LLL question - will my breasted baby fall into a routine?

[liney80]

I'm reading the Womanly Art to Breastfeeding, thanks to tips on MN (love it!) and it says just nurse whenever he/I feels like it, which I'm doing and it's actually more relaxing - while I'm at home.

My 4 week old feeds very frequently during the day and evening. He sleeps 2-3 hour stretches at night, which is nice! The book sounds like this could be normal for the next six months! I don't mind going with the flow but feeding hourly at times will make life very limiting indeed as I'd like to be able to get out without having to stop and feed all the time. I can imagine that being a challenge even when I do get more confident at breastfeeding in public. I'm hoping feeds will naturally space out - is this likely to just start happening at some point? Thanks!

It does space out by itself but not until somewhere after 6 weeks. And then you have to make a note of it to notice the routine (if you're unobservant of time like me, anyway) I think there are apps you can download to make notes but they are probably a bit overobsessive with "right boob, left boob, time of feed" - just don't draw any supply conclusions from that because it's impossible to tell. Might be useful if you want to see if there's a pattern, though :)

My experience of bfing two DCs on demand is that even when patterns emerge they don't last very long. You'll get a growth spurt, or a sleep regression, or a cold, or teeth coming through and the routine will go to pot. I don't mind this as I have the baby with me all the time and bf anywhere but I can appreciate that it can be difficult for people who like more predictsbility, routines and/or don't like bfing in public.

The routine will come and yes, they do stretch out in time. Follow your baby's cues and find out what works for them.

My DS is 22 weeks and feeds primarily in the morning and evening. We always have 2 good feeds before leaving the house (it's a struggle to do this before 11am, but 11ish usually doable, barring a poonami/big spew up/etc.). Then I'm always conscious that we must be back by 5pm to fit in 2 good feeds before bed at 8pm.

Then in the middle of the day he'll have a couple of short, snacky feeds to keep him going. But I've found that these are easier to manage when out and about. We've been in a routine like this from about 13 weeks.

I was so nervous about feeding in public at the start, but my inhibitions melted away over time to the extent that I'll now whip out a tit almost anywhere. I found it helpful to identify places I was comfortable feeding and build my day around that. John Lewis is great because it's got a dedicated feeding room, feeding in the car is a life saver. Most baby classes are breast feeding friendly, suss out your friendliest coffee shops. Go to baby cinema and feed quietly in the dark while watching a film

4 weeks is still so tiny, but in my experience it becomes more and more manageable. It's normal to feel a slave to breastfeeding at the start when establishing your supply, but in time breast feeding should fit round your/your DS's life rather than the other way around.