How to nurse my baby

1. How often will my baby nurse?
There's a very wide range for what's considered normal. Some babies like to nurse all the time — not just for nourishment, but for reassurance, too — while others nurse only when their tummies tell them to.

But here's what's typical after the first 24 hours, when your baby may be too sleepy to nurse much: For the first month, your baby may want to nurse every two to three hours, or eight to 12 times every 24-hour period. This might seem like a lot — and make you wonder whether she's getting enough at each feeding — but keep in mind that your new baby has a tiny tummy and needs frequent refills.

She may breastfeed eight or nine times a day in the second month, seven or eight times a day in the third month, and then start nursing more often in the fourth month — but for shorter periods of time as she becomes more engaged and distractible.

After 4 months, she'll start dropping in frequency again. By 6 months, she'll most likely be down to around five or six feedings every 24 hours. And there she may stay for as long as you continue to nurse her.

2. How much milk will my baby need if I pump breast milk for her?

If you pump your breast milk for your baby, you can follow these guidelines to know how much she'll need:

Up until a month of age, most babies will take 2.5 to 3 ounces of breast milk in a bottle, feeding about eight times a day, for a total of 20 to 24 ounces in 24 hours. After that, the average amount of breast milk until 6 months of age is around 26 to 28 ounces per day, divided into six to eight feedings. If solids are started earlier than 6 months, the amount of breast milk a baby takes will decrease.

Keep in mind that these are just rough guidelines — by no means do you need to try to get your baby to eat 28 ounces each day if she doesn't want to. (If your baby is exclusively breastfed, she should take in at least 25 ounces a day, though.)

"Don't hold back if your baby still seems hungry," says lactation consultant Jan Barger, "but don't stuff your baby because you think there's a certain amount she should be getting."

It's easy to overfeed a bottle-fed baby (with formula or breast milk), says Barger. While a breastfed baby can comfort at the breast while getting just a minimal amount of milk, or drink just enough to quench her thirst, a bottle-fed baby doesn't easily have that option. If your bottle-fed baby wants just a little milk, says Barger, she usually winds up getting much more because of how fast the bottle flows and the fact that it's hard for her to stop taking it.

To help your baby get just the right amount of milk, feed her slowly and take little breaks to give her a chance to let you know when she's had enough. In fact, if your baby seems to be gulping the breast milk quickly, help her catch her breath by taking a break every ten sucks or so. This is especially important during the first couple of months, until she learns to pace herself.

Most 7- to 11-month-old babies need a variety of solid foods two or three times a day, plus little snacks, along with four or five feedings of pumped breast milk a day. It's common for breastfed babies to decrease the amount of breast milk they take in as they increase their solid food intake.

Once she reaches her first birthday, your baby can transition to whole cow's milk in a bottle or sippy cup. Keep in mind that while cow's milk is good for her, you don't want to overdo it or you'll reduce her appetite for other healthy foods. In fact, too much cow's milk can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. Sixteen to 24 ounces a day should be just fine.

And of course, you can continue to nurse past the first year if you and your child want to. Even though your toddler will get most of her nutrition from solid food, breast milk still provides calories, valuable immunities, vitamins, and enzymes.