Breastfeeding Questions And Answers
Q. How often should a newborn be nursed?
A. You should nurse a newborn no less than 8 times a day,
depending upon 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 bed, then you may only have to get up one time
during the night.
Q. How often should an older baby be nursed?
A.
Depending upon the age of your child, you should be feeding him
every 3-4 hours during the day. As your child gets older, they
will nurse less, but they will be eating more during each
nursing. If you are going to nurse 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 need to add a
nursing 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 common change 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
normally takes 3 naps a day and if they eat every 3