I am a first time mom. I have a 6 week old daughter who I am tring to breastfeed. Is it normal for her to eat every 3 to 4 hours when breastfeeding? Should I get the to eat more often? How long should I let her eat at each breast?
Hi, I have just found the book that gave me all of this information & advice. It is called The Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problems and was written by a lady called Tracey Hogg it cost me £10.99, but to me it was money well spent as I treated it as my 'Baby Bible'!
Hi, sorry forgot to mention the ''Sleep Feed'' You can breast feed you daughter without waking her at say about 10.30pm-11pm every night which should also help her to sleep loner through the night so you don't have to get up during the night to feed her when she wakes- you are feeding her before she wakes because she is hungry. I hope you understand what I mean, if not get in touch with me.
Try this link http://www.lalecheleague.com/ they are a great sourse of breast feeding information and support. When I was breast feeding I called them with questions. They are great!
Hi, yes 4 hourly feeds at 6 weeks are fine, don't worry, your daughter will let you know when she is hungry, Have you ever tried the E,A.S.Y. method? Eat (feed your baby) Activity(play with your baby)Sleep (put your baby down for a nap) Your Time (put your feet up!) Say you feed her at 7am takes maybe 30mins then ''play''for to 2 to 2-1/2 hours ,change nappie, sing ect.. then let her have a nap for about 1 hour(this is when you really should orest, read a book or whatever you want to do. Hope this helps as I found that this routine worked wonders for me & my daughter, let me know what you think?
Hiya. It sounds completely normal. I am breast feeding my second child at the moment he is 7 months. My first baby was also breast fed for 6 months, which I didn't find easy being a first time Mum. Around 6 weeks it is apparently normal for breast fed babies to seem hungrier and to have a growth spurt. Even though you have no time for yourself! It will get easier and as your baby's stomach grows and holds milk for longer she will feed more regular. My babies fed on demand and I let them guide me to how much they needed. They will get enough milk as long as they have 24 hour access to it! With my frist baby I didn't have a very healthy diet and didn't drink enough water. However, now I drink loads of water and it's helping me to keep healthy as well as the baby. Good luck and keep up the hard work Your baby looks lovely.
Every 3-4 hrs sounds great as long as she is showing all the signs of getting enough milk (some weight gain, fairly content after feeds, at least 6 wet nappies a day, good skin tone etc). Let her feed until she has finished one side (either she comes off by herself or has been comfort sucking for a while) burp her change her if she needs it then offer the other side. She'll let you know if she doesn't want it. It is normal for babies to eat anywhere from every 2-4 hrs and to stay on the breast varying amounts of time (mine where both every 2 hrs 30minute feeds in the early days)
Yep 3 to 4 hours sounds quite normal
I used to breastfeed 10 minutes each side but which ever breast I started with I would remember so I started with the opposite next time, as the second side they don't suck so hard and I didn't want uneven breasts LOL
xx
I wore a scrunchie (big hairband) on my wrist and swapped it to the "fullest" side during each feed so I always knew which side to start on next time (ie if I started a feed on the right, I moved it to the left). I couldnt remember otherwise!
My first baby eventually settled into a feeding frequency of once every three hours for an hour in the morning, once every two hours for an hour in the afternoon and once an hour for about 55 mins in the evening, and then a long bedtime feed followed by shorter feeds every 2 hours at night. And she only gained 2oz a week on average, but she was VERY alert - used her energy up on being nosy!
My second baby has to fit in with her big sister but she feeds less often, for less time (often cut short out of necessity) and is growing much quicker! So different!!! I just demand feed and I'm not even sure how often she's doing it, but she's alert and growing, so she must be ok!
I used one of those little plastic bands that every charity sells...mine just happened to be pink for breast cancer.... I put it to the side to start on and switched wrists during the feed. But, by 6 weeks, I am sure you have got the whole feeding thing down. I think I only wore it for the first few weeks. They do sell ones called milk bands....
Scrunchie is a great idea
Mine was similar I used to attach a small safety pin to the bra cup that I was supposed to start with next feed. It all becomes a blur doesn't it trying to remember which side
xx
hey i know what you mean about it being rock hard lol
youch but hey it was worth it and i wish i was breast feeding even now... but i had to stop due to the anti biotics i went on 2 month after she was born....... and well after a month of bottle feeding it hard to go back....
my experience was every 3-4 hours and only 10-15 minutes on one side i would give her the other side next feed....
you see every child is different and my daughter was a guzzle guts....and I produced too much milk.... I went to the doctor to make sure it was ok that she was feeding this way and was told yes by him and a paediatrician and the health nurse... because she was steadily still gaining weight and was very healthy....
so If I were you I would not panic you can always see doctor if concerned....
just one thing though dont change sides until she has emptied the first breast because you could end up not giving her the hind milk wich is all fat and that fat is vital so she can put weight on....
Hello, Breastfeeding at 6 weeks is normal to go 3-4 hours. But, don't let it go more than 4 hours during the day and if you can get that far over night, good for you! Make sure you offer the first breast until the baby is done (with a burp in the middle) then offer the second breast. If the baby wants some, fine, if not, fine. Sounds like you are doing great, keep up the good work.
If baby is dwvwloping normaly does not cry, sleeps ok than she will tell you when she wants to eat things like crying. there is no need to over feed a child. I had a neighbour that had her girl on the brest almost every 10 min (she used to throw up a lot so she would burp and throw up and her mother would put her on the brest and that would go over and over the child was masive could not walk till she was almost 2)
hey there
every 3-4 hours is fine. Perfect infact. And they reccomend no less than about 20 minutes per side. The boys used to feed for a good 45 minutes each feed. Hope this helps you some :)
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