feeding to the beginning of the next. Sometimes it may be less and
sometimes slightly more, based on your baby’s unique needs. In actual
practice, a 2½-hour routine means you will nurse your baby two hours
from the end of the last feeding to the start of the next, adding back in
twenty to thirty minutes for feeding to complete the cycle. A three-hour
routine means you will nurse your baby 2½ hours from the end of the last
feeding to the start of the next. When you add twenty to thirty minutes for
the actual feeding time, you will complete your three-hour cycle. With
these recommended times you can average between eight to ten feedings
a day in the early weeks and more if needed. These times fall well within
the AAP recommendations.^7
While 2½-to 3-hour feedings are a healthy norm, there may be
occasions when you might feed sooner. But take heed. Consistently
feeding exclusively at 1½-to 2-hour intervals may wear a mother down.
Extreme fatigue reduces her physical ability to produce a sufficient
quantity and even quality of milk. Add postpartum hormones to the mix
and it isn’t any wonder some women simply throw in the towel. Bear in
mind, the word consistently is operative. As stated, there will be times
when you might nurse sooner than 2½ hours, but that should not be the
norm. At the other extreme, going longer than 3½ hours in the early
weeks can produce too little stimulation for successful lactation.
The First Milk
The first milk produced is a thick, yellowish liquid called colostrum.
Colostrum is at least five times as high in protein as mature milk with
less fat and sugar. As a protein concentrate, it takes longer to digest and
is rich in antibodies. Some mothers experience tenderness in the first few
days before mature milk comes in. This is due to the thickness of the
colostrum and the infant sucking especially hard to remove it. A typical
pattern is suck, suck, suck, then swallow. When mature milk becomes
available, your baby responds with a rhythmic suck, swallow, suck,
swallow, suck, swallow. At that point, the hard sucking is reduced and the
tenderness should dissipate.