MemorialCare - Your Guide to Postpartum and Newborn Care

Newborn Feeding Patterns

How often babies want to feed will vary. Although the goal is to feed your newborn at least 8 times in 24 hours, it’s not unusual for some babies to feed 11, 12, or even 14 times a day. What to know • Consistently feed your baby at least 8 times in every 24-hour period • Fewer than 8 feedings every 24 hours is typically not enough • Don’t limit the length of a feeding or the number of feedings each day • Follow your baby’s feeding cues so they take in more milk more often • Frequently feeding your baby helps your breasts make more milk

THE FIRST 5 DAYS

DAY 1: FIRST 24 HOURS | BIRTHDAY NAP • Baby may stay awake for 1 to 2 hours then sleep for many hours • Watch for feeding cues and try to breastfeed at least 8 times today • Gently rub baby’s legs, feet, and back to help them stay awake and feed • Baby may eat less often in the first 24 hours as they rest up from the birth • Plan for plenty of supervised skin-to-skin contact on baby’s first day! • You may want to hand express and provide drops of colostrum to the baby

DAY 2: 24 TO 48 HOURS | LEARNING DAY • Babies usually show more feeding cues and eat more often on day 2 • Baby may go through a “marathon” nursing phase, feeding many times close together • Keep baby with you and allow them to feed as often as they want • After putting baby down, they may wake up and nurse again, not because of hunger but because sucking comforts them

DAY 3: 48 TO 72 HOURS | ALL DAY BUFFET • Baby may begin normal “cluster feeding” (short periods of frequent feeding)

• Holding baby skin-to-skin makes breastfeeding easier • Watch for baby’s feeding cues and respond to them quickly • Baby may continue to cluster feed, easing back as your milk supply increases

DAY 4 AND 5: 72 TO 120 HOURS | NIGHT OWL • Your milk supply increases, and baby eats more at each feeding • Listen for swallowing and even gulping sounds as baby feeds • Baby may become satisfied and drift off to sleep after feeding • Sleeping more during the day and being awake at night is normal • Baby will eat at least 8 times—up to 10 to 12 times—every 24 hours • Baby starts to gain weight and produce more wet and dirty diapers

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Your Guide to Postpartum and Newborn Care