Expert: ruth kraft - 4/8/2009

Question
Hi,

My daughter is 7 weeks old, in the past 3'4 days she has developed the following patter ... please et me know if it is ok ...

her last feed of the day is at 11 pm  she then sleeps for 6 hours before demanding a feed again at around 5 am. Then again she sleeps for 4/5 hours before demaning a feed again. This goes on till 5 or 6 pm. The she starts feeding after every 2 hours. I give her breast milk through a bottle and feed her on demand. I am concerned that 6 hours is too long a time ... please advice. Also how many times should she be passing stool ? Also , her 11 pm feed is not thru the bottle but directly on the breast , .... will this cause nipple confusion ?

Answer
there seem to be alot of things going on here and I am not clear on some of them. are you bottle feeding more than breastfeeding or is there only one or two times a day you bottle feed?  if you are using a bottle because your baby wont take the breast then yes, nipple confusion is likely. if your baby goes back and fourth between bottle and breast fine, then there is none. and if you havent have any thus far, it wont start . if the baby is going back and fourth between the two no problem, then dont worry about it. if you are trying to do one or the other, like if you are trying to only get her to nurse from the breast, then stop using a bottle.  

every baby is different in how she feeds. if she is having 6-8 wet diapes a day, gaining weight and thriving, then thats all that matters. not how often she eats. as long as she gets enough if doesnt matter how often they get it.

Bowel movements also vary by baby. some have one a day, some have one every few days.  please make sure she is having those 6-8 wet diapers a day and gaining weight .

I hope that helps.

Ruth Kraft
www.honoringwomen.com