Dear Jan,

In my experience the mother in such circumstances is worried because she
thinks that this kind of frequency is going to go on as long as the baby
breastfeeds.  Five weeks is still early for a settled pattern to be
reached.  If it is because the baby is controlling her calorie content,
then increasing the fat in the milk or switching to formula will not
change the pattern.  I heard Mike Woolridge report at a conference that
when he tried to make normal babies (without any clinical symptoms over
than frequent feeding) go longer between feeds by increasing the fat
content of the milk, the babies responded by decreasing the amount of
milk they took.  This mother needs reassurance that this level of
frequency will not last forever.

Jill Dye, LLLleader, England

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