Breastfeeding is not just a process of providing a child with the nutrients necessary for his full growth and development. It is also a close emotional connection between mother and baby, the formation of his strong immunity and many other factors. That is why many women seek to feed their child for as long as possible. But not always mom can realize her intentions due to periodically arising difficulties. For example, they include the fact that the baby sucks for a very long time while breastfeeding. This mode quickly exhausts the mother and, in search of the cause of what is happening, the woman often comes to minimize breastfeeding, and transfer the baby to the mixture. About why a baby sucks for a long time and how to deal with it, we will tell in our article.
Feeding modes: on demand or by hour
If 20 years ago pediatricians advised mothers to put the baby to their breasts every 3 hours, today these recommendations are completely contrary to the principles of breastfeeding. All consultants and specialists unanimously reiterate that the newborn baby should be fed on demand, namely when he is anxious. In the first days after birth, he may require a breast every 30 minutes. Over time, when mature lactation is established, the intervals between feedings will be longer. But do not think that the baby will wake up to eat exactly every three hours. The gaps will remain uneven.
In the first weeks after birth, some babies spend 2 hours at their breasts. That is why the situation when a baby sucks a breast for a long time is far from rare. At this time, he can fall asleep for 30-40 minutes, but as soon as mom starts to put him in the crib, wake up again and want to eat again. To establish lactation and stimulate the production of a sufficient amount of milk, you should not refuse the baby the pleasure to spend a few more minutes at the chest.
Just during sucking, the child excites the nerve endings of the nipple. Nerve signals, in turn, stimulate the pituitary gland to form the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for how much milk will be produced for the next feeding. If the baby is breastfeeding for a long time and often, then it will come more. Especially intense is the formation of prolactin at night. From 3 nights to 8 in the morning the level of this hormone is the highest and it stimulates the secretion of milk in an amount sufficient for subsequent daily feedings. Thus, on-demand feeding is a prerequisite for successful natural feeding.
The norms of milk volume at different ages
Most mothers who breastfeed their babies are worried about whether they eat or remain hungry. And this is a completely logical question. When artificially fed in a bottle, a certain volume of the mixture is diluted, which is necessary for the crumb by age. When breastfeeding, it is impossible to check how much the baby ate at 1 time. From here experiences arise.
In fact, it’s not bad at all that a baby sucks for a long time. The internal organs, liver, kidneys and intestines of the newborn baby are not adequately adapted to the large volume of incoming food. But since all children develop individually, it turns out that for one child 20 ml is already a lot, and for another it is not enough 30 ml. To determine how much the child ate, breastfeeding is possible only by weighing it before applying to the breast and after.
In the first days after birth, the newborn is still so small that 7-9 ml of fat colostrum is enough for him. But to feed such crumbs with an adapted milk mixture is not worth it. Such food only creates an additional burden on the kidneys, and they still can not cope with a large amount of fluid.
For 3-4 days, most women receive milk. The child begins to receive more fluid, and the number of urinations increases accordingly. From this moment, the baby eats 30-40 ml of breast milk per feeding. With each subsequent day, this volume increases by another 10 ml. Thus, a two-week-old baby should eat 100-120 ml of mother's milk in one application to the breast. Checking whether the baby fits into the norm is very simple: just put it on the scales before and immediately after feeding. The resulting difference will be the amount of food that the child received for a single feeding.
After two weeks of age, the daily allowance is already in effect. From this moment, all calculations are based on the body weight of the baby. Up to 1.5 months, its weight in grams is divided by 5; from 1.5 to 4 months - by 6; from 6 to 7 months - by 7; up to 8 months - by 8; up to 12 months - by 9. The obtained value is the volume of milk that the baby should receive per day, regardless of the number of feedings.
How long should a newborn suck?
This question worries every mom whose baby spends all day near the chest. But even pediatricians cannot give a definite answer to it. Some on the question of how long the baby should suckle, claim that no more than 15 minutes, while others believe that two-hour feedings can be considered quite acceptable. It all depends on many factors.
First of all, newborn babies under the age of 1 month spend much longer near their breasts. During this period of life, it is important for them not only to receive food, but also to satisfy the sucking reflex, as well as the feeling of mother's warmth. On average, the duration of one feeding a newborn baby is 20-30 minutes. As they grow older, the child learns to feed faster. From the age of three months to six months, the duration of feeding is 15 minutes, and from 6 to 12 months - 5 minutes or less. The baby grows older, he has other more “important” things: sit down, crawl, run, etc.
Thus, there can be many reasons why a baby is breastfeeding for a long time. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail.
Why does a baby suckle for a very long time?
Most mothers, and especially grandmothers, believe that a baby can spend a lot of time near her breast for only one reason - a lack of milk from her mother. But this is far from the case. To understand the question of why the baby sucks her breast for a long time and often, we will consider each reason that prompts him to this action, in more detail:
- The amount of milk in mom. Even if a child asks for a breast every half hour, it means that he needs so much food to get enough. Firstly, breast milk is digested much faster than artificial mixtures. This, in turn, means that the baby will feel hunger sooner than after 3 hours. Secondly, milk in different women may have different fat content, so one child may need a larger amount of food, and another less. Therefore, there is no need to draw hasty conclusions that the baby is not enough milk.
- Temperament of the baby. Each child is born with its own character and type of temperament. Phlegmatic children suck their breasts for long and lazily, and choleric often and intensively. It is possible that a child who spends a lot of time near the mother’s breast refers to this type of temperament.
- The need for close bodily contact. Mom's breasts are not only a means of satiety. This is also a way to satisfy the need for love, affection and tenderness, as well as another important reason why a baby sucks for a long time. It is proved that babies who spent a lot of time in their mother’s breasts in infancy grow more emotional, friendly and open than their peers.
- The situation in the room. If there is no rush or fuss during feeding, the baby can be at the breast for as long as the mother wants. The baby will eat as much as he needs to be fully saturated.
How to check if the baby has enough milk?
If a mother expresses strong concern that a newborn baby is breastfeeding for a long time, she can easily check if there is enough milk for the baby. To do this, do the following:
- Count the number of urinations per day. Normally, there should be 12 or more. In this case, urine should be light, without a characteristic odor. To check the number of urinations within 24 hours, you need to give up disposable diapers at this time, do not add crumbs to water and do not give him any medicine.
- Calculate your weekly weight gain. As practice shows, a child who is breastfed sucks an unequal amount of milk at different times. Therefore, to calculate how much he ate for one feeding is impractical. It is enough to calculate the weekly weight gain. On average, a newborn baby, with the exception of the time spent in the hospital, gaining 120 g per week. The monthly weight gain is normally from 500 g to 2 kg.
But even if the baby really does not have enough milk, this is not a reason to run to the nearest supermarket for a mixture and a bottle. Most likely, lactation can still be increased. The main thing is to make every effort possible.
Lactation crisis and other causes of milk shortage
One of the reasons why a newborn baby suckles for a long time and often is really the lack of milk produced. But mom should never be upset, even if this is true. One of the principles of successful breastfeeding is preparing that every healthy woman, without exception, is able to feed her baby, regardless of breast size, physique and age. This means that all the reasons why there was a lot of milk yesterday, and today it is not enough, is temporary. They can be caused by the following factors:
- Lactation crisis. Sooner or later, every lactating mother faced this physiological process. The reasons for the onset of the lactational crisis are still not fully known, as well as its timing. Some women go through the crisis once during the entire period of breastfeeding, while others survive it every month. On average, its duration is from 2 to 4 days. One of the signs of a crisis is a sharp decrease in the amount of milk. But as you know, frequent application will help increase its production. Let the baby suckle for a long time during this period, as much as she wants, and after a few days the crisis will pass. The main thing is at this moment not to panic and not to offer the child a mixture.
- A sharp jump in growth in the baby. As a rule, this happens quite unexpectedly. The baby begins to suckle faster and more intensively, but the whole system does not have time to adapt to his new needs. Frequent and prolonged application will help to establish lactation. Do not tear off the baby from the chest, if he has not yet been full. In this situation, mother can be advised to have more patience.
Signs of Overeating in Infants
If the baby sucks for a long time and at the same time the mother notices that he constantly swallows milk, and not just holds the nipple in his mouth, this can lead to the fact that the baby will eat much more at one feeding than it should be by age. What are the signs of overeating in newborns? First of all, these include frequent and abundant regurgitation. Despite the fact that breast milk is digested much faster than the mixture, if the baby is spent day and night near the breast, his stomach will be constantly full. Hence the frequent regurgitation.
Another common sign of overfeeding is too much weight gain. As a rule, if a baby sucks for a long time, his body weight increases monthly by 1.3-1.5 kg. Thus, by half a year the weight of the baby can be 10-12 kg. This is a very high rate. But to adjust the weight, on the recommendation of a pediatrician, will have to be after the baby turns 6 months old. Typically, these children are advised to introduce complementary foods with vegetable purees, and give cereal after 7-8 months. In addition, when the child begins to move, he can slightly lose his weight on his own.
In order not to overfeed the baby, mother is not recommended to offer him a breast every time he begins to cry. You need to try to distract the child, play with him, and not calm him down. It is important to adhere to a certain daily regimen from a very young age. In the future, this will greatly facilitate the life of both mother and child.
What to do if the baby eats breast milk for a long time?
For a mother, it can be a big problem that the baby spends 2 hours a day at the breast. Most women do not have assistants to complete homework, prepare lunch and dinner for the whole family, take time for a second child, etc. Therefore, it is not surprising that a nursing mother begins to get nervous and panic because the baby is breastfeeding for a long time . What to do, how to find time for yourself and not harm the baby? Breastfeeding experts recommend the following in this case:
- Tune in to successful breastfeeding. For this, it is important to enlist the support of loved ones who, at least for a while, will be able to take on all household duties.
- Do not try to achieve perfect cleanliness and order in the house at the expense of breastfeeding. After a few months, everything will work out, mom will have more time for those things that she did not have time to do immediately after the birth of the crumbs.
- Continue to feed the baby on demand when he begins to show anxiety. This will ensure the production of the required amount of milk, and the intervals between feedings will gradually become longer.
- Sometimes children fall asleep during feeding, but continue to suck. If this happens, do not tear the baby from the chest. It’s just that the child gives mom a rest, and daytime sleep is very important for lactation.
- Enjoy breastfeeding and motherhood in general, contrary to all domestic duties.
Why is a baby 1 year old constantly asking for breasts?
It is one thing when a baby sucks for a long time, and quite another when a one-year-old baby does it. The reason for this behavior is no longer the lack of milk and the feeling of hunger. The child after 1 year receives a complete complementary foods, consisting of solid food. His chest remains only as a means of complacency. As a rule, the child is applied to her either in the evening, during falling asleep, or at night in a dream.
If a one-year-old baby does not let his chest out of his mouth, the cause of this behavior may be stress, lack of communication with his mother, or cutting teeth. A woman is recommended to analyze the actions that have occurred with the baby recently. Perhaps he was offended by someone in the sandbox, or he hit hard and now wants more affection from his mother. Particularly acute year-old children suffer separation from a woman who has left the maternity leave to work. At this time, it is important to spend more time with the child, walk with him daily, read fairy tales at night and, of course, not refuse him if he wants to kiss his chest.
Tips by Dr. Komarovsky
An honored pediatrician, whose opinion is listened to by many famous mothers, agrees that mother's milk is the best food for an infant. Komarovsky E.O. advises women who have a sufficient amount of lactation to not feed their baby until they reach six months of age. At the same time, the baby during the first year of life should be under the supervision of a doctor who monitors whether the child has a shortage of weight, if he has enough milk, etc. From 6 months, the baby will gradually receive complementary foods. Thus, the amount of breastfeeding is replaced by normal food. After a year, the child practically does not need breast milk. But if a woman can and wants to continue breastfeeding, this is only encouraged. This is a kind of biological form of communication between mother and baby.
Regarding the question of why the baby sucks for a long time during breastfeeding, Dr. Komarovsky does not touch on this point in his articles and television programs. But the opinions of other pediatricians on this subject were divided: some advocate feeding as much as the child requires, while others categorically do not accept this approach. The mother’s task is to find a pediatrician who advocates breastfeeding and does not give the woman stupid advice on how to feed the baby with a mixture or give him a dummy.