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New born baby feeding pattern


Breastfeeding FAQs: How Much and How Often (for Parents)

Breastfeeding is a natural thing to do, but it still comes with its fair share of questions. Here's what you need to know about how often and how long to breastfeed your baby.

How Often Should I Breastfeed?

Newborn babies should breastfeed 8–12 times per day for about the first month. Breast milk is easily digested, so newborns are hungry often. Frequent feedings helps stimulate your milk production during the first few weeks.

By the time your baby is 1–2 months old, he or she probably will nurse 7–9 times a day.

In the first few weeks of life, breastfeeding should be "on demand" (when your baby is hungry), which is about every 1-1/2 to 3 hours. As newborns get older, they'll nurse less often, and may have a more predictable schedule. Some might feed every 90 minutes, whereas others might go 2–3 hours between feedings.

Newborns should not go more than about 4 hours without feeding, even overnight.

How Do I Count the Time Between Feedings?

Count the length of time between feedings from the time your baby begins to nurse (rather than at the end) to when your little one starts nursing again. In other words, when your doctor asks how often your baby is feeding, you can say "about every 2 hours" if your first feeding started at 6 a.m., the next feeding was around 8 a.m., then 10 a.m., and so on.

Especially at first, you might feel like you're nursing around the clock, which is normal. Soon enough, your baby will go longer between feedings.

How Long Does Nursing Take?

Newborns may nurse for up to 20 minutes or longer on one or both breasts. As babies get older and more skilled at breastfeeding, they may take about 5–10 minutes on each side.

How long it takes to breastfeed depends on you, your baby, and other things, such as whether:

  • your milk supply has come in (this usually happens 2–5 days after birth)
  • your let-down reflex (which causes milk to flow from the nipple) happens right away or after a few minutes into a feeding
  • your milk flow is slow or fast
  • the baby has a good latch, taking in as much as possible of your areola (the dark circle of skin around your nipple)
  • your baby begins gulping right away or takes it slow
  • your baby is sleepy or distracted

Call your doctor if you're worried that your baby's feedings seem too short or too long.

When Should I Alternate Breasts?

Alternate breasts and try to give each one the same amount of nursing time throughout the day. This helps to keep up your milk supply in both breasts and prevents painful engorgement (when your breasts overfill with milk).

You may switch breasts in the middle of each feeding and then alternate which breast you offer first for each feeding. Can't remember where your baby last nursed? It can help to attach a reminder — like a safety pin or small ribbon — to your bra strap so you'll know which breast your baby last nursed on. Then, start with that breast at the next feeding. Or, keep a notebook handy or use a breastfeeding app to keep track of how your baby feeds.

Your baby may like switching breasts at each feeding or prefer to nurse just on one side. If so, then offer the other breast at the next feeding. Do whatever works best and is the most comfortable for you and your baby.

How Often Should I Burp My Baby During Feedings?

After your baby finishes on one side, try burping before switching breasts. Sometimes, the movement alone can be enough to cause a baby to burp.

Some infants need more burping, others less, and it can vary from feeding to feeding.

If your baby spits up a lot, try burping more often. While it's normal for infants to "spit up" a small amount after eating or during burping, a baby should not vomit after feeding. If your baby throws up all or most of a feeding, there could be a problem that needs medical care. If you're worried that your baby is spitting up too much, call your doctor.

Why Is My Baby Hungrier Than Usual?

When babies go through a period of rapid growth (called a growth spurt), they want to eat more than usual. These can happen at any time. But in the early months, growth spurts often happen when a baby is:

  • 7–14 days old
  • 2 months old
  • 4 months old
  • 6 months old

During these times and whenever your baby seems extra hungry, follow your little one's hunger cues. You may need to breastfeed more often for a while.

How Long Should I Breastfeed My Baby?

That's a personal choice. Experts recommend that babies be breastfed exclusively (without formula, water, juice, non–breast milk, or food) for the first 6 months. Then, breastfeeding can continue until 12 months (and beyond) if it's working for you and your baby.

Breastfeeding has many benefits for mom and baby both. Studies show that breastfeeding can lessen a baby's chances of diarrhea, ear infections, and bacterial meningitis, or make symptoms less severe. Breastfeeding also may protect children from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, obesity, and asthma.

For moms, breastfeeding burns calories and helps shrink the uterus. In fact, breastfeeding moms might return to their pre–pregnancy shape and weight quicker. Breastfeeding also helps lower a woman's risk of diseases like:

  • breast cancer
  • high blood pressure
  • diabetes
  • heart disease

It also might help protect moms from uterine cancer and ovarian cancer.

Feeding Patterns | Breastmilk | Every Ounce Counts

First Feedings

Your newborn baby is growing quickly, and that means she needs to eat often. Follow your baby’s lead. It is normal and healthy for your baby to eat 8-12 times in a 24-hour period. That’s about once every 2-3 hours!

In these early days, each breastfeeding session might last 25-40 minutes, but this can vary based on how hungry or sleepy your baby is. It is important to remember that, in addition to food, babies get their hydration, comfort and snuggle time while at the breast.

Offer Both Breasts

Feed your baby on the fuller breast first until she naturally comes off or falls asleep, then try to burp her and offer the other breast. Breastfed babies often don’t burp, but it never hurts to try. Sitting your baby up to burp can also help wake her up, which may help her eat more actively on the second breast.

Cramps While Breastfeeding

In the days after delivery, you may feel uterine cramping when you breastfeed. This is completely normal and can last for several days or weeks. Cramps are a sign that your uterus is contracting and shrinking to its pre-pregnancy size. If you have any concerns, reach out to your healthcare provider.

Cluster Feeding

Your baby may have a period of time during the day when she wants to nurse more often—sometimes every hour. This “cluster feeding” tends to happen in the evenings for the first 4-6 weeks of a baby’s life. As long as your baby is cluster feeding only during one part of the day, you can be sure that all is well and she is healthy.

Follow your baby’s lead, and offer her the breast whenever she is showing hunger cues. Cluster feeding helps your baby get what she needs and also boosts your milk supply. Talk with a lactation consultant or your pediatrician if your baby is cluster feeding for more than one stretch during the day or if you have any concerns about her feeding pattern.

Growth Spurts

As your baby grows and her body changes, her feeding patterns will likely change, too. You may hear these periods called “growth spurts,” and they are a normal part of a baby’s development. During these times, your baby may spend 1-2 days nursing more often and for longer sessions. Some babies may be also be more fussy during this time. You can learn about calming your crying baby here.

Growth spurts are not always predictable, but they often happen around 1-3 weeks, around 4-6 weeks, at 3 months, and again at 6 months. As your baby grows, she’ll need to eat more, and these increased feedings help build your milk supply. If you feel your baby isn’t getting enough to eat, talk to your pediatrician and a lactation consultant.

Introducing a Bottle

Most lactation consultants recommend that you wait to offer a bottle until your baby is around 4 weeks old and breastfeeding is well established. Many families find it helpful to have someone other than mom, such as dad, grandma or another caregiver offer the first bottle. Learn how to help your baby move between the bottle and breast by downloading Bottle-Feeding Your Breastfed Baby: A Guide for Success.

Solid Foods

Breastmilk provides complete nutrition for the first 6 months. Once your baby is able to sit up on her own, has good control of her head and neck and begins to show interest in food, you can start offering solid foods.

Great options for first foods are pureed or soft meats, fruits and vegetables. Breastmilk and formula will still provide the bulk of nutrition for your baby’s first year. Visit the Solid Foods page to learn more about introducing solids.

Weaning

Breastfeeding is recommended for the first year of your baby’s life and can continue for as long as you both wish. When you are ready to wean, do it slowly over time. Choose the breastfeeding or pumping session you or your baby like the least and remove it from your day. Give your body 3-5 days to adjust before removing the next feeding session.

This slow and steady approach to weaning helps your body and your baby transition more smoothly away from breastfeeding. Talk to your pediatrician about how to replace your breastmilk with formula or cow’s milk. (Cow’s milk is only recommended for babies 1 year of age or older.)

Breastfeeding norms for newborns

When a child is born in a family, parents have many questions about the proper care of the baby. One of the most frequently asked questions is related to breastfeeding norms.

Dry initial milk formula adapted by Valio Baby 1 NutriValio for feeding children from birth to 6 months More

Follow-up dry milk formula adapted by Valio Baby 2 NutriValio for feeding children from 6 to 12 months Read more

Dry milk drink "Baby milk" Valio Baby 3 NutriValio for feeding children over 12 months Read more

Starting from the first feeding and in the first days of life, the child receives colostrum. It is very nutritious. The newborn eats little, but remains full. The volume of the stomach in babies in the first days of life does not exceed 10 ml. In one day, a baby eats about 100 ml of breast milk. This volume is increasing every day. For a baby older than 10 days, it is very easy to calculate the feeding rate. To do this, you need to multiply the number of days lived by 10. The amount of food eaten per day should be 1/5 of the baby's body weight.

To determine the rate of feeding children from the first month of life to a year, experts have developed the following table for calculating the volume of feeding:

You can also determine the correct amount of food for feeding a baby, focusing on the age, weight, behavior and development of the child.

At present, the so-called free-feeding regimen is recommended, i.e., to give the child a breast not according to the schedule, but at his first request, including at night. This allows the baby to take full advantage of the first milk - colostrum, which is characterized by a high concentration of antimicrobial factors, which prevents the possibility of infection of the newborn. Colostrum, which contains a high percentage of protein and minerals, even in small quantities satisfies the nutritional needs of the child. In addition, the entry of colostrum into the child's digestive tract ensures a faster "maturation" of the intestinal mucosa. A mother can learn to correctly identify the "hungry" cry of her child: at the same time, he turns his head in search of the mother's breast, smacks his lips, cries loudly, insistently. Usually, with a free-feeding regimen, a newborn baby receives breasts up to 10-12 times a day. on, initiating the secretion and release of milk. It has been shown that with free feeding, the volume of milk is 1.5 times higher than with hourly feeding. Subsequently, as the child grows, he usually develops his own feeding regimen by 2-3 months - from 6 to 8 times a day and, as a rule, without a night break. Observations show that with this feeding regime, children are distinguished by calm behavior, good mood, sleep soundly, give normal weight gain, and mothers produce more breast milk and the ability to secrete it lasts longer.

How can you tell if your baby is getting enough milk?

There is a so-called "wet diaper test". If the baby receives the necessary daily nutritional intake, he pees an average of 16-18 times. At the same time, 6-8 or more richly filled diapers are usually spent per day.

You can also determine if a child is getting enough nutrition by observing how much weight he gains each month. Infants from 2 to 13 weeks of age should gain between 170 and 200 grams per week.

Keep track of whether the baby grows out of the clothes he wears and out of diapers. If the baby eats properly, then on the 10-14th day of life, he returns to his original weight at birth. Babies who get enough food also sleep well and look cheerful and cheerful.

#PROMO_BLOCK#

Learn more about proper breastfeeding and check out our blog for tips.


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