Demand feeding? How many times do you feed in an average day?

[kingyo]

Hi
I'm very happily demand breastfeeding DD but I'm just curious how many other mums do it and how frequently your bubs are feeding? I realise it changes with age but I guess I'm really wondering if any other bub demands it as often as mine!:D
She's definitely going through an unsettled period at the moment but even so if I added up all the little comfort 'sips' and the snoozy drinks before sleeps I think I'm feeding about 15-20 times a day!

[Izy]

Some days as little as 7 feeds, but when his teeth or tummy are bothering him much much much much more.

Probably on par with your little one with 15-20.
In saying that he has big blocks of sleep at night.

A bit of re-assuring info, apparently the smaller the feeds and more frequent the easier they are to digest :thumbsup:

[MummaMilk]

Great advice from Izy and to follow on from her comment you can visualize how much you babies tummy holds by visiting here http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html#howmuch

[Aries7]

At that age, DD was feeding somewhere between every 1-3 hrs (during the day). She never went longer than 3hrs during the day, but would go 4-5hrs during the night.

It's good to feed often when they're that little as it keeps your supply nice & strong. :)

[Gabi]

I feed upon request - I like that term so much better than demand, my baby is not demanding!:D

DS1 feeds about 4 times a day (19mo) and DS2 feed 5 or 6 times a day (2mo). They are such different babies. DS2 has never been a frequent feeder, never taking more than 7 feeds a day (except when having a growth spurt) whereas DS1 at this age was having upwards of 12 a day and never went longer than an hour not attached to the breast.

[Izy]

I feed upon request - I like that term so much better than demand, my baby is not demanding!:D


So cute! My DS is 'request fed' at home, 'demand fed' in the car :laughing:

[Gabi]

So cute! My DS is 'request fed' at home, 'demand fed' in the car :laughing:

:laughing: So true!

[Mrs Nietzsche]

I think up to 6-7 weeks, more or less permanently attached to the boob.

Drops off fast after that though...

I don't pay much attention, DD2 is 4.5 mths now and I haven't fed her since 7am ish

[arty1]

my bub is 11weeks.

pretty much up until this time, when she is awake, nearly every hour to hour and a half. for the first 6-8 weeks she was attached constantly, and it really got to me. especially the evenings being the worst.

Now she is a little older, sometimes she can be awake for up to 1.5-2hrs fine without a feed.

I dont count. I just know its alot

[MummaBear03]

For the first 3 months, mine was on the boob for up to 45 minutes at a time, and sometimes only off it long enough for a nappy change and a song then back on again for another 10 minutes. But then, she slept through from birth too so it was never a hassle. She would go up to 2 hours between feeds in the mornings so I'd make playdates from 9 to 11am and on days we had no playdates or playgroup or anything that's when I'd do the bulk of the housework, she was also happy to lay on her little playmat gym thingy too for that whole 2 hours so that's when I'd do things like sweep and mop the entire house and put food on to cook to reheat later on, and make a plate of sandwiches to snack on when feeding little madame. I'd also plan to do the shopping during one of those 2 hour morning blocks to avoid having to do it while feeding. Not that I was embarassed or anything, it just makes it difficult to push a trolley one handed when the trolleys are hard enough to push with 2 hands.

After that she'd feed every hour or 2 and the feeds were down to 20 to 30 minutes at a time. I had good supply, but I think because she was feeding so much I wasn't able to express any til she was about 6 months old, and even then through the course of the whole day I would only get just enough to put on her cereal the next day. It wasn't til about 12 months I could fill a jug in a whole day.

[kingyo]

I feed upon request - I like that term so much better than demand, my baby is not demanding!:D.

I love this :thumbsup:

Thanks for the replies, some days its just nice to be reminded that you're not the only one. ;)

[InfiniteDreams]

My DD is 2 weeks old and she is a big sleeper, she is seeming to feed 7-8 times a day,

with long sleep periods, then in the arvo she will stay awake and feed about hourly

its strange, but shes happy and putting on weight so its working!

[MamaKoala]

From birth to 8 weeks about every 1-2 hours. Growth spurts I spent most of the day feeding. After that she dropped down to 2-3 hours and 4 hours at night.
Now at 6 months she's more interested in everything around her but still feeds every 2-4 hours during the day and 5-6 hours at night.