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Feeding Your Baby | Breast Feeding

How do I bring my baby to my breast?

When your baby bobs his or her head on your chest and starts moving toward the nipple, ease him or her down to face the breast. Support his or her buttocks with your elbow while your forearm supports the back and the palm of your hand supports the shoulders. Make sure the web between your thumb and first finger is at the nape of the baby's neck; your thumb is on one side of the head and one or the rest of your fingers support the other side of the head. Notice that the baby's ear, shoulder, and hip are in a straight line and the legs are curled around your waist. Your arm should support the baby's weight and a pillow can support your arm. Your other hand supports the breast with your fingers far away from the areola (the darker part of the breast). This is called the "cross cradle hold." If it is hard to support the breast, try putting a rolled facecloth under the breast.

Some mothers prefer the "clutch" or "football hold," a nice position for babies who weigh more than eight pounds. Bring the baby's hip to your hip with your elbow supporting the other hip and your arm supporting his or her side. The palm of your hand supports the shoulders. The web between your thumb and first finger is at the nape of the baby's neck, thumb on one side of the head, and one or the rest of the fingers supporting the other side of his or her head. Your arm supports the baby's weight and a pillow can support your arm. Your other hand supports the breast with your fingers away from the areola (the darker part of the breast). If it is hard to support the breast, try putting a rolled facecloth under the breast.

How can I help my baby latch on?

Support the baby's head and tilt it back slightly. Brush the bottom lip with the tip of your nipple to make the baby open wide as a yawn. With the baby's chin lifted and leading the latch, nose in line with your nipple, bring the baby to your breast. The chin will touch first and be deep into the breast with the nose not quite touching. Notice that the baby's neck is straight, making it easy for the baby to swallow. A swallow sounds like an "ah" or a little puff of air. When the baby is latched well, you will hear a few swallows of colostrum. When your milk changes to mature milk (about day three or four), you will hear a swallow with about every four to five suckles. Keep the baby close to you, supporting the shoulders and back and bracing the buttocks against your side.

When your baby is latched well, it feels like a tug or a pull, but never painful. If there is any pinching or pain, be sure the baby's lips are rolled out and bring the baby closer to your body. If this does not help, re-latch. Most of the time if it hurts, it has something to do with positioning. Ask your nurse for help or once you go home, call the Warm Line at 1-800-711-7011 for help from a nurse or lactation consultant.

If the baby is not latched in five minutes, stop. You can hand express in the first 24 hours. If your baby is more than 24 hours old, pump. Keeping the baby skin-to-skin, you can feed him or her the expressed breast milk.

How long should my baby nurse/breastfeed?

Let the baby nurse as long as he or she is actively sucking and swallowing. You can watch the jaw move all the way to the ear and hear soft puffs of air. When the swallowing slows, massage your breast to move more milk into the baby's mouth and bring the baby closer to you with the palm of your hand. When the swallowing stops, slide your little finger into the baby's mouth to release the suction and protect your nipple. Your nipple should have the same shape (gumdrop) as before the feeding. If it looks creased, like a used lipstick, be sure the baby opens wide and takes in more breast tissue at the next feeding. Breastfed babies take less air, so you only have to burp your baby for a few minutes. Offer the second breast if the baby is still awake and showing feeding cues.

Babies will take about one to three teaspoons of the first milk, colostrum, at any one feeding in the first days. Feedings last about 10 to 20 minutes. It is healthy for your baby to nurse every 90 minutes to three hours from the beginning of the last nursing. But, since breast milk is more easily digested, feed your baby on cue rather than by the clock or a schedule.

How do I know if my baby is eating enough?

Wet diapers and stools are one of the ways you can tell if your baby is taking in enough breast milk. A Breastfeeding Log English/ Breast Feeding Log Spanish can help you keep track in the first busy days. Keep track of the color of the baby's stool, which will change in the first four days. This is another way to know your baby is taking in enough. Count any stool that looks like a tablespoon or more. Bring the log to the first pediatric visit or lactation consultation.

Weight gain is the best way to tell if your baby is getting enough. It is normal for babies to lose about 7 to 8 percent of their weight in the first five days and return to birth weight by 10 to 14 days. You will establish a milk supply for the baby in the first three weeks. The more the baby eats, the more your body produces. That is why we and the American Academy of Pediatrics advise you to exclusively breastfeed your baby, avoiding formula, bottles and pacifiers in the first three to four weeks if all is going well. Then your supply will meet your baby's needs as long as you choose to nurse.

What can I do if my nipples are sore?
  • Have your nurse help you with positioning the baby; if you are at home, call the Warm Line at 1-800-711-7011.
  • Pump and feed the baby if nursing hurts after one minute.
  • Hand express a few drops of milk, rub into the nipple and allow to air dry to help healing.
  • Dip a facecloth or sponge in a mix of one quarter teaspoon of salt and one cup of lukewarm water. Put on your nipples for 10 to 15 minutes, three to four times a day until healed.
  • Try wearing a soft nursing pad inside your bra or wearing soft, loose clothing. Be sure to change pads after each feeding to prevent infection.
  • Try using breast shells, which are plastic, dome-shaped pieces with the large ring backing to prevent any rubbing and air holes to promote healing; center the shell over the nipple, and your bra holds it in place; wear between feedings during the day.
What is engorgement, and what can I do for it?

When your milk changes to mature milk, your breasts may feel very full and firm. If the baby cannot latch and/or you have pain, you can:

  • Put ice packs wrapped in a clean cloth (bags of frozen peas or corn work well) on your breasts for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Massage breasts to help the milk start to drip.
  • Hand express milk to soften the areola (dark part) of the nipple.
  • Put warm cloths on your breasts for five to 10 minutes if you do not see a drop of milk, and massage again.
  • Nurse every one to three hours.
  • Take pain medication as prescribed by your care provider.

You can also try a technique called "reverse pressure softening" to reduce swelling of the areola. This briefly moves the swelling backward into your breast and helps the nipple soften and go deeper into the baby's mouth during breastfeeding. This technique should never cause you pain.

To do reverse pressure softening, you should:

  • Curve your fingers.
  • Press inward toward the chest and count slowly to 50.
  • Keep the pressure firm but not enough to cause pain.
  • If you'd like, someone else can help, using thumbs.
  • If breasts are large or very swollen, lie on your back to do this.

Do this right before every feeding. It may take two to four days before your breasts feel comfortable. Make pumping sessions short. 

What if I can't express milk by hand?

If your breasts are heavy and hard and your nipples are flattened out, you might be unable to express milk by hand.

  • Apply ice packs to breasts for 10 to 15 minutes, then apply warm compresses for 10 minutes.
  • Try expressing milk by hand by placing the soft pad of your thumb about 1½ to two inches above your nipple and the soft pad of your first finger 1½ to two inches below your nipple. Press your fingertips directly back toward your chest wall without stretching the skin. Now press your fingertips together behind the nipple and press forward to express drops of milk. Do not pull the breast tissue forward. The drops that come out may encourage your baby to latch, or you may need to use a pump.
  • Expressing milk can also soften the areola and help the milk let-down.
  • After feeding, you can apply an ice pack or pump additional milk to reduce your pain.
Do I need to use a pump?

If your baby is nursing enough to make the breasts soft, you do not need to pump. However, you may need to remove breast milk if:

  • Your baby only takes one breast, and the other is getting engorged.
  • Your areola needs to be softened so your baby can latch when your breasts are too full.
  • You can't latch your baby for two consecutive feedings or for six hours after the first 24 hours of life.
  • You are going out for a few hours or are going to be separated from your baby for a feeding.
  • You are returning to work or school.

We recommend that you wait three weeks before giving your baby a bottle if breastfeeding is going well. There are many ways to feed breastfeeding babies without using bottles and rubber nipples. If you have questions, ask your nurse or call the Warm Line at 1-800-711-7011.

How do I store breast milk?

If your baby is healthy, follow these instructions for pumping and storing your breast milk at home:

  • Use plastic bags, plastic bottles, glass bottles, or containers.
  • Clean all containers and use covers or seal the bags.
  • Date each container so the oldest milk will be used first.
  • Freeze a small amount (two to four ounces) at a time so it will thaw and warm up faster and less will be wasted.
  • Do not touch the inside of the container and always seal it well.
  • If you are using plastic nurser bags, make sure it is a bag that can be frozen, use a twist tie to seal the bag, double the bag, and store it in an airtight container.
  • Store the containers inside the refrigerator or freezer, not on the door, to maintain a constant temperature.
  • Thaw frozen milk under running warm water, in a bowl of warm water, or overnight in the refrigerator, gently shaking the milk to mix the layers.
  • NEVER warm breast milk on the stove or in the microwave.
  • NEVER add cooled milk to previously frozen milk.
  • Do not freeze in glass.

Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding (for Parents)

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed their baby is one of the biggest decisions expectant and new parents will make.

Healt experts believe breast milk is the best nutritional choice for infants. But breastfeeding may not be possible for all women. For many, the decision to breastfeed or formula feed is based on their comfort level, lifestyle, and specific medical situations.

For moms who can't breastfeed or who decide not to, infant formula is a healthy alternative. Formula provides babies with the nutrients they need to grow and thrive.

Some mothers worry that if they don't breastfeed, they won't bond with their baby. But the truth is, loving mothers will always create a special bond with their children. And feeding — no matter how — is a great time to strengthen that bond.

The decision to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is a personal one. Weighing the pros and cons of each method can help you decide what is best for you and your baby.

All About Breastfeeding

Nursing can be a wonderful experience for both mother and baby. It provides ideal nourishment and a special bonding experience that many mothers cherish.

A number of health organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) — recommend breastfeeding as the best choice for babies. Breastfeeding helps defend against infections, prevent allergies, and protect against a number of chronic conditions.

The AAP recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months. Beyond that, breastfeeding is encouraged until at least 12 months, and longer if both the mother and baby are willing.

Here are some of the many benefits of breastfeeding:

Fighting infections and other conditions. Breastfed babies have fewer infections and hospitalizations than formula-fed infants. During breastfeeding, antibodies and other germ-fighting factors pass from a mother to her baby and strengthen the immune system. This helps lower a baby's chances of getting many infections, including:

  • ear infections
  • diarrhea
  • respiratory infections
  • meningitis

Breastfeeding also may protect babies against:

  • allergies
  • asthma
  • diabetes
  • obesity
  • sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Breastfeeding is particularly beneficial for premature babies.

Nutrition and ease of digestion. Often called the "perfect food" for a human baby's digestive system, breast milk's components — lactose, protein (whey and casein), and fat — are easily digested by a newborn.

As a group, breastfed infants have less difficulty with digestion than do formula-fed infants. Breast milk tends to be more easily digested so that breastfed babies have fewer bouts of diarrhea or constipation.

Breast milk also naturally contains many of the vitamins and minerals that a newborn requires. One exception is vitamin D — the AAP recommends that all breastfed babies begin receiving vitamin D supplements during the first 2 months and continuing until a baby consumes enough vitamin D-fortified formula or milk (after 1 year of age).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates formula companies to ensure they provide all the necessary nutrients (including vitamin D) in their formulas. Still, commercial formulas can't completely match breast milk's exact composition. Why? Because milk is a living substance made by each mother for her individual infant, a process that can't be duplicated in a factory.

Free. Breast milk doesn't cost a cent, while the cost of formula quickly adds up. And unless you're pumping breast milk and giving it to your baby, there's no need for bottles, nipples, and other supplies that can be costly. Since breastfed babies are less likely to be sick, that may mean they make fewer trips to the doctor's office, so fewer co-pays and less money are paid for prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines.

Different tastes. Nursing mothers usually need 300 to 500 extra calories per day, which should come from a wide variety of well-balanced foods. This introduces breastfed babies to different tastes through their mothers' breast milk, which has different flavors depending on what their mothers have eaten. By tasting the foods of their "culture," breastfed infants more easily accept solid foods.

Convenience. With no last-minute runs to the store for more formula, breast milk is always fresh and available whether you're home or out and about. And when women breastfeed, there's no need to wash bottles and nipples or warm up bottles in the middle of the night.

Smarter babies. Some studies suggest that children who were exclusively breastfed have slightly higher IQs than children who were formula fed.

"Skin-to-skin" contact. Many nursing mothers really enjoy the experience of bonding so closely with their babies. And the skin-to-skin contact can enhance the emotional connection between mother and infant.

Beneficial for mom, too. The ability to totally nourish a baby can help a new mother feel confident in her ability to care for her baby. Breastfeeding also burns calories and helps shrink the uterus, so nursing moms may be able to return to their pre-pregnancy shape and weight quicker. Also, studies show that breastfeeding helps lower the risk of breast cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and also may help decrease the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.

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Breastfeeding Challenges

Breastfeeding can be easy from the get-go for some mothers, but take a while to get used to for others. Moms and babies need plenty of patience to get used to the routine of breastfeeding.

Common concerns of new moms, especially during the first few weeks and months, may include:

Personal comfort. Initially, many moms feel uncomfortable with breastfeeding. But with proper education, support, and practice, most moms overcome this.

Latch-on pain is normal for the first week to 10 days, and should last less than a minute with each feeding. But if breastfeeding hurts throughout feedings, or if their nipples and/or breasts are sore, it's a good idea for breastfeeding mothers to get help from a lactation consultant or their doctor. Many times, it's just a matter of using the proper technique, but sometimes pain can mean that something else is going on, like an infection.

Time and frequency of feedings. Breastfeeding requires a big time commitment from mothers, especially in the beginning, when babies feed often. A breastfeeding schedule or the need to pump breast milk during the day can make it harder for some moms to work, run errands, or travel.

And breastfed babies do need to eat more often than babies who take formula, because breast milk digests faster than formula. This means mom may find herself in demand every 2 or 3 hours (maybe more, maybe less) in the first few weeks.

Diet. Women who are breastfeeding need to be aware of what they eat and drink, since these can be passed to the baby through the breast milk. Just like during pregnancy, breastfeeding women should not eat fish that are high in mercury and should limit consumption of lower mercury fish.

If a mom drinks alcohol, a small amount can pass to the baby through breast milk. She should wait at least 2 hours after a single alcoholic drink to breastfeed to avoid passing any alcohol to the baby. Caffeine intake should be kept to no more than 300 milligrams (about one to three cups of regular coffee) or less per day because it can cause problems like restlessness and irritability in some babies.

Maternal medical conditions, medicines, and breast surgery. Medical conditions such as HIV or AIDS or those that involve chemotherapy or treatment with certain medicines can make breastfeeding unsafe. A woman should check with her doctor or a lactation consultant if she's unsure if she should breastfeed with a specific condition. Women should always check with the doctor about the safety of taking medicines while breastfeeding, including over-the-counter and herbal medicines.

Mothers who've had breast surgery, such as a reduction, may have difficulty with their milk supply if their milk ducts have been severed. In this situation, a woman should to talk to her doctor about her concerns and work with a lactation specialist.

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All About Formula Feeding

Commercially prepared infant formulas are a nutritious alternative to breast milk, and even contain some vitamins and nutrients that breastfed babies need to get from supplements.

Manufactured under sterile conditions, commercial formulas attempt to duplicate mother's milk using a complex combination of proteins, sugars, fats, and vitamins that aren't possible to create at home. So if you don't breastfeed your baby, it's important to use only commercially prepared formula and not try to make your own.

Besides medical concerns that may prevent breastfeeding, for some women, breastfeeding may be too difficult or stressful. Here are other reasons women may choose to formula feed:

Convenience. Either parent (or another caregiver) can feed the baby a bottle at any time (although this is also true for women who pump their breast milk). This allows mom to share the feeding duties and helps her partner to feel more involved in the crucial feeding process and the bonding that often comes with it.

Flexibility. Once the bottles are made, a formula-feeding mother can leave her baby with a partner or caregiver and know that her little one's feedings are taken care of. There's no need to pump or to schedule work or other obligations and activities around the baby's feeding schedule. And formula-feeding moms don't need to find a private place to nurse in public.

Time and frequency of feedings. Because formula is less digestible than breast milk, formula-fed babies usually need to eat less often than breastfed babies.

Diet. Women who opt to formula feed don't have to worry about the things they eat or drink that could affect their babies.

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Formula Feeding Challenges

As with breastfeeding, there are some challenges to consider when deciding whether to formula feed.

Lack of antibodies. None of the antibodies found in breast milk are in manufactured formula. So formula can't provide a baby with the added protection against infection and illness that breast milk does.

Can't match the complexity of breast milk. Manufactured formulas have yet to duplicate the complexity of breast milk, which changes as the baby's needs change.

Planning and organization. Unlike breast milk — which is always available, unlimited, and served at the right temperature — formula feeding your baby requires planning and organization to make sure that you have what you need when you need it. Parents must buy formula and make sure it's always on hand to avoid late-night runs to the store.

And it's important to always have the necessary supplies (like bottles and nipples) clean, easily accessible, and ready to go — otherwise, you will have a very hungry, very fussy baby to answer to. With 8-10 feedings in a 24-hour period, parents can quickly get overwhelmed if they're not prepared and organized.

Expense. Formula can be costly. Powdered formula is the least expensive, followed by concentrated, with ready-to-feed being the most expensive. And specialty formulas (such as soy and hypoallergenic) cost more — sometimes far more — than the basic formulas. During the first year of life, the cost of basic formula can run about $1,500.

Possibility of producing gas and constipation. Formula-fed babies may have more gas and firmer bowel movements than breastfed babies.

Making a Choice

Deciding how you will feed your baby can be a hard decision. You'll really only know the right choice for your family when your baby comes.

Many women decide on one method before the birth and then change their minds after their baby is born. And many women decide to breastfeed and supplement with formula because they find that is the best choice for their family and their lifestyle.

While you're weighing the pros and cons, talk to your doctor or lactation consultant. These health care providers can give you more information about your options and help you make the best decision for your family.

Pediatrician "SM-Doctor" about the age until which a child should be breastfed

Some new mothers try to do this as early as possible. Others continue to put the baby to the breast at 4 and 5 years. Play their role and "national" characteristics. For example, in the UK, only a third of babies in their six months still receive mother's milk, while the rest are transferred to formula. And in the UAE, the law prescribes to breastfeed children up to two years, otherwise you can get severe punishment.

In fact, it is on the figure “two years” that most doctors around the world agree. It is believed that after this age, mother's milk no longer brings additional health benefits. Is it so? we deal with experts.

Tatyana Kuznetsova
TATYANA KUZNETSOVA
pediatrician, nephrologist, breastfeeding consultant at the SM-Doctor clinic.

On the recommendation of the World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund, it is desirable to maintain breastfeeding up to 2 years, longer - at the mutual desire of the mother and child. Domestic pediatricians, based on practical experience and scientific research, voice the figure up to 1. 5 years.

It is now not uncommon to see mothers who breastfeed their children after two years of age. Such prolonged breastfeeding is commonly referred to as long-term feeding.

In any case, after 2.5 years, the child goes through the process of natural extinction of the sucking reflex, there is a gradual self-weaning and, thus, the smooth completion of breastfeeding.

Regardless of the recommendations, the choice always remains with the mother. And the duration of breastfeeding will depend, first of all, on the readiness of both the mother and the child to stop this process.

What are the health risks of early weaning?

Breast milk substitutes do not contain anti-infectious factors, so an artificially fed baby is more likely to get intestinal infections and respiratory diseases. These include frequent acute respiratory viral infections, otitis media, bronchitis, pneumonia, intestinal infections (usually of a viral nature) with prolonged diarrhea, fungal intestinal diseases, as well as a formidable life-threatening condition - necrotizing enterocolitis of newborns.

Quite often, infants on mixtures develop intolerance to animal milk proteins (bovine, goat) with the development of allergic reactions, in particular, food allergies in the form of atopic dermatitis. Unfortunately, in the future, such children are at risk for the development of allergic bronchitis, bronchial asthma.

Artificial feeding increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, as well as obesity associated with excess formula intake that exceeds the needs of the child. Perhaps the development of seizures due to excess content in mixtures of sodium, calcium, phosphorus.

Infants receiving formula may have reduced intellectual development due to a lack of amino acids, omega-fatty acids, which are necessary for the growing brain of a child.

In addition, according to some studies, not breastfeeding increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.


And what are the disadvantages of late weaning?

Not only abroad, but also in Russia, there are many studies that have proven the benefits of mother's milk at any time of feeding. After a year, breast milk changes its composition, but not for the worse.

The main reason for these changes is that milk is no longer the main food for the baby, and other functions come to the fore.

The older the child becomes, the greater the concentration of immunoglobulins in milk increases, which protect the child from infectious diseases. Breast milk contains leukocytes and a number of anti-infectious factors, as well as antibodies against infectious agents previously transferred by the mother.

How does breastfeeding affect the child's psyche?

Today it is becoming very fashionable to instill early independence in children, and premature weaning is seen by some parents as a means to make the child more independent.

However, psychologists who are closely involved in the study of child development warn that premature weaning can, on the contrary, provoke a delay in emotional development and increase dependence on parents. Imposed independence turns into psychological isolation and abandonment. It is much better to give the child the opportunity to become independent when he is ready for it.

This is well illustrated by the results of foreign studies: for example, one of them showed that the greatest achievements in school were in children who were fed longer. And in the course of another, they found that the longer a child breastfeeds, the better social adaptation goes later, at the age of six to eight. Both mothers and teachers acknowledged that babies who were breastfed for a long time were much less likely to develop problem behaviors.

Yes, and Russian doctors, who undertook to study the effect of breastfeeding on the neuropsychic development of children, found that babies who ate their mother's milk for a long time show much better results both at two years, in tests of speech development, and at three years , in tests of the correct performance of skills.

Many long-term breastfeeding mothers successfully combine feeding with work, and also take their children to kindergartens. Applications remain only at bedtime and at night. The rest of the time, the baby usually does not need to breastfeed. Ideally, the child should stop asking for breasts during the day, and then at bedtime and at night. As a rule, this happens about 2.5 - 3 years.

But if the child continues to breastfeed after 3.5 years, this may indicate some psychological problems of the baby or mother, in this case it is advisable to contact a psychologist, but not an ordinary one, but a friendly one for long-term feeding.


What if I can't breastfeed?

Sergey Butriy
SERGEY BUTRIY
Pediatrician, author of books on child health
A well-known doctor spoke about this in a podcast for Cuprum.

- One of the most "explosive" topics in the pediatrician's office after vaccinations is breastfeeding. Now it's fashionable to be for GW. Of course, formula is not quite the same as breast milk. There is only one "but".

Mothers who failed to breastfeed for health reasons experience a huge sense of guilt. They are pressed by society, other mothers, breastfeeding consultants. Many become depressed because of this, trying to feed through physical pain. But not so perishing GV and it is important. "Die but feed" is not our method. And there are many such mothers, they come to the doctor and cry. It hurts them even to think that they will not give something to the child.

Breastfeeding is great, but it's not the only way. Artificial feeding is not shameful. You can raise a healthy child and mixtures. The main thing is that mom is calm.

Published on parents.ru

Breastfeeding on demand

You can often hear from a nursing mother: "I feed on demand, my baby requires a breast every 3.5 hours." Or: “I have always fed on demand. In a year, we already had 1 feeding in the evening, and my child calmly refused to breastfeed. Before talking about the demand of the child, it is necessary to find out what modern women mean when they say - "I breastfeed. "

Modern mothers consider breastfeeding essential for feeding their baby. Just for feeding. Breast milk is food, the mother supplies the baby with the nutrients necessary for growth and development. When a baby suckles at the breast, he eats. Breastfeeding makes sense only as a process of supplying proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements.

During suckling, the baby receives the 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 justified from a biological point of view. A newborn child does not feel the feeling of hunger, this feeling is not formed in him. It will begin to form at about two months of age. How to feed a creature that does not experience hunger ?! How to encourage him to take some action to get food? This can be done only at the expense of some other incentives. This stimulus for the newborn is constant bodily discomfort, thanks to which he wants to suckle all the time! The most intense, frequent and prolonged sucking in infants is observed in the first two or three months of life. It is in these first months that the main weight gain of the baby occurs.

Feeding in the first month

Baby falls asleep with the breast in his mouth, 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.

Daytime naps of a one-month-old baby feeding on demand vary in duration and number. There can be 4-6 dreams during the day, and they can last from 5-15 minutes to 2-2.5 sometimes 3 hours. "Around" each dream, the baby is applied to the chest, and applied between dreams several times. At night, the child falls asleep at the breast. Usually in the early morning hours, he begins to fuss and apply. In the morning, he almost never fully wakes up. The baby sleeps, from time to time, sucking on his mother's breast. Waking up in the morning, the baby is again applied to the chest. If you count all the attachments that have happened in a baby of one month of age, then approximately 16-20 attachments are obtained. This is how a newborn human cub behaves if it is given the opportunity to behave in accordance with physiological and psychological needs, which, by the way, are genetically determined. The child of the first months of life does not separate his personality from the personality of the mother and from her breast. Mom and her breasts, and everything connected with them, are the universe of the baby and himself.

In most cases, a modern woman, being afraid to “accustom a child to hands”, strives to limit his requests for suckling. A pacifier and a bottle of tea or water come to her aid in this matter. They, too, can be sucked ... The need for sucking seems to be satisfied. But only the need for communication with the mother during suckling is not satisfied, the peculiar chain of mutual assistance and cooperation between mother and baby is destroyed, the formation of maternal affection and concentration is disrupted. Is the difference in the two actions noticeable to the reader: the baby cried, the mother took him, put him to her chest and started rocking him, or gave him a pacifier and started rocking the stroller, even with the words “Why are you crying, my sun?”

The modern woman who gives a pacifier and pumps a stroller is not a bad person who deliberately harms an infant. She is simply in captivity of prejudices regarding the relationship between mother and baby. She does not know how to behave correctly, does not know what to do in accordance with the natural needs of the child. If you tell her what the child really needs, she will exclaim in horror: “What is it, don’t let him get away with?!” Indeed, the child of the first months of life must not be let off the hook. For a woman who does not know how to comfortably carry a baby, and who does not know how to feed him in various positions (sitting, lying, standing and even moving), this can be very difficult. Especially if she is not sure of the correctness of her actions.

An action that should become automatic for the mother of a newborn: when the baby cries or shows other signs of anxiety, put the baby to the breast.

What's next?

The baby is growing. A fairly stable rhythm of daytime sleep begins to form in him, and a 3-4-month-old baby behaves quite differently from a newborn. Feeding on demand at this age looks something like this...

  • At three months, the baby has 10-12 feeds during the day and 2-4 at night. There are frequent applications for a short time, but their number is reduced. There may be a long night break in feedings, about 5 hours, but this is very rare. Much more often the night break is 2.5-3.5 hours. By this age, the baby's body is noticeably rounded.
  • At four months, the baby begins to breastfeed noticeably less frequently. The main feedings are associated with sleep: the baby suckles before bedtime, during awakening and during sleep, both daytime and nighttime. In this regard, he has a fairly accurate feeding regimen. And many babies stop breastfeeding when they wake up after daytime sleep, sometimes as early as 2.5-3 months.
  • At five months, the baby has 8-10 daytime feedings and 2-3 nighttime feedings, as well as in the fourth month of life, they are organized around dreams - the baby eats when he goes to bed and some babies suckle when they wake up.
  • Feeding regimen changes at six months. The most active sucking shifts to the last 2-3 hours before waking up from a night's sleep. The period of daytime wakefulness can be divided into two periods: in the morning, when the baby sucked during the night is rarely applied to the breast, and in the evening, when attachments become very frequent. In total, there can be 7-10 day applications and 3-4 night applications. At this age, the baby begins a period of acquaintance with new food - pedagogical complementary foods. Sometimes there are attachments associated with the introduction of complementary foods, the baby “washes down” samples of new food with mother's milk. But many children do not want to drink complementary foods. When complementary foods are introduced to an on-demand baby, it is never meant to replace feedings with complementary foods. This is practically impossible, because the main feedings of the baby are associated with sleep, and mother's breakfasts, lunches and dinners, during which the baby gets acquainted with new food, are located between the baby's dreams, during his wakefulness.
  • At seven months, the application frequency 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 again recall this habit. 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 much the same way.
  • At the age of one and a half years, there may already be one daytime nap, so there are fewer attachments related to 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, basically 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 wrong. After the birth of a baby, a mother begins another life, she is called life with a baby. That's all. The child is with the mother, not the mother with the child! Feel the difference! You need to be able to organize your life in a different way, in the first months, of course, the help of loved ones is very necessary. In the tradition of many peoples, it was customary for the first 40 days after childbirth to remove a woman from any housework and household chores, she was engaged only in a child. In some nations, objects that the mother of a newborn touched were considered “unclean”, therefore, they preferred to protect the mother from the rest of the household, allocating her a separate “corner” of the house, where no one bothered her and she did not interfere with anyone. Among the Slavs, such a restrictive custom was called a six-week. By 1.5-2 months, the rhythm of daytime dreams begins to form, and the baby has a kind of “regime”, the mother becomes more free.

For a mother who can't imagine breastfeeding without looking back at the clock, and who is sure that the “right” baby is the baby lying quietly in her crib all the time, feeding on demand will be a complete hassle. It will be much easier for such a mother if she stops looking at the clock and ties the baby to herself with a large scarf or uses a patchwork holder (sling). It will become easier for her if she stops running between the nursery and the kitchen, but takes the baby with her to the kitchen and carries him around the house with her, doing housework, in a box, a cradle, a special chair, if she tries not to put him off often, and pick up as soon as possible, postponing the baby only in case of emergency and not for long.

Breastfeeding is not the same as house arrest. In the conditions of modern society, it is possible to organize the exit of a nursing mother to work from about 6 months of age of the baby. If necessary, you can start working from the age of 4 months, but, of course, it is better not every day of the week and not full time. It is the responsibility of a breastfeeding consultant to help a mother organize her return to work.

Sometimes, when I advise mothers on breastfeeding, I suggest that they forget for a second that they are already living in the 21st century. I propose to return, for example, to the cave and ask what they will do if the child woke up at night, how to calm him down? If you are walking through the forest and trying not to attract the attention of predators, how to make the baby silent? If the child is thirsty, what will you give him? What is the baby used to, for thousands of years of its existence? To the fact that he sleeps on his mother while she wanders through the forest with a digging stick in search of roots, and wakes up when mother stops. Since mom stopped, then there is time to wake up and suck. Therefore, even now the child sleeps well, tied to the mother with a patchwork holder, wakes up when the mother, having done a few household chores, sits in a chair to take care of the baby.

Some mother, reading about the cave, will 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.

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