How often do you nurse your baby?

[ktgrok]

A friend and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the biggest lies in parenting is that babies only need to nurse ever 2-3 hours. I find my newborns nurse almost constantly, and even now at 9 months she usually nurses for a few minutes every hour or so at least. So....how often did you nurse your baby in the first month or so, and did you need to supplement with formula?

 

Edited to clarify...this is during the day, not at night. hopefully we all got at least a bit of a longer break at night.

Edited November 21, 2010 by ktgrok

[LittleIzumi]

Whenever he asks ;).

 

Dd2 nursed almost constantly for almost the first year, and quite often for much longer.

 

This little one will cluster feed (nurse on both sides repeatedly for an hour or two) and then sleep for several hours, and then cluster feed again.

 

No formula for either.

[Chris in VA]

You know, I didn't really keep track--just as needed. Not usually every hour, tho, as I did try to encourage more than just a nip or two at a time, so I could make sure the baby was getting the hindmilk, not just the foremilk.

 

ETA: Remember nursing time is counted as the beginning of one session to the beginning of another.

[Jean in Newcastle]

A friend and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the biggest lies in parenting is that babies only need to nurse ever 2-3 hours. I find my newborns nurse almost constantly, and even now at 9 months she usually nurses for a few minutes every hour or so at least. So....how often did you nurse your baby in the first month or so, and did you need to supplement with formula?

 

This wasn't a lie for my two children. They nursed every 2 to 3 hours - usually closer to 3 hours but closer together during a growth spurt. They never supplemented and thrived.

[ktgrok]

This wasn't a lie for my two children. They nursed every 2 to 3 hours - usually closer to 3 hours but closer together during a growth spurt. They never supplemented and thrived.

 

Maybe we just have the weird kids. How long did they nurse for? Mine usually only nurse for 10 minutes. In the evening Molly cluster feeds for a while though, and then sleeps for 7 hours, so that rocks :)

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

This wasn't a lie for my two children. They nursed every 2 to 3 hours - usually closer to 3 hours but closer together during a growth spurt. They never supplemented and thrived.

 

Same here. I had ample milk supply and could stretch them to 4 and then at 6 weeks they slept through the night.

 

I know saying all this is like being a Nutri System spokesperson. I need a disclaimer: "Results not typical blah blah blah."

:D

[ElizabethB]

I started mine out at 2, then spread them out to 3 hours. They were both fat babies. My daughter also cluster fed at night and slept through for a long time!

 

My son started out taking 30 minutes then got down to where he could suck down an amazing amount of milk in 10 minutes!

 

My daughter started out taking 45 minutes and got down to 15 minutes. Since I only had her and she didn't care if I read a book while nursing, I didn't mind how long she took.

 

I also did one side at a time with my daughter after a few months, it helped her colic. Since it seemed to work better for her, I did the same with my son just in case. I looked a little lopsided right before nursing, but the babies were fat and happy.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Maybe we just have the weird kids. How long did they nurse for? Mine usually only nurse for 10 minutes. In the evening Molly cluster feeds for a while though, and then sleeps for 7 hours, so that rocks :)

 

They nursed for a good 20 to 30 minutes. But while that worked for my babies, I don't think that it is a formula(pun intended:D) that works for every baby.

[myfatherslily]

I think the misinformation comes when babies are required to wait, even though they are hungry, simply because they are told they don't "need" to. Some really don't need to. Some DO need more food. And some just want, even need their mama time:) Mine generally nursed every 2 hours. That's when they got hungry. But my middle child did frequently nurse more than that because 1)he refused a paci and 2)he had, and still has, a deep need to be close to mommy. I think it just brought him lots of love and comfort knowing he was snuggled as close as he could be to me. He was also my fattest baby - imagine that!;)

Oh, another thing is that I would have them nurse just one side for 2 hours... does that make sense? Like they would nurse the left side from 1:00-3:00 pm. Then from 3:00-5:00 pm, it'd be the right. Then if they wanted to nurse more often than 2 hours, I was sure they weren't getting too much foremilk.

 

(ETA: I just wanted to clarify that I don't think a schedule is BAD. Gently encouraging a schedule that works for both mommy and baby is certainly something I've seen work great for a lot of my friends and family! I just hate to hear of something strictly adhering to a schedule that isn't working just because they think it should)

Edited November 21, 2010 by myfatherslily

[LibraryLover]

I had very nurse-y kids. I would say that 10-12 times day in the newborn period was not unusual. We didn't supplement.

[Ellie]

It's hard to remember--younger dd is 32yo--but I really would have said "all day long" for awhile, bless her heart. I never gave either of my babies formula.

[nd293]

I put 2 hrs because I don't want to exagerate, but at times it was certainly more often. And YES, with mine it was 24hrs a day, every 2-3hrs until they were close to a year. At least. Ds is nearly 4yrs, and I am still tired...

 

Nikki

[Crimson Wife]

Except during growth spurts, I would say about every 2 hours give or take 20-30 minutes. There were definitely days when it was WAY more than that, LOL! But while those days were a pain-in-the-rear when they occurred, they were fortunately the exception rather the norm.

[wendybird]

I put every two hours, no formula. They would(still do) nurse for 10-20 minutes and be good for 2+. As others have said growth spurts were more frequently.I nurse on demand. I don't have any friends to compare this too...none of them nursed past one month.(One did, but she moved and I don't know her schedule :P ).

As a rabbit trail...I hated the nurse in the hospital(first four babies) coming in and asking how long they nursed for and then saying it wasn't long enough. My babies never lost weight after birth, literally gained from day one. They were all fat babies by one month...like quadruple chin fat. Yet the charts said they had to nurse both sides for x amount of time, and even if my way was working they would tell me to do it differently. I don't think breastfeeding is an exact science.

[dirty ethel rackham]

You should have had a button that said "when he was hungry." For me, it was variable. In the beginning and during growth spurts, it was probably every hour. There were times during the day (or night) when it was every 3. Basically, it was variable.

[Nestof3]

I just have to say that this thread really has me missing my babies and wishing I had taken more time to just relax and nurse them more. :crying:

[KidsHappen]

I nursed on demand and for as long as they wanted. There were some days were it really was most of the day. The last two were nursed until they were two and a half and three and a half. I still nursed in public but once they were old enough to understand I could tell them to wait until we could find somewhere out of the way to sit or until we got to the car.

[Kim in Appalachia]

My first nursed every 3 hrs and would only nurse for 5 to 10 minutes. The 2nd nursed almost every 1 1/2 hrs (or less) in the morning (and she nursed for 30 to 40 minutes), but by late afternoon she stretched it out to 3 hrs, then she would sleep all night. My 3rd nursed somewhere between 2 to 3 hrs, again, more often in the morning and he would nurse for at least 20 minutes. My 4th also nursed long, but usually went closer to 3 hrs between feedings. I have no idea what my 5th did. I just nursed him when he seemed hungry, I never looked at a clock, and I was too busy to notice how long he nursed for. :001_smile:

[Heather in WI]

This wasn't a lie for my two children. They nursed every 2 to 3 hours - usually closer to 3 hours but closer together during a growth spurt. They never supplemented and thrived.

 

I have a six month old. He currently nurses about every 3 hours (sometimes 2 1/2, sometimes 4 hours) and sleeps a good 10-12 hours at night. He nurses 5-10 minutes on each side each feeding. He's my fourth and the others followed a similar pattern.

[silliness7]

A friend and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the biggest lies in parenting is that babies only need to nurse ever 2-3 hours. I find my newborns nurse almost constantly, and even now at 9 months she usually nurses for a few minutes every hour or so at least. So....how often did you nurse your baby in the first month or so, and did you need to supplement with formula?

 

Edited to clarify...this is during the day, not at night. hopefully we all got at least a bit of a longer break at night.

 

I was always told that newborns nurse every 1-2 hours. I found that to be true but somewhere around 6 - 10 weeks they settled into 2-3 hours and probably about 3-4 mos. were even at 3-4 hours depending on the nap. I did not schedule my babies' feedings. I fed them when they were hungry and this was their general pattern. At 9 mos. my babies only nursed at breakfast/lunch/dinner and bed time. How far apart is that? 4-5 hours maybe? I did have them on solid food by this time. I can't imagine nursing every hour for 9+ months...my personality is not suited to that...but different strokes for different folks. :001_smile:

 

I nursed 5 of mine exclusively not supplementing with formula. I only fed one side at a time and a nursing session lasted from 30-60 min. I also had very FAT babies. :001_smile:

[HappyCrazyMama]

My newborns wanted to nurse every 1-2 hours. :)

[Annie Laurie]

naking my 4 day old...

 

he nurses more than every 2 hours and doesn't need supplementation. i was browsing through the sears baby book earlier and he mentions noticing the babies who were fed more frequently were less fussy. mine just always need to nurse a lot.

[SilverMoon]

I voted every 1-2 hours for my current nursling, but some of his siblings could have been in the 2-3 hour range. This little guy nurses all. the. time. No amount of feeding him ahead of time will mean he won't need to nurse as soon as we get to a big kid event, and in the middle, and probably one for the road too. There's a reason he's 14lb at 2.5 months old. :p

[Carrie12345]

It's been too long for me to really remember with my girls, but I do know that I tried to stick to some sort of schedule. That lasted 6-8 weeks with each of them.

My youngest was strictly on-demand, whether it was an hour or 4 hours. That lasted 11 months. This one will be on-demand as well.

[Lolly]

4 here and all went 2-3 hours between. A growth spurt might have them more frequent, but as a general rule it was more like 3 hours. All were plenty fat and healthy. No formula except when they were in NICU (first 3) before coming home. With my first, I even had to wake her every 3 hours to feed her at first.

 

 

I have to wonder about the every hour feeding. How long did they nurse? I don't think I could have done it if they were constantly nursing. With mine every 3 hours, they would nurse for about 20-30 minutes at a time. Do the every hour babies only nurse for like 5-10 or something? There is no way I could have nursed half of the day on a regular basis.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Lolly

[Mama Geek]

I am even now with dd at 5 mo struggling to keep her off formula. I have added some solid food in the last few weeks.

[Soror]

I agree w/ the pp the problem lies in that some babies can go longer between feeds and some cannot. Anything that says babies have to do this or that is rubbish.

 

I have always nursed on demand, my first nursed constantly , now in hindsight I think that was due to unknown intolerances and him trying to sooth an upset tummy. Number 2 and 3 nursed plenty but not as much. Number 3 is just turning 1 yr old and sometimes goes 3 -4 hrs between feeds but also cluster nurses in the early morning and the afternoon.

 

I have never used supplementation or any artificial nipples, I don't want to encourage early weaning, which to me would be anything less than 2 yrs.

[Closeacademy]

My oldest would nurse for about an hour at a time with about 1-2 hours in-between until she was about 2 months old. Then I returned to work. I pumped but she would only nurse from me so we would have about 3 hours between feedings and she would nurse for 3 hours at night before bed, nursing until she threw up then nursing to sleep.

 

My youngest nursed about 15-20 times a day until she was about 15-18 months. These lasted from 30-40 min as a newborn to 5-15 min as a toddler.

 

Hope this helps.:001_smile:

[2squared]

Hmmmm....my 3 week old certainly doesn't have a schedule yet, so I wouldn't be able to vote. The question was for the first month, right? Friday night he went 4.5 hours between feedings, but last night I was lucky to go 1.5 hours. Same for the daytime - at least one feeding during the day is 3+ hours, but the others are more like 1.5 hours.

 

Maybe none of this is true. I'm so sleep deprived that last night I dreamt I was feeding him only to wake up and realize that he was in his bed crying for me. Why wasn't he dreaming that he was eating so I could get some sleep?

[Lolosoli]

I used sling and we nursed when the baby wanted to nurse. For each baby it was different and at different ages it was different. My first breastfed baby nursed non-stop (literally...that was ALL he did) and my second liked to get a good fill and then stop.

 

Get to know YOUR baby as a special and unique little person....and do what he/she "needs". They already know...we just need to trust.

[ktgrok]

4 here and all went 2-3 hours between. A growth spurt might have them more frequent, but as a general rule it was more like 3 hours. All were plenty fat and healthy. No formula except when they were in NICU (first 3) before coming home. With my first, I even had to wake her every 3 hours to feed her at first.

 

 

I have to wonder about the every hour feeding. How long did they nurse? I don't think I could have done it if they were constantly nursing. With mine every 3 hours, they would nurse for about 20-30 minutes at a time. Do the every hour babies only nurse for like 5-10 or something? There is no way I could have nursed half of the day on a regular basis.

 

The first few days mine nursed almost constantly, but once my milk came in they only nursed about 10 minutes. So instead of 20 minutes every 2 hours, or 30 minutes every 3 hours, it was 10 minutes every hour...sometimes even 5 minutes every half hour when they were very distracted and busy.

 

Another factor here may be that i live in a VERY hot and humid climate, in south florida. I often wonder if they nursed more frequently because they were thirsty, rather than hungry.

 

Either way, I'm glad to see that at least 50% nursed very frequently, and the exception was 3 hours, not the rule. It fits with what I've seen. I know several moms that ended up switching to formula because they thought they weren't making enough milk just because they baby wanted to eat more than every 2 hours. It seems that if they had known it was ok to nurse more often they might have felt more confident in their abilities. Even the hospital near me has a big sign in the rooms telling moms to nurse every 2-3 hours. From the poll it seems that is normal for some babies, but NOT the majority.

 

I'm finding this terribly interesting!

[ktgrok]

I am even now with dd at 5 mo struggling to keep her off formula. I have added some solid food in the last few weeks.

 

What a struggle, I'm so sorry. How often do you nurse? (not judging, just wondering how it fits into the data)

[myfatherslily]

I have to wonder about the every hour feeding. How long did they nurse? I don't think I could have done it if they were constantly nursing. With mine every 3 hours, they would nurse for about 20-30 minutes at a time. Do the every hour babies only nurse for like 5-10 or something? There is no way I could have nursed half of the day on a regular basis.

 

Yes, mine were very fast. And with my son who wanted to nurse a lot, I did learn to do other things at the same time. I have a distinct memory of him nursing while I put on my shoes and helped my almost-2 year old get her coat on.

[ktgrok]

Hmmmm....my 3 week old certainly doesn't have a schedule yet, so I wouldn't be able to vote. The question was for the first month, right? Friday night he went 4.5 hours between feedings, but last night I was lucky to go 1.5 hours. Same for the daytime - at least one feeding during the day is 3+ hours, but the others are more like 1.5 hours.

 

Maybe none of this is true. I'm so sleep deprived that last night I dreamt I was feeding him only to wake up and realize that he was in his bed crying for me. Why wasn't he dreaming that he was eating so I could get some sleep?

 

LOL, that is hysterical. I've SOOOO been there!!!

[GVD22]

Every 2-3 hours during the day(no formula) up til about 12 weeks of age when they started sleeping consistently through the night....my youngest is 5 months(no solids yet) and has gradually moved to nursing every 3-4 hrs between 6am to 8pm when she goes down for the night. This has been the same pattern for all of my kids. I don't think it's climate as I live in FL too. :)

Edited November 21, 2010 by GVD22

[FO4UR]

I can't vote in the poll b/c the time adjusted to the development of the baby....which was different for all 3 of mine.

 

My general rule of thumb was to wake them to eat after 2.5hrs during the day if they were napping b/c if they took a long stretch of sleep it was going to be be when *I* can sleep. Other than that I fed them on demand...which settled into every 2-3 hours at some point for all 3 of mine.

 

Actually, bY my 3rd baby (I had a 3yo and a 1yo at this point), I just fed him when he cried...I couldn't remember the last time I showered let alone the last time he nursed...it was just safer to feed the sweet boy and use the excuse to sit down for a few minutes.:tongue_smilie: My memory is pretty fuzzy of that year...

[WarriorMama]

A friend and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the biggest lies in parenting is that babies only need to nurse ever 2-3 hours. I find my newborns nurse almost constantly, and even now at 9 months she usually nurses for a few minutes every hour or so at least. So....how often did you nurse your baby in the first month or so, and did you need to supplement with formula?

 

Edited to clarify...this is during the day, not at night. hopefully we all got at least a bit of a longer break at night.

 

Yes, I think the idea that ALL babies must fit any schedule or method is extremely damaging to breastfeeding. I always nursed on demand. My now-toddler just so happened to 'demand' to nurse EXTREMELY often for only 5 to maybe 10 minutes at a time, and only ever on one side at a time. He gained weight GREAT and has never had formula in his life.

 

On the other hand, I have a friend who fed on demand...her babies ate every few hours, for a LOOOONG time, finishing off both sides. They gained weight great, too...no formula.

 

Paranoia is the enemy. We have to trust that babies know when they're hungry, and that feeding them when they are is the right thing to do. I know way too many people who told me they had to stop breastfeeding because they didn't make enough milk - but the only reason they assumed so was because the baby wanted to eat more often than they were told was 'normal' or healthy.

 

I wish there was some easy way to stop the spreading of breastfeeding misinformation.

[Punks in Ontario]

All my guys would have liked to nurse every hour for a bit, but I encouraged them to go longer and have better feeds. They had no problem going 3 1/2 to 4 hours at a time and then would have a real feeding. When they wanted to graze, I'd just play with them and cuddle them for another half hour and keep going. I can't imagine caring for older kids and always be feeding at the same time.

[smrtmama]

My newborns have always nursed at least every 90 minutes. That's just NORMAL. Scheduling *is* bad (unless it's to schedule more feedings), btw.

[NanceXToo]

Where's the "you mean sometimes they actually STOP nursing?" option? haha. With my son it seemed like he nursed CONSTANTLY for the first 15 months of his life. At that point I gradually started weaning him and finished weaning him at 19 months.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin would breastfeed forty-five minutes on, one hour off through the day, then slept for eight hours at night. Hobbes fed less often during the day, but woke several times at night.

 

Laura

[eternalknot]

I breastfed on demand. Both of my kids were grazers - they nursed a short period of time, more often throughout the day (and night, sigh!) My nephews, on the other hand, would nurse for 30-45 minutes at a sitting, and be good for the next 3-4 hours. I envied my SIL!

 

Thinking about it now, my kids and hers have both continued that way even now as older kids :)

[Jennifer in MI]

Interesting. Looking back, my more frequent nursers are also the ones who now graze on food throughout the day as older kids.

 

My first nursed every hour. Day and night for a LONG time. He still needs to eat every 1 − 2 hours.

 

My second nursed every 3 − 4 hours and would give me a 5 − 6 hour stretch at night. Loved that boy!! He still snacks very rarely, but eats big meals.

 

My third nursed every 2 − 3 hours. He gave me a 5 hour stretch at night.

 

My fourth nursed every 1 − 2 hours, but slept well at night. She still likes small snacks throughout the day.

 

Every child is different

[LibraryLover]

Where's the "you mean sometimes they actually STOP nursing?" option? haha.

 

 

 

I often said to dh, "Wouldn't it be great if we could take the batteries out of this child for a while?"

[Murphy101]

On demand here, so it varies. Certainly every hour or two until several months old. Tho several of mine did much better during the day than at night. Those really never let go of the boobs all night long.

[Michelle in MO]

This wasn't a lie for my two children. They nursed every 2 to 3 hours - usually closer to 3 hours but closer together during a growth spurt. They never supplemented and thrived.

Same experience here. My girls are grown now, but yes, they nursed closer to every 2-3 hours. I made certain that I kept them as awake as possible while nursing, which admittedly is very difficult for a newborn. Nursing usually took mine about 30 minutes. As they got older, they grew more efficient and were able to nurse rather quickly.

 

My guess would be that if the baby is only nursing for about 10 minutes at a time, you might try other methods to help keep the baby awake. For example, I would sometimes rub their feet gently with a cool washcloth, which would help keep them awake. I always nursed on both sides as well.

[Ravin]

My DD was nursed on demand, so I didn't regularly time it, but as a newborn I would wake her up if she went too long, so 1-2 hours is accurate. We also supplemented with formula in those early weeks, after supplementing with pumped milk, because she was so slow to gain weight. We were off the supplementing by 5 wks, though, and she never had a bottle again (when I went back to school when she was 10 mo she didn't know what do do with a bottle, but figured out a sippy readily enough).

 

I am REALLY hoping we don't have the same issues with DS. Presumably my body now knows what to do and will settle into a stable milk production pattern more quickly. With DD I had oversupply and she wasn't getting enough hindmilk, possibly because my normally hypoproductive thyroid went into overdrive postpartum. My meds got adjusted and things settled in about the same time.

[Penelope]

In the first couple of months, pretty much all the time, for all of them. I nurse on cue, though, and don't try to stretch them out longer.

 

You didn't ask about pacifier use. IME moms that use pacifiers tend to nurse less often.

 

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/frequency.html

Edited November 21, 2010 by Penelope

[BeckyFL]

I had 2 that were "marathon nursers" (I forget who gave them that label, but it was a good description). They were also my two biggest babies and one grew up to be 6 ft 5 in. tall. I had a great supply so that wasn't the problem. He just nursed VERY often and required lots of nutrition there at the beginning. Later on, even as a teen, he was a good eater, but didn't eat excessive amounts. I guess they're all different.

[ktgrok]

In the first couple of months, pretty much all the time, for all of them. I nurse on cue, though, and don't try to stretch them out longer.

 

You didn't ask about pacifier use. IME moms that use pacifiers tend to nurse less often.

 

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/frequency.html

 

Good point, neither of mine used pacifiers.