Newborn BF - The first two weeks?

Hi Girls, I am just interested to hear how you went about feeding you new born in the first couple of weeks, what I mean is, how often did they feed, for how long each time etc. Do you have a routine or did you demand feed. Did you wake your baby to feed them if you thought they went too long or did you prefer to let them let you know when they were hungry.

Hi Salad,
WIth my ds, I demand fed. He would feed about every three hours, for maybe 45 minutes (20 minutes on each side). I didn't wake him up to feed him- I never thought it was neccessary- but he never really slept for that long so it wasn't an issue.
HTH :)

I went with the flow and feed for what everytime bub wanted. No routine, did not wake her for feeds left her to it.

Hi
We demand fed. Sometimes he'd go 3-4 hours, sometimes only 1. I'd say on average it was around 2-3 hourly (including the night).
In those early weeks he took 40-60 minutes to feed! So it certainly took up a lot of my time. There were a few times he went 6 hours in the first couple of weeks and I fretted about waking him. He always seemd to wake himself just before I could do it though.

Thats what we have been doing just letting our little one let us know when she is hungry she usually feeds every 4 hours for about half and hour each side.
marcellus - i know what you mean about the 6 hour sleep, my husband and I sat watching her sleep the other day thinking should we wake her up or not.
So what do you so if you breasts get quite full, mine do if she is sleeping a long time but they dont hurt which is good. i was told to express a little but I was also told not to do that in the first couple of weeks arrrgghhh what is a new mum supposed to do.

Salad hun if you're boobs are really uncomfortable, I would say express a tiny bit so they don't feel like rocks anymore. Try doing it by hand in the shower- takes a bit of practice but much easier than using a pump.

Just watch not to express too much- the more that comes out, the more you make!

I co slept and would feed Ash when he wanted it. At night I would put him on and go back to sleep after about the 2 week mark. To start with I sat up and waited till he finished but it was too much for me having to then get up to 2 other kids in the morning. He used to feed about 2 hourly, now he feeds about 3 hourly, sometimes going 5 hours at night.

Hi,

Congratulations on the birth of your little one. The information you recieve around feeding in those early days can seem so confusing. I guess the thing to do is closely observe your little one and be guided by her. But....(there's always a but, isn't there?)
When babies are born normally and at full term, they are optimally primed to breastfeed. They are alert and awake, and demand to be fed. Sometimes babies aren't born with a good sense of "appetite". It seems to be a developmental stage - maybe like crawling or walking. Some babies *get it* early. And some take longer. Sometimes a difficult birth, or drugs that cross the placenta during labour can make the baby sleepy and disorganised, and not inclined to feed. Sometimes a baby can develop a little jaundice, and these makes them too sleepy. For all these reasons, it is often suggested that a mum wake her baby to feed ever 3 hours or so. Often times this isn't really necessary, but it's a "belt and braces" approach that can often help a sleepy newborn get feeding established. While demand feeding is the go, in the early days, some babies don't know how to demand!
But which baby is yours? The demanding type, who can take care of himself and make sure he gets a fee when he needs it? Or is he content to sleep on and then is too low in energy to feed effectively, meaning he is more sleepy than ever.
A newborn baby will typically have 8-12 feeds in 24 hrs. He may have one *longish* sleep - maybe 3 or if you are lucky, 4 hrly. And another period of the day or night where he has a cluster or feeds close together. This is completely normal. But some mothers, having heard an "old wives tale" that babies feed 4 hrly think that is too much. On the other hand, some mothers have a great milk supply, and baby has a relatively big tummy (his tummy at this age is only the size of his clenched fist) and thrive on larger feeds less frequently. It can be normal for babies to lose up to 10% of their birthweight, but they will normally regain it by 2 weeks. In the first 5 days you will expect one wet nappy per day of life, and by day 3 -5 their poos will transition from black (meconium) to brownish and then mustardy, and they will have a couple per day.
If you are satisfied your baby is getting enough, and is full or asleep and your breasts are uncomfortably full, express a little so they are soft and comfortable.

Thanks everyone for your replies, we had her weighed yesterday and she has put on weight to the nurse said keep doing what we are doing if she is settled has wet/dirty nappies and is putting on weight everything is fine.