As long as several years ago, doctors affirmed that mothers should observe accurate schedule of nursing. Now neonatology physicians, modern books and magazines, preparatory birth courses assure future mothers that they need to nurse new-born babies upon their request. Young women can hardly find truth after listening to friends, grannies, doctors and reading various irreconcilable books. And we do want to choose a method of nursing before childbirth: for all that - according to schedule or upon request?
Let’s think a little: there’s no universal and absolutely correct scheme of dealing with a baby. You’re unique, both you and your baby. Relax and calm down. Maternal instinct will help you to make a right choice. Many inexperienced mothers are just afraid of doing something wrong and this prevents them from listening to their inner voice.
Probably, you will become more confident after reading a story of a mother of 2 children, who passed a way from frightened inexperience to calm conviction. Everyone has his own way. A woman can find her way, listening to herself and her baby carefully. And you may miss the answer to this question, while listening to your advisers all together…
So, nursing according to schedule
In the maternity hospital
Right after my first baby birth - a daughter - I began nursing her according to a schedule. Every 3 hours, I gave her both breasts, 10 minutes for each one. Firstly right one, then left, during next nursing - back to front - firstly left, then right. As a baby was with me in a ward, I saw that my daughter slept well between seances of nursing. This meant she was full. Firstly, I gave her a baby formula also. I was frightened that I still had no milk, and had little colostrums. But a doctor advised me to stop giving her additional feeding. Her argument was simple: as babies are calm, this means they are full. Moreover, one should not teach a baby taking from a bottle, as this may become a reason for them to stop taking breast, as nursing is more difficult. Colostrum is very substantial, it contains all necessary things for a baby’s first days of life, when his stomach is just learning to digest food, and he needs very nutritious and at the same time easy of digestion food.
Milk came on the 3rd day. My daughter even began to eructate because of its excess. I gave her breast for no longer than 10 minutes, and there were no chaps at all, although I did not prepare my nipples for nursing beforehand. We ate every 3 hours. Paediatrists did not recommend night nursing, but on 4th-5th day my daughter began requiring it so hard, that I yielded to that requests, and decided that she knew better when she needed to eat. I also wanted to put her in my bed for sleeping at once, but they frightened me that I can crush a baby while sleeping. Later, when my children grew a little, I knew that if a baby sleeps with his mother, he’s much calmer, and a mother can sleep well, even with night nursing. And I never hear anything about cases of crushed babies.
At home my mother met us. She declared at once that I should give only one breast during each seance of nursing. Otherwise, I will lose milk. This authority was indisputable for me, and I started to give only one breast to my baby. Now, by the beginning of nursing, a breast, which were assigned for nursing, swelled, ached and callosities began to form in it.
“Due to” my mother, another “minus” was cleared up - I racked little milk after nursing. My mother racked a glass of milk after each seance of nursing, when she was nursing us! I did not understand the benefits of it, but I felt myself guilty. I became nervous, quantity of my milk reduced notably. I had to start feeding my daughter with baby formula. Fortunately, at that moment I met a consultant on breast-feeding, and due to her advices lactation was renewed.
Advices of consultant:
- give 2 breasts for one nursing;
- refuse from racking and supplementary feeding;
- change nursing according to schedule to nursing upon request.
The matter with milk. I had milk, but little. And still it was enough for my daughter. Indeed, not for 3 hours already, but only for 1,5. Instead of supplementary feeding, we reduced breaks from 3 to 1,5 hours. Including night. To prevent myself from collapsing because of sleepless nights, I took my baby in my bed all the same. Lactation was back to normal, and in 2 weeks interval between nursing increased to 3 hours, little by little and naturally.
What happened with my breast. It stopped swelling up, as necessary quantity of liquid was already distributed evenly among 2 “containers”!
What happened with my child. My daughter was full up and slept calmly between seances of nursing.
What happened with me. I got a confidence that I would have plenty of milk for each nursing of my baby.
As a result. My daughter ate every 3 hours. Night nursing was necessary (it cleared up, that neonatology physicians considered it to be of special importance). If a baby overslept nursing, I did not awake her. If I got nervous, milk disappeared. We reduced a break between seances of nursing, and everything renewed little by little.
Nursing upon request
Everything was quite the opposite with my second child, a son. He was born being a glutton. After delivery, I put my son to my breast, and he was suckling for 40 minutes, without breaks! And this was a new-born baby! During following 2 days, he asked nursing every hour. I was glad to one fact - my son received colostrums, medicinal for his health. I put him to each breast for no longer than 10 minutes, to avoid chaps on nipples. We did not sleep for 2 days - a baby required nursing! I had to give him a baby dummy. This helped and a break was increased to 2 hours. On the 3rd day milk came and my efforts were rewarded in full. He woke up, ate his full and fell asleep till next nursing. He ate so much that I thought his tummy would burst. And he treated any food restriction as a personal insult. I had much milk. I had to drink less liquid, to reduce quantity of milk. This helped me. Of course, a little man with such appetite refused from night breaks between nursing. But I was already an experienced mother and nursed my baby calmly in bed. I was less nervous, and there were no problems with lactation anymore.
Let’s sum up
Procedure of nursing is individual for each child.
• If a baby sleeps well during 3 hours between procedures of nursing, does not cry at the end of nursing, like he’s still hungry, then everything is ok. You observe a scheme of nursing, which doctors recommend, without efforts and naturally.
• But if a baby shows anxiety at the end of nursing, if he cries, when a mother takes away breast, awakes an hour or two after nursing and plays up, then, most likely, he wants to eat. Milk, which he sucks out for one procedure of nursing, is not enough for 3 hours for him.
• It happens, that a baby likes to eat often, but little, since birth. Then he easily falls asleep after nursing, but asks feeding not after “fixed” 3 hours, but earlier.
Don’t exhaust a baby with hunger, and yourself with doubts. Just give him breast when he asks. But watch him during this process.
• May be a baby cries because of wind, not hunger. In this case he will jerk with legs, cry, bow out a nipple or refuse to take it at all.
• If a baby begins eating gladly, as soon as he’s given breast, - you guessed: a tot was hungry.
Most popular fears, connected with nursing upon request
1. Nursing upon request - is a constant stress and impossibility to leave a baby for a moment, being afraid that he would ask eating.
Staying with a baby all the time and being under stress are different things. The first thing is necessary for a new-born during first days and even months of his life. The second one just harms him.
Watching your baby, very soon you will begin to see the interval between procedures of nursing of your (not average statistical) baby. And you will be able to leave him with father or granny for this time, so that to have some rest or do home matters.
2. A baby will eat constantly, his stomach will not be able to have a rest.
A baby will eat enough food for his organism. Breast milk (unlike formulas) - is a unique product. You can give breast to your baby although every 30 minutes (this happens when you need to renew lactation), not overloading his stomach.
By 2- 3 months, you will work out a procedure with a break, close to “classical” 3 hours.
When a fixed procedure of nursing breaks
This happens because of 2 reasons. The first one - is stress or sickness, because of which quantity of mother’s milk reduces. In such case, put your baby to a breast every hour, to renew milk inflow. This will last for several days, a week - to the maximum. And then lactation will be renewed.
The second one - are your baby’s increased needs. Some children grow with sudden changes. During the period of intensive growing they need more “building material” - mother’s milk. While mother’s breast is switching to a baby’s increased needs, a break between procedures of nursing may be reduced temporarily. Don’t worry: soon you will return to balance with your baby.
If you hear contradictory advises and don’t know whom to listen to - listen to your baby. And you will know for sure, when he needs your breast or something bothers him. You will be ok. Be positive!
Yana Mikheeva is the creator of Baby Health Directory - Pregnancy, Birth, Parenting and Baby Care resources. Are you going to get pregnant? Visit our friendly resource and read information on pregnancy and parenting, painless childbirth, growth and development of a baby, baby health, safety, signs of pregnancy.
She also has All about women site where you can find articles on various subjects, such as: diets, receipts, health, cellulite, figure, aromatherapy, wholesome food, psychology of relationships, pregnancy, parenting, fashion and many others.
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