- Understand how to calculate time between feedings. As previously
mentioned in chapter 4, the time between feedings should be measured
from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next. In every
feeding cycle, plan approximately ½ hour for feeding. For example,
three-week-old Chelsea was on a 3-hour routine. She received a feeding
at 7:00 A.M. Her mom nursed her for 30 minutes—7:30 A.M. If Chelsea
receives her next feeding in 2½ hours, at 10:00 A.M., then 3 hours will
have elapsed from the start of one feeding to the start of the next. The
clock, remember, is only a guide. If your baby shows signs of hunger
before 2½ hours—feed her. Hunger cues and parental assessment, not the
clock, determine feedings. - Between weeks two and four, nurse your baby approximately every
2½ to 3 hours. Any combination with these time frames is acceptable.
During these early weeks stay close to these recommended times. These
routine feedings will help to establish and stabilize both your lactation
and your baby’s metabolism. You want to average 8 to 10 feedings in a
24-hour period. - When should you wake a sleeping baby and when should you let
him sleep? If you need to awaken your baby during the day to prevent
him or her from sleeping longer than the 3-hour cycle, do so! Such
parental intervention is necessary to help stabilize the baby’s digestive
metabolism, maintain your lactation, and help him organize his sleep. If
you find that your baby just won’t wake up enough to feed, then give him
an extra 30 minutes sleep and try again. The exception to this guideline
comes with the late-evening feedings, which usually occur between 10:00
or 11:00 p.m. After this feeding let your baby sleep until he wakes up
naturally, but do not let him sleep more than five hours if you are breast-
feeding. When he does wake, feed him and put him right back to bed. - After the first week, starting with the early-morning feeding and
continuing through the mid-evening feeding, all three activities will take
place: feeding time, waketime, and naptime. In Chapter Three we stated
the key to establishing healthy sleep patterns is the order of these events.
First comes feeding time, followed by some waketime. Naptime
concludes the sequence. It is the routine interacting with these three
nora
(Nora)
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