Breastfeeding and sleeping schedule...?

Question

If you breastfeed your little one, how often do you do it? Every one, one and a half, two hours, or more? How old is your baby? In the beginning how often did they wake up during the day/night? I realize every baby is different. I'm just wondering about other people's routine.

30 wks pregnant w/ my baby boy

Answer 1

I breastfed 2 babies. The doctors and nurses say every 2-3 hours. I had a problem with my 1st one always falling asleep after a few minutes on one breast. I had to undress the baby, flick his feet to keep her awake. At night, I had the baby in my room in her cradle and when she would wake up, I would just lay her next to me in bed and nurse and we'd both fall asleep.

The other issue I had was the baby didn't want to latch on the nipple. I almost gave up nursing and contact the La Leche Organization for their help. My son latched on with no problem.

Check out the La Leche site for more questions on breastfeading: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/frequency.html

Congratulations and Good Luck!

Answer 2

When your breastfeed, you need to do it on demand. Usually that is about every 2 hours to begin with. Sometimes babies will want to eat more often, and sometimes they will go longer. With my last one he slept almost 6 hours between 1 feeding before we even left the hospital! That didn't last! I slept in the same bed with my babies, which they do not recomend, but my baby would wake up, I would role over, latch him on to the other side, and go back to sleep. Now my baby will be a year old tomorrow. Currently he nurses in the morning before I go to work, and at night before bed with 2 milk bottles in between. When I am home, he will nurse one more time in the middle of the day and have a cup of milk. The most important thing to remember when breastfeeding a little one is to do it on demand. Those who used formula may tell you that your baby is eating too often, but they aren't. Breastmilk is easier to digest, so babies may need to eat more often. Sometimes a newborn will cluster feed, which may mean your baby wants to eat every hour for a couple of hours. Also, when they say a baby eats every 2 hours, thats from when you start a feeding, until you start the next feeding, not when you end a feeding! And remember to drink lots of water! Enjoy nursing your little one when they get here! While the first couple of weeks may be hard, both you and baby are learning, for me it was worth it with all 3 of my children! Email if you have any other questions, now or later!

Answer 3

The first two weeks, my baby was very sleepy and was a 'lazy eater.' Some nurses said to wake her every two hours to eat, and others said wait for her wake herself. So, I struck a balance and would wake her if she went more than three hours without eating.

She soon started waking on her own to eat about every 1-2 hours. I am feeding on demand and now at 2 1/2 months she will sometimes stretch 3-4 hours between feedings - especially at night. When she hits a growth spurt, though, she goes back to eating every hour or two 24/7.

Answer 4

With my first son, I probably breastfed every 2 hours for the first few weeks and then every 3 hours after about 6-8 weeks except at night when he went longer stretches. Luckily, he started sleeping 8 hours straight at night at 8 weeks old. I didn't feed according to a clock but according to his needs so you could be feeding every 90 minutes sometimes and then the next time he might go 3 hours. Don't expect a routine for at least 2-4 months. I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Good luck

Answer 5

I nursed my daughter as often as she needed/wanted to nurse. In the beginning, it was sometimes every 20 minutes! As she got older, she naturally went longer between feedings. She was a frequent night nurser as well, particularly when teething. I had her in bed with me, so the night wakings weren't a huge issue.

Answer 6

Breastfeed on demand. Your baby will set his own schedule. Do not try to force him to wait to eat or eat at specific times. Eventually you will fall into a routine.

Answer 7

Once every two hours.