Advice On Breastfeeding

     My daughter just gave birth to her first child - a 10-pound baby girl. Neither she nor her baby had diabetes or blood sugar problems. My granddaughter is just a big, healthy baby. On the first day I spoke with my daughter (we’re 1000 miles apart), she said happily, “She is a good feeder and a good sleeper”. 

     Within three days, my daughter was exhausted, confused by all the conflicting advice she had received in the hospital and feeling frustrated with breast-feeding in general. Her baby had become fussy and was only feeding small amounts. Why the change? Simple. She had been told to wake the baby up every three hours - day and night - to feed the baby. She was told that, if she didn’t do this, the baby “might not get enough milk”. With that worry hanging over her, she was trying to follow what is an impossible schedule that no human could actually do.  Whenever my daughter woke up the baby out of a sound sleep, the baby wasn’t really hungry, so she went from feeding well (when she was feeding on demand) to sucking poorly and falling back asleep with each attempt to feed.

      Waking the baby every three hours both day and night creates exhaustion in both mother and baby. Rather than improving breast milk production, the fatigue, worry and frustration that this schedule creates are guaranteed ways to shut off breast milk production. It also creates a sleep-deprived, fussy infant whose natural rhythm is totally out of sync. 

     A healthy baby who is sleeping quietly is not hungry. If he poops or jerks, he might wake up one hours into a two-hour nap. After a diaper change, he may need a few sucks on a pacifier, a breast or a bottle to get back to sleep (if he is fussy between meals, a bottle of water is also a good substitute). If he goes to sleep after a few sucks but then cries after he is laid down, he is still tired. Leave the room and let him cry himself back to sleep. (No, he’s not too young to let cry – at least give him 5 minutes!). When the baby gets hungry, he will wake up by himself and cry. If you wait until that happens, he will feed well. After feeding well on the first breast for a while, if he starts to fuss again, the first breast may be empty or may not be giving the milk fast enough. Switch sides and allow him to feed on the second side until he is satisfied or until he gets fussy again. If he still acts hungry, switch back to the first breast and then try the second breast again to be sure they are both empty. There will be times when the baby needs more milk than you’ve produced. If the baby empties both breasts and still acts hungry, then feed the baby enough formula to satisfy him. Feeding both breasts until they are empty creates more breast milk and eventually the baby will stop needing the formula supplementation. However, if you don’t give the formula supplementation, you will spend the day listening to a crying, hungry baby.

    Trust your instincts. Your baby will tell you what he needs. Clear your mind of worry, guilt and bad advice. When the baby is wet, change him; when he is hungry, feed him and when he is tired, let him go to sleep. But, for both your sake and your baby's sake, never wake up a sleeping baby!