Is it normal to breastfeed every hour

On a daily basis, your baby's diapers are the best indicator of whether she's had enough to eat. From age five days up to six to eight weeks, she should have at least five or six sopping wets and three or four palm-sized yellow bowel movements every 24 hours. After six to eight weeks, some babies develop a pattern of fewer bowel movements but should continue with at least five or six sopping wets along with a good weight gain. We don't know all the reasons, but it's probably connected to changing fat levels in mother's milk.

The amount of fat varies somewhat from feeding to feeding and within each feeding. If some time has passed since the last feeding, the milk at the beginning of the feeding is lower in fat like skim milk , then it becomes more like whole milk, and then high in fat like cream toward the end of the feeding. When feedings are more closely spaced as in cluster feeding , they're higher in fat. Your baby needs to get this creamy milk to help her grow well, and to help her brain develop.

Happily, many babies will take a longer stretch of sleep right after they cluster because getting the creamier milk helps to slow the digestion and makes the baby feel fuller. It's okay to let your baby take this longer stretch of sleep after a cluster.

You don't need to wake her up in two to three hours at that time '- just enjoy the break! Research indicates that trying to manipulate a baby's natural feeding pattern too much '- especially trying to make her wait longer for the next feeding—can lead to problems like low milk supply and poor weight gain in the baby. The longer between feedings, the greater the signal to the breast to reduce its production of milk. 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.

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. As your baby grows and her body changes, her feeding patterns will likely change, too. During these times, your baby may spend 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 weeks, around weeks, at 3 months, and again at 6 months.

Most lactation consultants recommend that you wait to offer a bottle until your baby is around 4 weeks old and breastfeeding is well established. Once I counted the number of times my first baby went to the breast over 24 hours counting each nursing at one breast as one time , and the total was not eight, not 12, but 35!

Your baby may not nurse quite that often, but many do. Babies start out with small stomachs, and they need to eat frequently because they are only able to take a small amount of milk at each feeding. To get milk production going, it works better to nurse 16 times a day for 10 minutes at a time than eight times a day for 20 minutes at a time. Most newborn babies only drink about a teaspoon ml of colostrum at each feed on day one. This is just perfect as their tummy is about the size of a cherry and holds about 7mls at each feed on day one!

Perfectly designed! Colostrum is a sugary delicious drink but it is not jam-packed with fat at this stage, which means baby needs to keep feeding very often to stay full up. Remember, every time your baby feeds it helps your breasts build your milk supply in the first month. As your milk increases in volume, from around day 3 onwards, you will notice your baby starts to have longer sleep periods of around 1. During the first month , newborn babies need to feed on average 8 — 12 times every 24 hours to ensure they are getting enough milk and that you stimulate the breasts enough to keep building your milk supply.

One you have established a good milk supply in the first month you may find that your baby changes their feeding pattern again. Many mums report this happens around weeks after birth.

After this first month, research has shown us that babies will breastfeed anywhere from times every 24 hours, but most babies still feed on average feeds every day.

It is just down to the levels of fat in your milk and fat levels change throughout the day and the amount of milk your breast can hold at each feed, as well as how your baby is feeling. Most babies find breastfeeding very comforting and, just like if we feel upset a hug can do wonders. Likewise, a short extra breastfeed does the same for calming our babies! It will most likely be completely different from yours. There are, of course, some mums who say that a routine was the best thing for their baby.

For most babies, a strict routine does not work!