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A number of women discontinue breastfeeding in the first two weeks of
life before their first visit to their child's doctor because they
are concerned that the infant is nursing every two hours, seems to cry
and be hungry and they think this is because they don't have enough
milk.
When these babies come to the doctor,
if they are still breastfeeding they will have excellent weight gain.
These are babies who are demanding to be fed and their mothers
are meeting their demands.
These mothers need reassurance that their breastfeeding is
going well.
They are being very successful and as the baby gets older
their time between feedings will lengthen out a little bit.
Infants need to suck and some infants need to suck more than
others.
Some infants will be perfectly content to nurse for 30 to 45
minutes during a feeding whereas other infants will nurse for ten
minutes on the first breast, ten minutes on the second breast and then
fall asleep and be very content. The nursing time for some infants
may be a manifestation of their need to suck and their need for
closeness with the mother.
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