Melissa:

1) Yes, I do think that this is the common perception about BF babies! (I
also think it's true, sometimes and in some ways. I sleep longer and better
at night when I take benadryl (see, it all ties in!), but that doesn't mean
that it's normal or natural or even desirable. Sleep researchers could tell
me all about how it alters brain chemistry, brain activity, the consequences
of those alterations, etc.)

2) Problems? It's not normal. Babies wake to nurse so often for a reason -
lots of reasons, in fact. They need to eat, for one. Supply/demand
regulation for another. You'd have to eat more often too if you were trying
to double your weight in 6 months. I tell moms who ask about this that
giving formula may make babies go longer intervals between feeds, but it
does so because it is harder for the babies to digest. Fuel doesn't "burn
clean", etc.

3) Breastfeeding is the norm for human babies (moms too!). If they need to
eat more frequently, or to go to breast more for comfort or pleasure, then
that's the pattern we're designed to follow. It's those formula-fed babies
that are not normal, in this sense.

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY