How long does your LO nurse?

[kboyet]

Same situation. Anywhere from 5-10 minutes on one side per feeding. I have a fast let down and he's gained a lot of weight so I'm not concerned!

[danisgossipgirl]

Feb 10, 2015 9:53:09 GMT -5 vigorousbabymama said:

BF mamas, how long does your LO nurse for at each session? How frequently does s/he eat?

DD has really shortened the length of time she eats. On average she only nurses for 8-10 minutes, sometimes only 5-6 minutes, at a time. During that time she is sucking and swallowing nonstop and I'm confident she is getting a continuous flow of milk because I can hear the swallowing and frequently there is so much milk that some leaks out of her mouth while she eats. When she's finished, she pulls herself off and seems content. I always try to offer her more and/or the other side but that just makes her mad. I've tried giving her bottles of BM and she will suck down 3oz happily.

I guess I'm worried that she's notneating enough and thst I am inadvertently starving her. :-( Also, selfishly, I'm thinking that if she'd just eat a little more at her last meal of the day she might sleep longer at night, and mama would love that!

So, any insight ladies??

That sounds very normal. I wouldn't think she's getting less in terms of calories just because the duration is shorter. The composition of the milk changes to suit her needs and babies can become more efficient at nursing as they get older. My baby nurses almost exactly as you describe and it doesn't concern me at all.

[babyrn2009]

All 3 of my babies have been fast nursers. But I can also pump 4-6 ounces from one side in 5 minutes...so I assume that's why they are so fast at eating! :-P It's not always a good thing, when they're tiny they cough and sputter from the fast flow. :-(

As long as she's content and eating at least 8x every 24hrs, I wouldn't worry about how fast she is. Some babies are just more efficient.

[erien22846]

My LO eats for about 10 minutes on one side at each feeding at 9 weeks old. As long as your baby is content, she's getting enough (that's what my ped said anyway). She won't let you starve her!

[rayray007]

My one guy (the little twin, go figure) has always been fast. No more than 10-15 min since birth. Now it's down to 5-10. And yesterday he only ate 6 times. I took them to be weighed last week because they dropped a MOTN feed and I stopped supplementing, and I'll take them again this week. The weight gain will tell the story, but I'm sure he's getting enough because he's happy and wetting a lot of diapers. They're 12 weeks.

[pooky08]

Put me in the slow nurse category.

It's usually 15 minutes, then a 10 minute nap, then he goes another 20 or so minutes. He gets a ton of milk in the first five minutes, then it becomes more manageable. Sometimes at night he might only do 15 minutes total and just skip the cat nap and go straight to sleep.

I stick to one side are a feeding (unless it lasts longer than 45 minutes). If I switch before then he doesn't seem to get enough hind milk.

LO is 7 weeks today.

[mlee116]

My baby nurses just like yours and I'm not concerned. DS wax the same way. She seems happy, is growing and has plenty of wet/dirty diapers so I know she's getting enough.

[iaminigomontoya]

I wish! At 10 weeks, ds2 still nurses for between 20-40 mins each session during the day. He's much more efficient at night thankfully- he usually only nurses for 10-20 mins in the MOTN.

I'm really looking forward to the day that he becomes more efficient and begins to space out his feedings.

[serunatu]

Feb 10, 2015 9:53:09 GMT -5 vigorousbabymama said:

BF mamas, how long does your LO nurse for at each session? How frequently does s/he eat?

DD has really shortened the length of time she eats. On average she only nurses for 8-10 minutes, sometimes only 5-6 minutes, at a time. During that time she is sucking and swallowing nonstop and I'm confident she is getting a continuous flow of milk because I can hear the swallowing and frequently there is so much milk that some leaks out of her mouth while she eats. When she's finished, she pulls herself off and seems content. I always try to offer her more and/or the other side but that just makes her mad. I've tried giving her bottles of BM and she will suck down 3oz happily.

I guess I'm worried that she's notneating enough and thst I am inadvertently starving her. :-( Also, selfishly, I'm thinking that if she'd just eat a little more at her last meal of the day she might sleep longer at night, and mama would love that!

So, any insight ladies??

Why do you think you are starving her? Sounds like she is content and knows when she's done, is she not gaining weight?

[abenson3]

Similar boat here. Usually about 5-8 minutes, at night she will nurse for 20ish, but I suspect a lot if comfort sucking in the evenings. She eats every 2-3 hours with one 5 hours stretch a night v

[nanamama]

Feb 10, 2015 9:53:09 GMT -5 vigorousbabymama said:

BF mamas, how long does your LO nurse for at each session? How frequently does s/he eat?

DD has really shortened the length of time she eats. On average she only nurses for 8-10 minutes, sometimes only 5-6 minutes, at a time. During that time she is sucking and swallowing nonstop and I'm confident she is getting a continuous flow of milk because I can hear the swallowing and frequently there is so much milk that some leaks out of her mouth while she eats. When she's finished, she pulls herself off and seems content. I always try to offer her more and/or the other side but that just makes her mad. I've tried giving her bottles of BM and she will suck down 3oz happily.

I guess I'm worried that she's notneating enough and thst I am inadvertently starving her. :-( Also, selfishly, I'm thinking that if she'd just eat a little more at her last meal of the day she might sleep longer at night, and mama would love that!

So, any insight ladies??

She doesn't sound like she is hungry. Seems to eat her fill and be content. BM changes composition over time. They don't necessarily eat more the calories just get higher according to what they need. FF babies need to eat more oz because the formula doesn't change calorie content. I think if you were starving your LO you would know it by a very unhappy, cranky baby.

My LO does the same thing sometimes and will SCREAM at me if I try to give her more. Haha. She is just done and let's me know it! Sometimes I burp her and then she will take more after a few min of it all settling. Sometimes not. Some babies just eat fast, some eat slow. Not necessarily something to be concerned about.

[2jelplus1]

My LO nurses as short as 3m and occasionally as long as 10, with most feedings being about 5m (one boob each feeding, except for MOTN feed where I try to get her to nurse each side, switching after diaper change). She nurses a total of approximately 60m each day and has gained an ounce a day since she was a few weeks old... I weigh her weekly Bc I am ocd like that.

[pooky08]

Feb 10, 2015 17:43:34 GMT -5 2jelplus1 said:

My LO nurses as short as 3m and occasionally as long as 10, with most feedings being about 5m (one boob each feeding, except for MOTN feed where I try to get her to nurse each side, switching after diaper change). She nurses a total of approximately 60m each day and has gained an ounce a day since she was a few weeks old... I weigh her weekly Bc I am ocd like that.

60 minutes... A day...

I can sometimes hit 60 minutes for a single season when he takes short breaks.

I'm sort of jealous, at least for MOTN.

[alltheteainchina]

About 10-20min usually just one side. If she is still awake I'll offer the other side. Sometimes she'll continue but often won't take it. She eats every 2-3 hours with occasional longer stretches overnight.

[stampingqueen]

Average is 20 minutes, about 2.5 hours in between feedings. That includes when she's asleep for 6 hours during the night (which I was told she shouldn't be sleeping that long)

[serunatu]

Feb 10, 2015 18:45:47 GMT -5 vigorousbabymama said:

Feb 10, 2015 17:09:25 GMT -5 serunatu said:

Why do you think you are starving her? Sounds like she is content and knows when she's done, is she not gaining weight?

I'm worried because I'm a ftm and have no idea what I'm doing. It's itrational concern probably since she is gaining and is content most of the time, but I am a chronic worrier.

I definitely understand, my LO was only Eating for 5-8 mins per session so I went through a period of doubt even though she was gaining weight. Now I just tell myself She is a quick eater with a strong suck haha.

[2jelplus1]

Feb 10, 2015 18:48:51 GMT -5 vigorousbabymama said:

Feb 10, 2015 17:43:34 GMT -5 2jelplus1 said:

My LO nurses as short as 3m and occasionally as long as 10, with most feedings being about 5m (one boob each feeding, except for MOTN feed where I try to get her to nurse each side, switching after diaper change). She nurses a total of approximately 60m each day and has gained an ounce a day since she was a few weeks old... I weigh her weekly Bc I am ocd like that.

DD is also at about 60m/day. Did your LO nurse for longer when she was brand new?

She did nurse longer, but there was a lot of popping on and off and shrieking and flailing due to fast letdown. Then weeks 2-4 we were mostly EP.. Weeks 5-8 we were at around 85m/day and then it abruptly dropped to 60-70m.

In case you were wondering, I have compulsively tracked feedings in an app the past two months.

[mcm]

Depends. Motn, 5-10 minutes. During the day, anywhere between 5-20 minutes. :-)

[cwbh928]

My LO use to nurse 20 minutes, but over the past 2 weeks it has been more like 10 minutes, although since he was put on Zantac he has some feelings that do stretch 20 min. (He is 2 months) I was worried he wasn't gettinng enough, but luckily he gained quite a bit since our last appointment and the doctor said I shouldn't worry as much now.

[shell0417]

LO is 6.5 weeks and 10-15 on the first side, about 10 on the second side. He is stretching out to closer to 3 hrs between feedings after we passed the 6 week growth spurt.

[pooky08]

Feb 11, 2015 3:18:42 GMT -5 mgk207 said:

Having some serious nursing envy here! My LO is 7 weeks, and on the boob for probably an average of 5-6 hours per day (sometimes more like 8). I am shocked to read that so many of you have 5-10 minute feedings! My baby probably averages 30-40 minutes per feeding, and clusters for four+ hours twice a day. God help me.

For real. I don't think 6-8 hours is an exaggeration. My boy loves his boob.

[path75]

Feb 11, 2015 3:18:42 GMT -5 mgk207 said:

Having some serious nursing envy here! My LO is 7 weeks, and on the boob for probably an average of 5-6 hours per day (sometimes more like 8). I am shocked to read that so many of you have 5-10 minute feedings! My baby probably averages 30-40 minutes per feeding, and clusters for four+ hours twice a day. God help me.

Ditto this. My boy nurses in average 20 minutes every 2 hours. Yes even motn. Every once and a while he will go 3 hours for one of the motn feedings. So I would say 4 hours to 5 hours if he cluster feeds in the evening. He is 7 weeks.

[samantha24]

I'm glad to read everyone's posts. I nurse my twin boys at the same time and switch sides every feeding. Recently they started shorter feedings during the day to about 10 minutes every 2 hours from 15-20 minutes every 2 hours. I'm glad to see it's normal for them to start shortening their feedings. They still eat for 15-20 minutes at night but they are sleeping for an average of 4 hours at a time.

[kimmie7714]

My little guy is a slow nurser too.  Usually between 20-30 minutes on both sides.  He normally eats every 2-4 hours during the day.  He has been sleeping between 5-6 hours at night and I nurse him right before he goes to sleep.  He is 7 weeks.

[auburn]

Feb 11, 2015 3:18:42 GMT -5 mgk207 said:

Having some serious nursing envy here! My LO is 7 weeks, and on the boob for probably an average of 5-6 hours per day (sometimes more like 8). I am shocked to read that so many of you have 5-10 minute feedings! My baby probably averages 30-40 minutes per feeding, and clusters for four+ hours twice a day. God help me.

My LO nurses more like this. He rarely goes 35 minutes. It's usually 40+ minutes per session. It makes it hard to go anywhere because we have to sit down for close to an hour every time he needs to nurse.

[kwikwi8181]

Glad to see its not just me. I was thinking she just wasn't as interestedin the boob because she lets go after 8-10 minutes. Seems she is just more efficient because when I am at work I am pumping more than I used to so it seems she has upped my supply as well! Happy me!

[rn536]

About 5 to 10 minutes per side.

[things]

It varies. I'd say she actively nurses for 15-20 min, and for comfort until she falls asleep... so, maybe 45 min on the boob before she's out. Except at bedtime. She nurses for about 5-10 min before going out.

[irish14]

Jesus. An hour a day?! I am at 7 hours of nursing per day, at least. I need to stop reading the threads about BF times and oz because they all make me feel ridiculously behind.

[2jelplus1]

For those of you envious of express feeds, I note that most of the 4-5 additional hours LO is not feeding are spent with her insisting on being bounced, carried, rocked, or otherwise entertained-- generally at the expense of my lower back. My heart goes out to the women who spend 8 hours a day feeding, but I would happily trade to have 2-4 hours of contented baby snacking!