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Monday, March 27, 2006
How Long Do I Breastfeed?
Kylie, 29, from Queensland asks:
How do I know how long I breast or bottle feed with express milk for each time? Will my baby let me know when she has had enough? Should I feed every 2 or 4 hours? Thank you.
Stacy Says:
My daughter's doctor had the BEST advice about feeding. He asked me, 'How do you know if she's had enough?' I said, 'She spits it back up at me.' He asks, 'How do you know if she's still hungry?' I replied, 'She cries.' His response? 'There you go.' It's so simple, us mothers make it way too complicated.
I know all the books say offer each breast for approximately 15-20 minutes each, blah blah blah. I was lucky if I got my daughter on one breast for 5 minutes. Try to get her to feed as long as she wants. If she latches on and chows down, great. If she's not too interested, offer a bottle. I am not one to force the issue of breastfeeding. My daughter was not real interested at all, drank most of her food from formula and did just fine. Alot of times, I would have to express milk after she decided yet again that my breast was not good enough for her and I just gave her that milk in a bottle at the next feeding. Don't worry, she'll let you know when she's full. And she'll let you know when she's still hungry, too. It's hard to miss that ear-piercing scream.
As far as feeding every 2-4 hours, that's up to you. You can get her on a schedule--wake up every two or three hours and feed her, if she's crying or not. Do this all day and night and then you'll get her on a schedule. Personally, I wasn't one to jump up in the middle of the night if she wasn't crying--call me selfish, I just wanted to sleep. So I fed her when she cried. She got on a schedule for the most part. If it was 2-3 hours after her last feeding and she started crying, I could guess she was hungry. And sure enough, give her the bottle and she sucked it down. Do whatever works for your baby. All babies are different and not all fit into the categories you read in those lovely parenting books!
How do I know how long I breast or bottle feed with express milk for each time? Will my baby let me know when she has had enough? Should I feed every 2 or 4 hours? Thank you.
Stacy Says:
My daughter's doctor had the BEST advice about feeding. He asked me, 'How do you know if she's had enough?' I said, 'She spits it back up at me.' He asks, 'How do you know if she's still hungry?' I replied, 'She cries.' His response? 'There you go.' It's so simple, us mothers make it way too complicated.
I know all the books say offer each breast for approximately 15-20 minutes each, blah blah blah. I was lucky if I got my daughter on one breast for 5 minutes. Try to get her to feed as long as she wants. If she latches on and chows down, great. If she's not too interested, offer a bottle. I am not one to force the issue of breastfeeding. My daughter was not real interested at all, drank most of her food from formula and did just fine. Alot of times, I would have to express milk after she decided yet again that my breast was not good enough for her and I just gave her that milk in a bottle at the next feeding. Don't worry, she'll let you know when she's full. And she'll let you know when she's still hungry, too. It's hard to miss that ear-piercing scream.
As far as feeding every 2-4 hours, that's up to you. You can get her on a schedule--wake up every two or three hours and feed her, if she's crying or not. Do this all day and night and then you'll get her on a schedule. Personally, I wasn't one to jump up in the middle of the night if she wasn't crying--call me selfish, I just wanted to sleep. So I fed her when she cried. She got on a schedule for the most part. If it was 2-3 hours after her last feeding and she started crying, I could guess she was hungry. And sure enough, give her the bottle and she sucked it down. Do whatever works for your baby. All babies are different and not all fit into the categories you read in those lovely parenting books!
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I agree! On feeding, your baby will let you know how much is enough. Kids want to thrive and have a sense of how much is enough. Now if your kid is having a hard time latching on, that's when you need to hook up with a lactation consultant (and can look up your local La Leche league for help). Also, breast feeding is just one part of how mothers and children develop closeness. How long should they breastfeed? Until they're done, or until their continued breastfeeding is detrimental to the mother's health.
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