1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

Topics:

Hungry baby

Big appetite. Little appetite. Picky appetite. You'll see it all in them all in the first three years

By
//
Originally published in Today's Parent November 2008

Birth to three months

Everyone knows newborns need feedings day and night. But what may surprise new parents is how often the baby gets hungry. Lactation consultant Karyn-grace Clarke says: “Many newborns will have a day or two of nursing around the clock, and then they tend to fall into a pattern of nursing every two to three hours. But there are huge variations among babies.”

Remember that your baby will likely double his birthweight by about five months — how often would you need to eat to double your weight in that period of time?

Clarke says it’s important to feed your baby on demand (also known as cue feeding) because it helps the baby be in control of intake. “Sometimes an infant is hungry for a meal, other times he just wants a little snack, and later he might be thirsty and just need a few sips of milk,” she points out.

But what about your neighbour’s baby, who only nurses every four hours and is gaining weight beautifully? Clarke explains that every mother has a milk “factory” and a milk “warehouse,” and both are unique to her. The factory is where the milk is made, and the warehouse is where it’s stored between feedings. When a baby begins to nurse, he first empties the warehouse and then signals the factory to start making more milk. Some women have a large warehouse and some have a small one, so the amount of milk their babies get varies. “Naturally, those babies who get a smaller serving size when they nurse will want and need to breastfeed more often,” says Clarke. Your baby’s rate of growth, stomach size and energy level affect feeding frequency as well.

Subscribe to Today's Parent for just $14.95* That's only $1.25 an issue!

May We Also Suggest...

What do you think?