How often did your baby breastfeed during the first few weeks?

Question

Just wondering about how often a newborn may eat. I know they say every 1-3 hours but I was wanting people with experience to let me know how it went for them personally.

Answer 1

For me, the first month was the tough one. My daughter had jaundice, which made her really lethargic. I had to stip her down and tickle her little head and body to keep her awake during feedings. It would literally take an hour to feed her because she fell asleep every few seconds. In the meantime, my opposite breast would be POURING milk. I had to keep at least 2 handtowels with me at all feedings, because I would soak right thru my breast pad and a towel or two. By the time she finished eating, she was hungry again in another hour. I was VERY thankful to be staying with my mom at the time, because my husband had to work and couldnt be there to help me all the time. There were times she would literally be crying right next to me and I wouldnt hear her, or I would fall asleep sitting up feeding her. But dont worry! By three months old, she was sleeping 8-10 hours at night. I breastfed for a full year, and after that first month, it was an absolute breeze, and I even missed it when she weaned. She was totally healthy the whole time, and never got sick once. Breastfeeding was the best thing I have ever done, and I plan on doing it with all our future children as well. I'm part of a yahoo group that supports breastfeeding. Its a great place to get support from other women who have been there. You should come check it out. Even if you arent breastfeeding yet, you are more than welcome to join us. Its a fantastic place to get advice, support, ask questions, etc. Check it out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milkdrunk/

also, feel free to instant message me at [e-mail] Besides my own breastfeeding experience, I have read A LOT about it.

Answer 2

My son nurse ALL THE TIME the first 2 weeks. He would nurse 20 minutes on one side, 10-15 on the other, sleep for 30 minutes, start over again. For about 2 hours in the evening all he wanted to do was nurse. The first few weeks are rough - your body is tired from having given birth, you're adjusting to being responsible for another little person, and you don't get long stretches of sleep. But the more often your baby nurses throughout the first few weeks the less likely you are to have supply problems over the course of your breastfeeding relationship. It gets much more manageable once your baby is 2 weeks old or so.

Answer 3

Well I had a lot of problems due to some medical malpractice (they gave my son too much of the wrong kind of glucose IV). So I had pumping and all sorts of craziness.

However realistically breastmilk digests in 60-90 minutes, and during the first 6 weeks they are building up your supply. It isn't unusual to hear moms describe breastfeeding during the first 6 weeks as "Every hour, for an hour" ie they never stop.

Mind you some babies get the hang of it very fast and would rather suck their thumbs, they probably only feed every 2 hours or so for 2-10minutes.

Good luck! Also La Leche League encourages moms to go to meetings when they are pregnant. So you might want to do that and meet some breastfeeding moms and hear their stories AND have some local moms to support you if you need it:

Start here, change the country in the upper right if you aren't American:
http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html

Oh and you also should read this site
http://www.kellymom.com

Answer 4

The first few weeks are the hardest, you have to expect to be feeding more than you had anticipated.
I always feel that is all I seem to be doing for at least the first 6 weeks, every time I put them away, baby was needing them out again! 1-3 hours is an ideal, not necessarily a reality.
Good luck.

Answer 5

For me, it was every hour and a half on the dot for the first 2 months, then it went down to every two and a half for the next 3 months. But, keep in mind, my baby on suckled on one breast each feeding, so she had to eat more often. They'll all be different. And, I think sometimes, she just wanted a "big" pacifier. It soothed her before sleeping.

Answer 6

Well, it depends on the baby. My baby liked to nurse frequently, although in the first few weeks she slept a lot and we had to wake her every 2 hours to feed her. When she was going through any growth spurts - look out! She wanted to breastfeed pretty much hourly!

Answer 7

My kids nursed pretty much every 2 hours like clockwork.
More is normal for some babies in the early weels.
Breastmilk digests in about 90 minutes.
The first 6 weeks is the hardest part.

Answer 8

My first grazed every 2 hours, even at night. My second gorged for about 1 and 1/2 hours every 6- 8 hours. each one is different.

Answer 9

The first few weeks? Probably every 45min-hour. I remember the nurse in the hospital told us every 3 hours and my husband and i got into an arguement in the hospital because it 'hadn't been 3 hours'! Men are nuts.

Answer 10

Every 2 hrs is how often my kids nursed. It's tough at first but hang in there. The benefits are worth the lost sleep!