Newborn feeding patterns

Written By Maria Betsworth - CFC Breastfeeding specialist

Let’s face it, newborn feeding patterns are madness. Records on how long a baby can feed are broken on a daily basis and a day may seem like an eternity of nursing.

This stage doesn’t last forever, and to help you rationalise why you are constantly feeding, here are a few facts:

The size of a newborn stomach starts off being rather tiny, therefore a newborn needs to feed frequently.

Newborns also love to comfort feed. Some barely leave the breast for the first weeks of their life. Whilst that is extremely exhausting, it is recommended to soldier through this phase with as much nipple cream and distractions or simply baby-watching as you can.

These frequent feedings do NOT indicate anything wrong with your milk, your milk supply or baby not getting enough. Newborns love the closeness to their mama and they know how to suckle, and that they do!

If baby is gaining weight at a steady rate, has wet and dirty nappies, your milk supply is perfectly adequate.

Frequent feeding is great to stimulate the breast into transitioning from colostrum to mature milk. It also establishes milk supply and simply helps baby to practice breastfeeding and strengthens the muscles needed to do so.

The hormones flowing between you whilst feeding are essential for bonding and to produce milk.

Get comfortable mamas! Lay back and let baby have as many feeds as needed. Let the world stand still. If you have two or more kids around, ask somebody to take them out for a little play, so you can focus on your newborn.

It will get better from here onwards and feedings may space out more and moreover the coming weeks and months.

Other times in which baby might have had a routine and seems to go back to endless nursing sessions, it can indicate growth spurts or developmental changes, this is also a temporary phase in which your baby might need you more to overcome it.