier to follow a more or less understandable schedule. Although the exact daily routine has not yet been organized.

Why can a two-month-old baby not sleep?

If bedtimes are long and it is difficult for the child to fall asleep during the day, the causes of sleep disturbances should be found out and, if possible, eliminated:

At this age, the baby begins to be distracted by the surrounding objects, so be sure to darken the room. Darkness will help calm the baby and set him to sleep. This is especially important if you have trouble falling asleep in the evening. From 2.5 months, the sleep hormone melatonin begins to be produced. Therefore, remember that bright light destroys it, and darkness, on the contrary, contributes to the formation of melatonin in the child's body.
At 2 months, the senses are actively developing in babies. Now the child reacts to any rustle. And those sounds that he did not notice before can now wake him up during sleep. The use of a white noise generator will help here to protect the baby from extraneous noise. It is not recommended to buy special white noise toys that are placed in the crib, as this is unsafe.
Even an extra 5-10 minutes can affect the child's well-being this month and lead to more overwork. If this happens, use different ways to calm the baby and put him to bed.

Now is the time to introduce a ritual that will help set the baby up for sleep. Daily repetition of activities facilitates the process of falling asleep and improves night sleep. Start by bathing, lightly massage your baby, swaddle, feed in dim light, walk with your baby upright to ease spitting up.

At the end, read a story or sing a lullaby. Separating feeding and falling asleep will help your baby learn to fall asleep on his own in the future, not relying only on the breast. Gradually, food will become part of the ritual, and not the only way for the child to fall asleep.

Sleepy, but awake, put the baby in the crib, stroking the head and tummy if necessary.

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How to avoid confusion between day and night

When you are awake, take your baby outside, turn on the lights and open the curtains. Let the child be surrounded by familiar everyday sounds while playing.

Avoid bright lights at night, feed and change diapers with minimal light if possible. If the baby wakes up at night, be quiet and do not play with him.

In the table you will find the norms of sleep and wakefulness of a child at 2 months

Feeding and daily routine of a child of 2 months

The daily routine of a 2-month-old baby on breastfeeding and on artificial feeding is almost the same. The only difference is the feeding schedule. Since the mixture is digested more slowly, meals will be less frequent. The feeding regimen should be discussed with the doctor observing the child. As in the case if the baby was born prematurely or does not gain weight.

At two months, the number of applications with natural feeding during the day is about 6-9, at night - from 2 to 4 times. For a two-month-old baby, about 800-900 ml is enough. milk or 700-750 ml. mixture per day. The menu should not include other fluids while breastfeeding. Feeding on demand usually occurs at 2 months for 15-20 minutes.

A baby of the second month of life has a need for contact with the outside world. He begins to be distracted by environmental stimuli during breastfeeding and eats less milk or formula during the day than he needs. Have you noticed this with your child?

Therefore, offer breasts during sleep and after waking up. And during feeding, retire with the baby in a quiet place, darken the room so that nothing distracts the baby, and offer him the breast in a calm environment.

Baby development at 2 months

At this age, babies develop a reflex that makes them look at their outstretched arms when they wave them. The child gets used to his body and learns it. Surely, your baby loves to take his fingers in his mouth and touch his legs with his hands! And now you will notice the first smile - smile and you will respond in order to establish contact with the child.

A 2-month-old baby turns its head towards sounds, follows objects with its eyes, holds its head and starts pushing with its arms while on its stomach.

2 months is a period of active development of the child's strength, balance and coordination, which is important for the formation of the baby's motor skills.

During waking hours it is useful to walk in the fresh air with the baby, communicate and play with the child.⠀

Continue to use the developmental mat, on which toys can already be hung, Place them on the sides so that the baby turns his head, follows them and reaches for them. Or read picture books so that the baby also actively follows the story with his eyes.