1. How often do babies eat? With regard to this question, the situation is the same in every department, and not only is there a difference between babies, but as the baby grows, this situation changes from day to day. Don’t look at how many times your baby eats, but at how he behaves after feeding: does he sometimes wake up for a while after feeding and look at you calmly for a few minutes before wanting his next meal? Does he sometimes fall asleep at the breast? If you lift his arm and then let go while he’s sleeping, does her arm fall heavily? Even if he’s breastfeeding much more often than you expected, all of these signals still indicate that, like any kind of mammalian baby, he’s setting his own pace nicely. If you leave the hospital still trying to cope with a medicated or very sleepy baby, assume that he will need to eat at least every three hours for most of the day (though more likely every two hours) and at least a couple of times during the night. Your baby will let you know what he needs when he becomes a bit more awake after a few days and starts to set his own pace. He may suddenly start to feed many times, much more often than you think is normal, and this is probably normal, especially so if he is rising to the occasion. 2. How long should I feed for at one time? The answer to this question varies. Your baby may want to eat on one side, two sides, three sides or even four sides, and a complete meal usually takes about 20 minutes, sometimes as long as 40 minutes (remember that at first most of your day is associated with feeding and caring for your baby, and that will change when he becomes more efficient). For the first few weeks, very few babies can speed feed in less than 5 minutes at a time and then not be hungry for hours. Unfortunately for these babies, however, they get milk too soon and eat too much, leaving them with no chance to wander between desserts, snacks, and naps in mom’s arms like a typical newborn. Those babies who get enough milk usually start out struggling with their eyes as if he has to concentrate to get the milk, then during feedings he might nod off and eventually fall asleep with a few drops of unswallowed milk hanging out of the corner of his mouth and his body as soft as a rag doll’s. One dad said, “That’s it, he’s absorbed in the milk.” In contrast, babies who sleep most of the time during breastfeeding usually eat slowly and for a long time, perhaps needing to suck many times to get a swallowable mouthful of milk. This type of eating takes a lot of time and energy, so these babies sleep as much as they can, but to put them down, their eyes open, they look at you with a worried expression, and do everything they can to get back to the breast, and when they get there they fall asleep again. Some of these babies sleep well at night, but they don’t do it because they are contented but to conserve their energy and they usually don’t gain enough weight. 3, Do I need to feed him both breasts? Mammal mothers don’t worry about timing, milk flow or switching sides, they will keep feeding as long as they feel comfortable in the position, and will only change positions if they want to or if the baby is no longer happy with the current situation. Think of one breast as a “meal” Some babies want to eat two servings in a row, some take one and fall asleep, leaving the second for later, and some try to boost your milk production by taking three, four or more servings before falling asleep. Whenever your baby tells you he needs milk you will feed him, so it doesn’t matter how many servings he takes at a time, as long as he feels satisfied when he’s done. Your breasts will tell you if it’s enough to feed only one side, and if you don’t empty one side of your breasts after a long time, it will feel uncomfortable, prompting you to give your baby this side. 4. How long does it take for the baby to get the hindmilk? As you may have heard, foremilk is that thin, low-fat milk that comes down at the beginning of a feeding, and hindmilk is that creamy, higher-fat milk towards the end of a feeding. But your breasts produce only one kind of milk, and it may seem that the foremilk and hindmilk are different, simply because of the change in fat content. If you feed very frequently, the two types of milk get mixed together. When the time between feedings is extended, some of the fat in the milk is slowly deposited back into the milk ducts, leaving only the milk with the lower fat content. At the next feeding, the deposited fat is squeezed out of the ducts and slowly mixed into the milk. Milk is all nutritious, and the change in fat can make a difference to the baby, even allowing control over how many calories are obtained, and when. This is not a problem unless the baby finds that it takes a lot of “broth” to get to “dessert”.