Breastfeeding... how often

[Hyggeandhugs]

Hello everyone

So I'm attending NCT classes and asked the question 'how often should I expect to feed in the first few days and after a few weeks?'.

My wonderful teacher believes in responsive feeding and so wouldn't be drawn on even a ballpark figure and so that's why I've come here. It's my first baby and I know absolutely no one else with babies and so I genuinely don't know. In terms of getting my head around what to expect it would be good to know if it's likely to be every 15 minutes or every three hours as I have literally no concept of it.

I totally understand that every baby is going to be different, but maybe you could just let me know for maybe the first 4-days and maybe 4 weeks + how often did your babies feed and for how long?

But, they like to know that babies are feeding at least 8-12 times, and filling plenty of wet nappies, and 2+ dirty nappies a day for BF babies up to 6 weeks, and following a centile line.

Thank you so much for all of your responses, you have no idea how helpful this is!

I hear what you've mostly all said about every baby being different, but I honestly had no idea that feeding could last for hours, to be honest I probably thought they fed for 15-30 mins max, so imagine if I didn't know that hours was a possibility... I'd have been convinced something was wrong!!

Sounds like I shouldn't expect to be doing much else...

Every 3 hours for my baby. That's 3 hours from the start of one feed to the start of the next one. For the first 10 weeks or so it took 50 minutes per feed so I really only had a 2 hour gap between feeds. Day and night.

After a few months he got faster and now at 5 months it takes 15 minutes per feed and he goes around 4 hours between feeds during the day and can go up to 8 hours without a feed overnight.

Sorry if this sounds a stupid question, but with the cluster feeding do you literally just sit there with them on an exposed breast for all those hours letting them latch when they want to, or are there brief spells of you being able to be up and about watching for their little hunger queues?

I kept a diary and can tell you that for my youngest baby the average over the first four weeks was breastfeeding 40 times in 24 hours.

Your NCT teacher was right not to give a definitive answer, all babies are different. DD1 fed a lot and I did little in the first weeks but feed her, usually with a book propped on her so I could read at the same time. DD2 was a faster feeder so fed less often but spent most of her time in a sling asleep strapped to me. I would be wary of any book advocating a routine as some babies won't have read that directive and will be very unhappy with an imposed feeding schedule which can lead to breastfeeding difficulties.

Cluster feeding has its benefits as it's a great excuse to sit on the sofa all evening and be waited on or if by yourself to sit with a flask of tea and the biscuit tin.

With my DC1, in the early days every feed would take ~45 minutes, and she would feed 12-15 times per day. This lasted for a few weeks until my supply was well established and she was able to feed more efficiently. By around 3 months I think she was feeding more like 25 minutes every 2 hours during the day, with 3-5 hour stretches of sleep at night. By 7 months she was feeding 6 times per day and sleeping through the night.

DC3 fed for 6 hours straight his second night. It was insane. But my supply built much quicker, and he very rapidly reduced his feeds to 8 times 15 minutes (around 2 weeks old) with the usual evening cluster feeds for the first 8 weeks or so. By 5 months he was down to 6-8 feeds per day, 10-25 minutes each, and sleeping 10 hours at night.

The early days are relentless, but if you consider that your only job is to feed them they can actually be quite satisfying. And things definitely settle after a few months!

Expect a baby with a good attachment to feed roughly every 2-3 hours in the early days. But there is no hard and fast rule. Read up on attachment it's the main cause of breastfeeding problems so it's the most important bit to get your head round. As long as baby and you are comfortable and baby is thriving it's going well.

Forgot about the cluster feed! Yeah between 6-9 just laid on the settee with boobs out. It's good to get a rough idea but try not to focus on timing or compare to others too much. Look for signs baby is healthy and if u need support - midwife, la leche , breastfeeding network. Nct, hv etc do ask for help/advice. The first 6-8 weeks are a bit of a free for all but it does settle.

You might be able to get up to go to the loo/male a cuppa. It might result in a screaming baby. You'll still need to wee/drink/eat though.

You'll find bf makes you very thirsty initially (probably the first few months) so get a decent water bottle you can hold, open and close with 1 hand (and ideally just your mouth).

Camelbak do a great thermos type thing that auto closes (you have to press for it to open) so there's no chance of it spilling onto DC.

Generally the cluster feeding slows significantly around 4m. But they will still have patches after that during developmental leaps, growth spurts, illness etc.

Well known early leaps are days 4/5, days 7/8, days 10-14. Expect to spend most of those on the sofa/in bed with your boobs out.

Also bf can be hard. Both you and DC are learning a new skill, it gets easier. If you need space you should take it. No baby is going to really suffer being left with their dad/gran etc for 15mins while you go for a walk/have a coffee elsewhere etc. Your health matters too.

Thanks again for everyone.

Thing is theres a really high chance I'm going to be doing it almost completely alone, partner away and no grandparents or even friends around to help, so being able to prepare is key. Better that I know I might have very little time to feed/wash/hydrate myself in advance so that I can set up little snack and water stations for myself, get ready meals and bookmark box sets. I know my NCT teacher meant well and she really is lovely, it's just that doing it alone means I need to do a bit of extra planning and so even a rough idea of how things might look, even worse case scenarios, are helpful

I'll definitely look into support groups and water bottles and all the other helpful things you've recommended.

Look into a sling or carrier- I learnt to go to the loo with DS either in my arms or in a carrier when we were having the most clingy days/ nights.

But to put a different spin on it- DS fed every 2 hours ish but really was, always 10 minutes on one boob and done. I had fast flow, he couldn't take more or would chuck it back. Didn't mean I could then put him down and go to bed or do stuff, but at least I could put the boob away.

Can you maybe look into getting a doula for some of the first few weeks. Friend now works as one and she is BF support, meal prep etc

This was excellent when I was trying to get my head around breastfeeding:

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Completely Revised and Updated 8th Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345518446/ref=cmswwrawdooDGS941R7RPA551AQ51DW

Lots of easy snacks finger foods. A travel mug is great for keeping drinks warm plus safer round baby.

If you find a good breastfeeding pillow you can feed hands free and eat a proper meal over the baby (just not too hot… in case).

Definitely get the book a PP linked to - the womanly art of breastfeeding. Read it before you give birth and keep it handy for those times of doubt - for me it was often middle of the night "do I have enough supply" "is she feeding enough" etc. Really, really helpful and set the right expectations and helped with mindset.

Definitely get a sling, I had a moby wrap which was invaluable. I also had a boppy breastfeeding cushion so after while I managed to eat whilst baby was feeding.

Prepare food for you now, freeze it so you don't have to cook.

What you're asking is, "How long is a piece of string?"

There is no answer.

It depends entirely on the baby.

Also, when someone says 'every two hours' or whatever, they are possibly talking about a feeding session lasting 45 minutes, leaving you with an hour and 15 minutes to burp and settle the baby, possibly change a nappy, possibly nip to the loo, before it all starts again.

You are going to feel that you're doing nothing else in the first weeks no matter what interval there is.

This is what the midwives told me to do and I followed it pretty religiously.For the first two weeks they can be a bit sleepy so I was feeding them every 2 to 3 hours. Once you get confirmation they have got their weight back up at the two week check you can start feeding responsively (when they cry). What this looked like for me from weeks 3 to 4 was feeding baby every 3 hours during the day and every 3 or four hours at night. After the first month baby was sleeping 5 or 6 hour stretches at night but I was feeding every three hours during the day. After 6 or 8 weeks I think my baby was sleeping thru the night(6/7 hours) but was feeding every 3 or four hours during the day and there was the occasional cluster feeding session too! Enjoy your little bundle!!

Hot water boiler rather than a kettle and a travel mug. You will be very thirsty and stuck under a baby. Make sure you have liquids before you sit down!

Yes it's because they don't want to freak you out so you decide to go straight to formula :o which is a bit silly really, since you might as well be prepared. Although I think our NCT teacher might have been a bit full on because I remember all the other women being worried by the BF session that we had whereas I found it helpful and informative. They said it was really negative and scary. I can't even remember what was said now TBH.

I do remember them saying breastfeeding is harder than bottle feeding for about the first six weeks and after that breastfeeding is easier so it's well worth persevering through the "boot camp"bit.

A stretchy wrap sling is a great investment if you'll be on your own. Also places to put the baby down that are safe, so you can have a wee, make a tea or a sandwich, grab a shower. Even if they do scream for ten minutes, it's not the end of the world.

Oh sorry that was a post from last night that didn't go through! Will read the new replies

Really varies;
DC1 was a quick and efficient feeder from Day 1 so 3-4 hourly
DC2 never went longer than 90. minutes for the first three months and fussed a lot so took ages.
DC3 cluster fed a lot , they would go 2 hours or so in the day and then attach themselves to me for the evening bobbing on and off for the.nights.They settled well to 2 1/2 to 3 hourly fairly efficient feeds by about 2-3 months.

Both of mine liked to feed frequently, and to nap on me. I basically spent the first few months with both babies trapped on the sofa with daytime TV on. Just go with the flow - when they seem hungry just offer the breast and see if they are keen.

@FusionChefGeoff

This was excellent when I was trying to get my head around breastfeeding:

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: Completely Revised and Updated 8th Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345518446/ref=cmswwrawdooDGS941R7RPA551AQ51DW

On order, thanks