How often should an 8-week old infant be breast fed?
On-demand feeding is ideal for normal infants. Just as animals in the wild know precisely how much to consume in order to maintain their ideal body weight, so does your baby, instinctively. Notice that there are no fat wild animals; only domesticated animals overeat and get fat! That said, breastfeeding every 2-3 hours IS typical for an 8-week old newborn. If your baby is peeing, pooping and gaining weight appropriately, then you know she’s drinking enough milk. Most babies at this age will alert you when they are hungry, so you shouldn’t have to wake them up or push them to eat. It’s okay to let them (and YOU) sleep for 5 or 6 hours at night without feeding. In other words, if she sleeps through the night, enjoy it! You don’t have to worry about waking her up after 3 hours just to eat. However, many babies still won’t sleep for so long and do wish to feed more frequently, so you should oblige. Particularly during growth spurts, they may get hungry every hour for a few days! If you hav
