Frequently Ask Questions for Breastfeeding
Q. How often should a newborn be nursed?
A. You
should nurse a newborn no less than 8 times a day, depending on how long he
sleeps between feedings at night. If he
can go four hours between feedings, then you will probably feed him twice
between 11pm and 7am. If you feed him
right before he goes to sleep, then you may only have to wake up once during
the night.
Q. How often should an older baby be
breastfed?
A.
Depending upon the age of your child, you should be feeding him every 3-4 hours
during the day. When your child gets
older, they will nurse less, but they will be eating more during each breast
feeding. If you are going to breastfeed
after your child is over 6 months old, you should not nurse less than 5 times a
day. If your milk supply is decreasing,
then you may require to add a breast feeding or two to your day to help
increase your milk supply.
Q. How do I go about dropping a feeding as my
baby gets older?
A. The
most usual alteration that moms need to make is going from a every 3 hour to
every 4 hour routine, dropping a feeding in the middle of the night, or
dropping a late-night feeding.
Most of
the time you will know when your baby is ready to change their eating habits by
a change in their sleep patterns. A baby
that has been on an every 3 hour routine generally demands 3 naps a day and if
they eat every 3,5 to 4 hours then they may drop the last nap of the nap or
shorten one of the other naps substantially.
Babies are commonly ready to do this at around 3 months aged.
Most
babies drop the feeding in the middle of night by themselves at around 6-14
weeks old. You will know that they are
ready when you awake in a panic in the morning questioning why your baby did
not require you for a feeding. The baby
will need more food during the day though, and if you are breastfeeding, your
breasts may feel full for some days.
The
late night feeding is generally the hardest to release. Some parents believe that if they do not feed
the baby right before bed the baby will
wake up in the middle of the night. If
you don’t think your child can do without the late night feeding, then push it
back in 15-minute increases until you are feeding him at the time you would
like to. If the last two feedings of the
day seem too close together, don’t worry.
It will all work itself out and you both will be much happier for
it!