“Birth no more constitutes the beginning of the life of the individual than it does the end of gestation. Birth represents a complex and highly important series of functional changes which serve to prepare the newborn for the passage across the bridge between gestation within the womb and gestation continued out of the womb.” (Montagu, 1986, 57)
Welcome to The Fourth Trimester
Breast storage and the Magic Number
Breastfeeding works by supply and demand: take milk out, make more milk. Leave milk in, make less milk. This feedback loop between baby and breasts works around the clock, reliably keeping production running.
But there is another factor at play which you might not be aware of. It explains why breastfeeding frequency can vary so much between mothers.
Feed frequently to make milk
There are times when it's just not worth moving the boob away from the baby. Periods of increased breastfeeding signal to the breast to increase production because the infant has some big stuff going on. You literally need to go with the flow.
You can invest a lot of thinking into the Why of the increased feeding but looking at it as a problem to be solved is considering it from entirely the wrong perspective. Because you are actually observing a problem being solved.