Your newborn should be nursing eight to 12 times per day for about the first month. If you feel like you're feeding your little one more often than someone you know whose baby is formula fed, you may be.Why? Because breast milk digests easier than formula, which means it moves through your baby's digestive system faster and, therefore, makes your baby hungry more often.

You count the length between feedings from the time when your baby begins to nurse — rather than when he or she ends — to when your little one starts nursing again. In other words, when your doctor asks how often your baby is feeding, you can say "about every 2 hours" if your first feeding started at 6 a.m. and the next feeding was at around 8 a.m., then 10 a.m., and so on.

It's generally recommended that you feed your baby whenever he or she seems hungry. But despite what some new parents might think, crying is a late sign of hunger. You should try to feed before your baby gets so hungry that he or she gets really upset and becomes difficult to calm down.

That depends on both you and your baby and many other factors, such as whether:

• your milk supply has come in completely
• your let-down (or milk ejection reflex) is immediate or takes a few minutes into the feeding to start
• your milk flow is slow or fast
• you're positioning your baby correctly on your breast
• your baby tends to get right down to business or dawdles a bit
• your baby is sleepy or easily distracted (which can be the case in older babies, especially)

To keep up your milk supply in both breasts — and prevent painful engorgement in one — it's important to alternate breasts and try to give each one the same amount of nursing time throughout the day. Again, that amount of time differs for every baby and every woman — some babies may be satisfied after 5 minutes on each breast, others may need 10 or 15 minutes on each side.

Let your baby breastfeed at one breast then switch to the other side. Try burping your baby when switching breasts and at the end of the feed. Often, the movement alone can be enough to cause a baby to burp.

New mothers, especially breastfeeding moms, are often concerned that their infants may not be getting enough to eat. You can be assured that your baby is getting enough to eat if he or she:

• seems satisfied and content after eating
• produces about four to six wet diapers a day
• has regular bowel movements
• sleeps well
• is alert when awake
• is gaining weight

Your baby's diapers are excellent indicators of whether your breastfed baby is getting what he or she needs. Because colostrum (the first milk your newborn gets) is concentrated, your baby may have only one or two wet diapers in the first 24 hours.

If your baby seems to be getting enough milk, but continues to suck for an hour or more, he or she might be nursing for comfort rather than for nourishment. So, how do you know? Once your baby has fed vigorously, he or she may stay on your breast but show these signs of non-nutritive sucking (or pacifying):

• seems satisfied
• stops sucking and swallowing
• plays with your nipple

As babies gain weight, they should begin to eat more at each feeding and go longer between feedings. Still, there may be times when your little one seems hungrier than usual.