What is on-demand feeding?

The first month of breastfeeding is a stressful period in a mother's life. You need to feed your baby all day long, which exhausts many mothers. At this time, breast milk is produced unstably, which only aggravates the existing difficulties. The stomach of a newborn baby is small (about the same size as an apricot) and cannot accommodate large amounts of food. As breast milk production increases, the volume increases. The more often a baby eats, the faster it develops. By two weeks, the stomach reaches the size of a large chicken egg.

Newborn baby is well-fed

Mothers do not know all the features of the baby’s body, so they should be more interested in the feeding regimen of a breastfed newborn.

Feeding regimen for a newborn baby

The baby should be applied to the breast every 2-3 hours at the child’s first request. Moreover, it is necessary to feed a newly born baby even at night. True, the intervals here are longer - every 5 hours. It is important to take into account the individual factor. Not only the frequency, but also the duration of feeding differs. Therefore, everyone's diet is different.

Mom holding newborn before feeding

During feeding, you should feed the baby on one breast, then offer the other. If the baby does not want to eat anymore, there is no need to force him.

Important! A newborn baby stops eating on its own when it is full. At the same time, he looks relaxed enough to fall asleep immediately.

Proper feeding of a newborn

Surely every mother, already in the last months of pregnancy, thinks about how she will feed her baby. Breast milk or formula? Should you latch on to your baby on demand or stick to a specific regimen? How much does a newborn eat at one feeding and how can you tell if he is full? A woman has many questions, let’s try to figure it out.

Milk or formula?

Of course, breastfeeding is the best option, beneficial for both the woman and the child. Mother's milk is the perfect nutrition for a newborn, intended by nature itself. Only breast milk can give a child all the necessary vitamins and microelements for development and growth, and protect the infant’s fragile body from infections. The feeding process itself is calming, promotes emotional stability and normal psychological development.

But if for some reason a woman is forced to choose artificial feeding, then there is no need to worry: modern formulas can satisfy all the needs of a newborn.

Proper feeding regimen for a newborn

Breastfeeding can be carried out at the request of the baby and according to a certain hourly schedule. Previously, feeding on a schedule was the gold standard, but recently more and more arguments in favor have appeared in favor of the first option. Feeding on demand allows you to normalize lactation in a woman, eliminates the feeling of hunger and thirst in the baby, and also satisfies the sucking reflex in the child, which is an important component of normal mental development.

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The frequency of feeding a newborn varies depending on the age of the baby. So, in the first days the baby is given every 1.5-3 hours, then the interval between feedings increases to 3.5-5 hours. Please note that these indicators are average, each child is an individual, it is impossible to say exactly when he wants to eat.

Thus, the number of feedings per day is about 10-12 times, including night meals, which are considered very important for the baby and mother. They ensure normal lactation and satisfy the baby’s hunger and thirst at night.

How long to feed a baby?

The feeding time of a newborn is always different: some babies fill up quickly, others suckle for a long time, this is purely individual, there are no definite norms. On average, this process takes 10-40 minutes. Give the baby the breast when he asks for it, hold it until he lets go. Then exactly as much milk will be produced as the baby needs, and you will forget about congestion in the breast, lack of milk and other problems.

How many grams does a newborn eat at one feeding?

The amount of food a baby eats depends on the age and weight of the baby. In the first days of life, the amount of mother's milk drunk directly depends on the volume of the newborn's stomach. Immediately after birth it is only about 7 ml, after a few days it increases to 40 ml, and by the month of life - 100 ml. Therefore, feeding time increases every day, and the interval between feedings decreases.

In order for the baby to receive a sufficient amount of milk, it is necessary to give him the breast on demand and not take it away until he wants it: the newborn himself will tell you how much he needs to eat at one feeding. You can evaluate the baby's sucking activity by monitoring his weight gain; on average, the baby should increase in weight by about 150-200 grams per week.

How to properly organize routine moments

At the age of a newborn, you should not even try to organize any routine moments. You only need to focus on the needs of the child. The only thing a mother can do is adjust the schedule to suit her son or daughter.

If the mother gets sick while breastfeeding, will the baby get sick?

Biorhythms in a child begin to form only at 4 months. Parents can start recording the time when their baby displays this or that activity. This will help them predict when their baby will be hungry and tailor their schedule to suit their needs. You can analyze it by making a special table where the following items are included:

1. Time;
2. Activity.

Important! It is necessary to track not only nutrition, but also sleep. You need to look for some patterns in the information received. Some doctors advise waking up the child at a time, as this will bring order to his life.

Daily routine for a mother with a baby

Newborn's daily routine for 1 month

It’s much more important for mom to set the schedule. To do this, you need to plan your affairs. The following rules must be followed:

1. Measure the time. How much is spent on feeding, bathing, walking, some work or household chores.
2. Manage your time, trying to make the most of every minute. Do not forget about rest, for which you also need to allocate separate time.
3. Organize the space correctly.
4. Think through repetitive actions in advance. When they become automatic, significantly less time and energy will be spent on them. It is also useful to think about the next task while the previous one is being completed. It may not work out right away, but as soon as mom learns this, organizing her affairs will become much easier for her. It is allowed to slow down the pace of work; in the long run, everything will be done faster, because unnecessary time will not be spent thinking about the next step.
5. Don't try to do several things at once. A person is not a computer; he is bad at multitasking.

The baby is lying

Important! Mom's routine should not be too strict, as various unforeseen situations may arise that require flexibility.

Newborn breastfeeding schedule

Diarrhea in infants while breastfeeding

At first you will have to pay attention to the child’s needs, and only then satisfy your own. As your baby gets older, you can make a more compromise schedule.

The baby should be given food on demand, but not in all cases crying indicates hunger. It is not recommended to introduce a baby to pacifiers at this age, since the process of feeding from the breast or bottle is slightly different. This may result in the baby feeding less frequently naturally.

The baby is full

Timed feeding

Hourly feeding has many disadvantages:

1. Uneven food consumption that does not correspond to the child’s desires.
2. Severe emotional stress between breaks.
3. Increased likelihood of breast disease. Hourly feeding can lead to congestion, accompanied by an increase in temperature and discomfort in the mammary glands. The problem can only be solved with medical help, which requires additional time and money.
4. Some psychologists believe that a mother’s refusal to breastfeed her child in adulthood makes a person more prone to alcoholism, drug addiction, and gluttony.
5. Reduced lactation. The production of food for babies depends on the content of prolactin in a woman’s body. In turn, the frequency of the baby’s breastfeeding affects the amount of this hormone. Thus, the mammary gland is deprived of stimulation, which leads to a premature end of the breastfeeding period. For normal life, a child needs to breastfeed for at least one year. Feeding by the hour can lead to a decrease in lactation as early as six months. As a result, the child will be more sick.

Intervals between feedings of a newborn

The most common intervals are 3 hours. When creating a feeding schedule for a child, you need to focus on individual nutritional needs. Therefore, you must first analyze its activity and adapt feeding to it. The daily routine of a one-month-old breastfed baby is impossible without depriving the baby's needs.

Newborn baby lies and sleeps

Important! With artificial feeding, breaks between feedings can normally be longer because formulas take longer to digest. You still need to focus on the baby's needs.

Feeding on demand

Feeding on demand is a more natural way of feeding, which was used several thousand years ago.

Benefits of frequent breastfeeding:

1. Positive impact on the physical and psychological development of the child. He receives all the necessary micro- and macroelements.
2. Mother's milk is ideally adapted to the baby's fragile gastrointestinal tract.
3. Prevention of dehydration. If the baby wants to drink, he will simply take the breast. It is not recommended to feed a newborn with plain water.
4. Stimulation of lactation.
5. No stagnation.
6. Satisfying the sucking reflex.
7. Positive psychological development due to good progress in the oral phase and establishing contact with the mother.

If a child is fed naturally, he will grow up to be a confident person, because from an early age he will be convinced that he is loved.

The benefits of following a timetable

The number of advantages that feeding an infant by the clock has over natural feeding is small:

1. Mom can plan her day. The advantage is dubious, considering that by monitoring the baby’s activity, you can easily adjust your schedule to suit your baby.
2. After some time, the child adapts. But this process will begin only at 4 months. Until this time, waiting for the breast will be stressful.

Thus, feeding should be carried out on demand. Giving breastfeeding on a schedule has no obvious advantages, and the apparent advantages upon closer examination turn out to be insignificant or associated with additional disadvantages.

If the mother can adapt to the baby, she can easily create her own schedule. There will be no stress for the child either. There is no need to try to adjust the baby’s schedule; you need to plan your activities based on the baby’s needs.

Approximate daytime schedule

The child should sleep most of the time throughout the first month (about 20 hours a day). In this way, the body adapts better to new conditions. Wakefulness is associated with feeding. The diet should include only breast milk.

It should be taken into account that it is difficult to teach children in the first days of life to eat according to a schedule. They can hardly maintain an hour interval, especially those who are breastfed.

If the baby is formula-fed, the interval can be up to 3 hours. The mixture takes longer to digest in the stomach and can be measured accurately. During the first month, the baby needs about 90 ml of milk per feeding.

Walking not only promotes healthy sleep and appetite. The sun's rays hitting the baby's skin promotes the production of vitamin D, which is so necessary for normal development.

The daily routine of a three-month-old baby looks something like this.

1. Sleep - at least four times, lasting about 2 hours. Towards the end of the month, night sleep should reach 6 hours.
2. The interval between feedings should be about 3 hours. At night, no more than 6 hours. The diet should still consist of breast milk. Mom should not get carried away with new foods, so as not to cause an undesirable reaction from the baby’s digestive tract.
3. You definitely need to be outside. Weather conditions must also be taken into account, but on average spend at least 2 hours a day.

At the age of three months, the mother develops a lactation crisis. You should not feed a three-month-old baby formulas or other complementary foods. You just need to wait a little while, and your nutrition will improve again. It will not be possible to get used to the regime during this period.

By the fourth month, the child is already accustomed to the established rules.

Night sleep can already last about 10 hours. The baby sleeps 3 times a day for 2 hours. It should be taken into account that at this time the first teeth begin to erupt, the child may feel physical discomfort, he becomes capricious, sleep and appetite are disturbed. The regime will be disrupted at this time. You shouldn’t be too strict with him at this time; you can adapt a little to his rhythms.

If the child is breastfed, then early introduction of complementary foods to the menu is not allowed.

The baby receives all nutrients from mother's milk. If the baby is fed formulas, it is allowed to introduce a drop of juice into the diet.

The table will clearly show the approximate daily routine hourly in the first months of a baby’s life.

It is recommended to put the baby to bed later than usual during the first month. This way you can ensure a long sleep at night. If you put the baby to bed early, for example, at 21.00, the baby will wake up for night feeding at 2 o'clock. This time is characterized by a phase of shallow sleep, and the child may not fall asleep for a long time. If all family members go to bed at the same time, then by the first night feeding everyone will have time to gain strength.

Formula-fed children at the age of five months are allowed to introduce pureed vegetables and fruits into their diet. After their administration, you need to carefully monitor the child’s condition.

The menu of a six-month-old baby becomes varied. By this time, the digestive system has become quite strong and the enzymes necessary to digest complex foods are produced. The diet includes porridge, pureed vegetables and fruits, and cottage cheese. Each new product should be fed no earlier than after 10 days.

The baby's diet at five to six months will help you see the graph clearly.

1. First breakfast - kefir, breast milk, formula.
2. Second breakfast – porridge, cottage cheese, natural juice.
3. Lunch – pureed vegetables.
4. Dinner - kefir.
5. The second dinner is mother's milk or formula.

At 6 months, milk comes first on the menu, and complementary foods come second. Therefore, after each complementary feeding it is worth giving formula or milk. The diet of a seven-month-old baby continues to expand. You can introduce fermented milk products, try feeding them pureed meat.

At 8-9 months, the child still sleeps three times a day, but during the waking period he is actively exploring his surroundings. The intervals between feedings become longer and reach up to 5 hours.

At 9 months, the baby’s diet is supplemented with fish dishes. At this time, you need to teach the child to hold a spoon independently. Breast milk is no longer the main food on a baby’s menu.

At 10 months, a table of an approximate daily routine may look like this.