Newborns feed often, and it has a lot to do with the size of their tummies when they’re born. For the past 9 months Mom’s placenta has been giving them all the nourishment they need. They haven’t had a chance to put their little tummies to work yet. Once the baby is born their brand new tummy needs to learn how to grow, so the baby can too.
The day Aiden was born his tummy was the size of a hazelnut. He instinctively knows that he needs to keep his belly full. In order to do that, he needs to feed 8-15 times on the first day. His little tummy absorbs the milk very quickly, and before you know it, he needs to fill up his belly all over again!
By day two, Aiden’s stomach is the size of a cherry and he’s able to hold a little more milk then he did yesterday. That belly is growing fast, but he’ll still need to feed frequently (every 90 minutes – 2 hours).
When day six comes around Aiden’s stomach has plumped up to the size of an apricot! By now, Aiden has most likely gotten into a feeding routine. This is a good thing, especially if you’re breastfeeding. The more often Aiden feeds, the more breast milk is being produced, and that’s great for Mama and baby!
He knows when he’s hungry and he has different ways of letting you know. He will make cute little sucking motions with his mouth, opening his mouth really wide (as if to say, “More please!”), or give you a little, “I’m hungry Mom!” cry.
At about 2 weeks after Aiden is born, his stomach growth is starting to slow down a little bit. It is now the size of a large egg.
How often a baby feeds is going to vary, because every baby is different in their own beautiful way. But, on average, by the time a baby reaches 1 – 2 months they normally feed 7 – 9 times per day (every 1.5 – 3 hours). This means that by now Aiden can fit 4 – 6 ounces of milk in his nice big belly with each feeding!
Click here to learn more about how often a baby should feed and what to look out for.
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