Questions tagged [breastfeeding]

Breastfeeding, breast milk, lactation, the infant's needs, the mother's needs, pumping, storing/freezing, effects on immune system, and more. See also the tags [feeding] and [eating].

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Do I really need to wake my newborn to feed him?

We have a two week old child. He's eating well during the day, eating at least 8 times a day, and is breast feeding. His weight gain has been 'normal' so far, and he regained his original birth weight ...
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37 votes
7 answers
15k views

Is it normal that my 2.5-year-old son still likes breastfeeding?

I have been breastfeeding my son since he was born up to now at 2 years old. I noticed that he really enjoys being fed and playing with my nipple. When he gets upset and I hold him, he will put his ...
user82874's user avatar
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25 votes
3 answers
4k views

Should a toddler who weaned only a few months ago be allowed to see mom nursing younger sibling?

My wife became pregnant with our third child when our second was only ten months old. She was nursing our second at the time, but she always had a problem of not having enough milk even though both ...
AbuMariam's user avatar
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20 votes
1 answer
2k views

Giving expressed breast milk at the same time of day that it was expressed

My partner believes that it is beneficial for our baby to be given expressed breast milk at the same time of day that the milk was expressed, e.g. breastmilk expressed in the evening would ideally be ...
AGB's user avatar
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18 votes
10 answers
20k views

How can we make our newborn breastfeed less frequently?

We have a new baby (almost two weeks old). For the past 8-9 days she's had a habit of Breastfeeding every hour during the afternoons. She can spend 30mins feeding, then 30mins active and gurgling, ...
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17 votes
5 answers
4k views

How long is breastfeeding effective and worthwhile?

I realize that this question can have many personal or subjective viewpoints, so the answer I'm looking for is what the best-known data shows us from two perspectives: Is there an average ...
J.J.'s user avatar
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16 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are trace amounts of caffeine through breastmilk safe for babies?

I am a student parent and find that coffee helps me study. I drank coffee while pregnant and kept it well under the daily allowed amount. I am unsure what I can have while breastfeeding though. How ...
Christine's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
2k views

Breastfeeding for 3-5 minutes and feeds every hour

So my son is 3 months old and the most he breast feeds at a time is 5-6 minutes, then he falls asleep or unlatches. And he’ll feed every hour or hour and a half. He’s been gaining weight, has plenty ...
Courtney Lozada's user avatar
14 votes
11 answers
215k views

Baby breastfeeds for only 5 mins before sleeping again

My daughter is 2 months old and is exclusively breastfed. After drinking for only 5 mins she falls asleep again and wakes up crying again after 30 mins. We have tried different things like tickling ...
Badri's user avatar
  • 141
14 votes
6 answers
10k views

Should we freeze some breastmilk for later use even if there's no excess supply?

My wife is currently pumping just enough milk to keep up with "demand". Since she'll be going to back to work and won't be able to pump as often as she does now, her milk supply will likely run out ...
Igorek's user avatar
  • 243
14 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to include Dad in breastfeeding process?

I'm due in two-three weeks. I'd like breastfeed my son exclusively for at least a month or two (circumstance permitting). My question is: how do I include my husband in breastfeeding? We've talked ...
Cygnus's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
3k views

How can we end nighttime 'comfort' nursing?

My wife and I are just finishing up a 4 week trip home to visit the grandparents (we live in Australia, they in North America). We have introduced the unfortunate habit in our 10 month old daughter ...
oldNoakes's user avatar
  • 283
14 votes
2 answers
2k views

Breastfeeding and a Job Interview

My 4-month-old is 100% breastfed. I am currently looking for a new job and have a job interview in two days. The problem is that it is a full-day interview. I cannot go 8+ hours without pumping, but ...
Alame's user avatar
  • 141
13 votes
5 answers
93k views

New born seems to be spitting up entire meals. Should I be worried?

We have a baby that is a little over a week old and it seems like after some feedings she is spitting up what looks like her entire meal (breast feeding). I've been weighing her and she still seems ...
brh's user avatar
  • 713
13 votes
2 answers
718k views

How long does breast milk last after taken from the fridge?

There's a lot of information available about how long pumped breast milk can be kept for, generally citing different temperature ranges. From the CDC (though the same reference is also cited by the ...
gregmac's user avatar
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12 votes
3 answers
37k views

2 week old baby is not interested in eating

My 2 week old baby girl is not nursing well. At each nursing, she eats 1 to 1.5 ounces in about 50 to 60 minutes. She often falls asleep immediately afterwards. If we let her, she will sleep for 3+ ...
carmen's user avatar
  • 406
12 votes
7 answers
9k views

Can pacifier-use interfere with breastfeeding?

I don't really want my newborn to use the pacifier because I'm afraid it will interfere with breastfeeding. The first week I'd nurse her for an hour to an hour and a half - basically until she was ...
Rhea's user avatar
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12 votes
4 answers
2k views

Is nipple confusion a real thing?

Our baby daughter is breast-fed, but sometimes it would be convenient to supplement with a bottle of formula (mostly so that the mother can sleep a little longer while dad takes care of it). We keep ...
luispedro's user avatar
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11 votes
5 answers
7k views

How often should my wife breastfeed our newborn?

Our newborn is one week old and a boy. When we were still in hospital, the nurse was giving formula milk to our newborn every 3 hours. But since we brought our baby home, we exclusively breastfeed our ...
kalingga's user avatar
  • 1,559
11 votes
4 answers
16k views

My wife is pregnant again, does she need to stop breastfeeding our son?

We have a 1 year old son, and my wife is now pregnant with our second child. Our doctor says she should stop breastfeeding our son because she is pregnant, because it may harm the fetus. This makes me ...
kalingga's user avatar
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11 votes
3 answers
2k views

How do you ween a toddler off of breastfeeding?

All sources I can find agree that breastfeeding should stop slowly and gradually, and most of them say that it often happens naturally once the baby gets used to solid foods. Well, with our baby it ...
Lennart Regebro's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is alcohol transmitted through breastmilk?

We have a similar Question for caffeine, but I could not find one for alcohol, and I'm sure many breastfeeding mothers are interested to know: How much alcohol is transmitted through breastmilk? ...
Acire's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
635 views

What are the benefits of breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding at 8 months?

At 8 months, our daughter is fed up of breastfeeding. She eats solid food enthusiastically, similarly for formula in a bottle, but seems done with boobs. She'll take breastmilk from a bottle, but ...
user93's user avatar
  • 111
11 votes
2 answers
581 views

Is breastfeeding an infant more "healthy" than using expressed milk?

Is breastfeeding an infant more healthy than using expressed milk? With healthy I mean the relative health of mother and child, and with expressed milk I mean milk extracted from the breasts using ...
Ro Siv's user avatar
  • 213
10 votes
7 answers
75k views

How to help my newborn pass gas

I have a newborn (10 days). She seems to struggle with a lot of gas several times a day (first question, is this too much!?). How do we help her pass the gas more quickly and easily? She does get it ...
kentcdodds's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
45k views

Are there any studies about effects of microwave ovens on human breast milk?

With all due respect to passionate parents who type in caps "NEVER HEAT MILK IN MICROWAVE" is there any verifiable scientific study on how bad it is to heat refrigerated milk for 15-20 seconds? Or ...
bestander's user avatar
  • 225
10 votes
5 answers
9k views

Why would my 9-week-old refuse to nurse from breast?

My 9-week-old has recently started to refuse to nurse from the breast. She will only eat from the bottle (pumped breastmilk). She has successfully breastfed since birth, she also uses the bottle ...
Kyle's user avatar
  • 399
10 votes
5 answers
39k views

1 year old baby won't eat in day, drinks milk all night

My baby boy is almost a year old and most of the time doesn't want to eat his food. He occasionally has a good meal but most of the time just messes around, throwing food on the floor, spitting out ...
MiniMum's user avatar
  • 2,202
10 votes
3 answers
353 views

Returning to work quickly - how does feeding work?

My partner is looking to return to work soon after giving birth. We both work, so we'll need to find someplace that looks after baby whilst we are out all day. The question we have is how does the ...
VictorySaber's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
8k views

Does a breast feeding mother's diet affect the breast milk produced?

Example: If during breast feeding, I keep on eating lots of Ghee, Coffee, etc., it may or may not harm me. BUT, - Will those substances have an effect on the milk produced? - Will the baby be ...
Aquarius_Girl's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
113k views

My one year old son doesn't want to eat. What happened to my son?

When my son was under 11 months old, he ate a lot, but I don't know what changed when he reached 1 year old. It seems like he doesn't like to eat. When we give our son food, sometimes he tries to ...
kalingga's user avatar
  • 1,559
10 votes
6 answers
13k views

Things to do while breastfeeding, other than watch TV

What are some activities that one can do whilst breastfeeding? A quick Google turned up lists that boiled down to "watch TV" or "enjoy doing nothing". I'm interested in some more creative solutions ...
jsj's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
316 views

Are employers required to accomodate pumping mothers?

It seems like I will be recalled to work after being laid off in the spring. I am a media specialist at an elementary school. The schedule I would be assigned has classes back to back all day other ...
Erin's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
2k views

What are the pros and cons of feeding on demand?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of feeding an infant on demand? Roughly when should feeding on demand stop and a proper schedule start?
C. Ross's user avatar
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10 votes
5 answers
20k views

Does feeding breast milk from a bottle convey the same health benefits as nursing?

Is there's any specific benefit to nursing instead of just pumping and feeding from the bottle? Is there anything intrinsic in the act of nursing that improves baby's health or increases the nutrition?...
Doug T.'s user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
42k views

How do you slow down a newborn's feeding?

Our newborn (two weeks) is going through a phase of breastfeeding so fast, audibly gulping it down, that he makes himself sick, which is distressing for everyone and counterproductive as he's hungrier ...
ninesided's user avatar
  • 539
9 votes
5 answers
84k views

What is the best way to stop breast feeding a 3 year old?

My child is 3 years old. I want to know which is the best way to stop breastfeeding? She cries and fights with her mother if her mother refuses to breastfeed her. We also found that it also helps ...
Namshum's user avatar
  • 813
9 votes
4 answers
56k views

Ok to mix breast milk with water?

Our 2 month old breast feeds 90% of the time, but if my wife is away we will use pumped breast milk from a bottle. The other day my wife was out and we only had 1.5 oz of defrosted breast milk. Our ...
brh's user avatar
  • 713
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

How to know whether the baby has had her fill while breastfeeding?

She is 24 days old. How to know whether the baby is sucking breasts because she's hungry or because she is entertaining/soothing herself? Accordingly I wish to know when to take the breasts out of ...
Aquarius_Girl's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can I still nurse?

I am a first time mom and my baby is three and a half weeks early. I am currently pumping, but am trying to nurse. Unfortunately, she won't even latch for more than 20 seconds and I'd say about 95% of ...
Georgia Kugath's user avatar
9 votes
6 answers
11k views

How do you know when a baby needs to be burped?

My daughter just turned two, and over the last two years, I've learned a lot. Most parenting skills were easy to learn, but I never figured out burping when she was in the infant stage. In retrospect, ...
amcnabb's user avatar
  • 523
9 votes
5 answers
137k views

Why does my child squirm so much while bottle feeding?

She used to be fairly intent and placated by feeding (she's 6 months now). About two weeks ago she started squirming around quite a bit while drinking from her bottle. She arches her back and moves ...
Bob's user avatar
  • 335
9 votes
3 answers
413 views

Is it safe to breastfeed through pregnancy?

I have heard 2 arguments against breastfeeding while pregnant, that it causes contractions that can lead to premature labor, and that it can be difficult on the mother to support a developing baby, ...
Rachel's user avatar
  • 999
9 votes
3 answers
706 views

How to make an infant stop biting the nipple when breastfeeding?

My seven-month-old son has started to bite his mother's breast nipple when she's breastfeeding him. Any ideas on how to make it stop?
Emilio M Bumachar's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
782 views

How do you ensure proper nutrition for a child in a vegetarian or vegan household?

I do not yet have children but I am a vegetarian. I am curious to know how vegetarians, and vegans, address the issue of nourishment. If it helps, I am vegetarian more for ethical reasons than health ...
somehume's user avatar
  • 393
8 votes
10 answers
4k views

Do we need an electronic breast pump?

Since we plan that my wife is going to be a full-time/stay at home mom, do you think she will need an electronic breast pump? We are first time parents. We do not sure if we need the electric one or ...
Richard Sayakanit's user avatar
8 votes
7 answers
43k views

What can be done if a breastfed newborn baby drinks too slowly?

Our newborn baby (7 weeks old, ca. 4 kg) wants to drink at the breast nearly the whole day: He drinks very slowly (one "meal" can take 30..60 minutes), makes a lot of breaks during drinking and mostly ...
BBM's user avatar
  • 4,118
8 votes
1 answer
265 views

Is it ok if my 15-month-old son stops breastfeeding by himself?

My 1 year and 3 months old baby suddenly has stopped breastfeeding at night. I have tried to feed him several times but he is not interested. He is eating solid food but not interested in the breast ...
unknown's user avatar
  • 81
8 votes
1 answer
580 views

Is milk supply when pumping not an indication of actual milk supply?

I've heard that pumping little milk out might not be an indication of low milk supply. My wife has been pumping and getting 30ml in 20 minutes, while I've been told that a newborn usually needs 50-...
jason's user avatar
  • 379
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

What should I do about my 3 month old baby wanting to nurse all night?

I've been too tired to get up every 2-3 hrs to nurse, so I've been sleeping with him attached to my breast... Unfortunately I can't sleep well. What should I do? He doesn't burp well either, and spits ...
user1760's user avatar