Breastfeeding Guide For The Whole First Year

Nursing changes as your baby grows. Here’s how to adapt.

{Month 5} I’ve heard that breastfed babies usually take longer to sleep through the night. Should my son be doing this yet?

First, keep in mind that “sleeping through the night” at this age actually means five or six hours, not eight or nine. Second, every baby is different. Some will start sleeping through at 3 months old; others won’t until much later. “Babies sleep through the night when they’re ready, whether or not they’re breastfed,” Panchula says.

That said, because breast milk is digested so completely and more quickly than formula, breastfed babies do tend to eat—and therefore wake—more frequently than formula-fed babies. (Tip: Don’t look at the clock! Feed the baby whenever he’s hungry, day or night.)

{Month 6} My baby seems ready for solids. How and when should I introduce them?

“Breast milk still is the most important part of your baby’s diet at this age, so breastfeed right before you offer cereal or other foods,” says Debi Page Ferrarello, R.N., M.S., I.B.C.L.C., director of family education and lactation at Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. When you do offer solids, start with rice cereal and gradually add a cooked or mashed fruit or vegetable. (Many pediatricians believe it’s fine to start with a finely puréed fruit or vegetable, or even meat; check with your doc to see what she recommends.) Be sure to wait three to five days before introducing a different food so you can trace the cause of any allergic reaction.

{Month 7} Can I take birth-control pills if I’m breastfeeding?

“Yes. But opt for a progestin-only ‘mini-pill,’ since pills containing estrogen can decrease milk supply,” Ferrarello says. Depo-Provera—an injection given every three months— is another progestin-only contraceptive that is safe to use while breastfeeding; wait six weeks after childbirth before beginning use.

{Month 8} I keep getting clogged milk ducts. What causes them, and what can I do to treat them?

“One of the risk factors for clogged ducts is a change in a baby’s feeding pattern,” Ferrarello says. “If your baby is nursing less frequently because he’s eating more solids, milk ‘stasis’— when milk sits in the breast—can occur and cause the ducts to clog.” The best way to treat clogged ducts is by nursing or pumping often from the affected breast, applying warm compresses, and getting plenty of fluids and rest. If you have a fever or flulike symptoms, see your doctor; you may have mastitis, an infection that often requires antibiotics.