Hello and question re BF duration

[cherryfive]

Hi! FTM here baby girl Genevieve nn Evie was just born 1/28. I am a member of the Jan'15 BMB. BF from moments after birth and finally getting toughened up! Milk came in and breasts are engorged, some clogged ducts I am so far having success rubbing out. I was given a rental pump by the LC at the BC to help relieve engorgement but my left breast doesn't pump as well as my right.

Question: I have read and been told so many things about how long to let your baby nurse for... Pedi said no more then 15 minutes every feeding and didn't mention offering other breast. LC said babies know when they are hungry and will seek out the breast and feed as long as they need. Book says when swallowing occurs every 4 or more sucks time to detach.
What advice have you been given and stick with?
Please note I will be further inquiring with pedi and be going to a lactation walk-in clinic this week.
Thank you!

[lavwana]

I am guessing your milk hasn't come in yet? My lo would sometimes want to nurse for an hour at night but less during daytime. Now at two weeks she's between 5-20 minutes at the breast. I only offer one breast. If she adter burping and entirely emptying first breast doesn't seem satisfied them I offer the second. During the day she tends to feed for about 20 minutes and sleep long periods. In the evening it's the 5 minute feeding every little bit for the cluster feeding. You have to listen to your baby. You'll know if they are still hungry. The newborn period let baby treat you like a pacifier it helps establish a good milk supply

Just reread and saw your milk is in, yay!

[lavwana]

Oh and I let baby detach herself unless she has slipped off the latch partially and it's painful which makes me detach her.

[flcl]

Congratulations!! I hope LO is doing well and that you're well on your way to recovery. Best advice and strategy for us was to watch the baby and not the clock. Babies are really good at letting you know when they're hungry and when they're done eating. I drove myself nuts worrying that I wasn't feeding him for 15mins each side every nursing session. All babies are different so just trust your instincts and watch your baby's cues! GL!!

[theresat858]

Watch your baby, not the clock. Offer At least every 3 hours.

[Deleted]

You want to go with minimums for your guide this early on. Offer to nurse at least every 2-3 hours during the day and at least every 3-4 at night but nursing more often os ok and expected on the early days. Nag baby to nurse at least 10-15 minutes but nursing longer is better.

Sure if baby has been nursing for 45 min to an hour and you need to pee unlatch and swaddle and pass em off to someone or put them down. But in this initial newborn stage they need to nurse a long time so it's best not to unlatch them and wait til they come off on their own. They will continues to get more let downs of milk if they keep nursing and their stomach is so very small and needs almost constant refilling.

Also Think if it as baby working out. They have to grow stronger muscles in the jaw tongue and mouth. When born hose muscles are pretty weak. So they nurse all the time but get tired easily and may stop before they are totally full wait a bit to rest up and then eat some more. The more they nurse now the more effective they'll become at nursing sooner.

There isn't a set point that equals baby is just comfort nursing. Even if their swallowing slows they may just be resting it waiting for another let down. So look at the baby try to let them nurse as much as they want to and it will be ok

[nursefrizz]

Feb 1, 2015 12:22:30 GMT -5 theresat858 said:

Watch your baby, not the clock. Offer At least every 3 hours.

This! I stressed myself waaaay out at the beginning trying to ensure that DD was on each side long enough. I remember the day I quit timing her and just went by her cues I felt SO free haha

[casey]

Congratulations!!!

Another vote for watching baby and not clock.

So, I have an efficient nurser, but max 15 minutes per feeding for newborn sounds very quick for me. I don't think your pedi is setting you up for success.

Here's what I did: offer first side until baby unlatches. Burp. Offer first side again until unlatches. Burp. Offer second side (may or may not take) until unlatches. Burp. Offer second side again (may or may not take)... Our quickest feeds were 15-20 at first, but there were times she was on for 30 minutes. And, she did evening clusters that lasted much more than that.

Offer at least every 2-3 hours by day (start to start). If in doubt, put baby to the breast.

Baby will want to suck - sometimes for nutrition, sometimes for comfort. As long as you're not too sore, just let baby do that. It helps him or her regulate, and it's good for your supply, too. I remember being afraid I was setting myself up I be a "human pacifier" - it didn't last that long, and it was good for both of us.

[casey]

Oh, and start next feed on whatever side LO finished last feed on.

[melody330]

Feb 1, 2015 12:22:30 GMT -5 theresat858 said:

Watch your baby, not the clock. Offer At least every 3 hours.

I was going to say the exact same thing.

I always offered both sides when DS was that little. Once my supply regulated (after 6 week growth spurt) I only offered one side per feeding. He is a little over 12 months now and it's a crap shoot if he wants one side or both. Doesn't really matter

[melody330]

About being a "human pacifier"- I hated when people said this to me. I would basically reply with something alone the lines of "I am not a piece of plastic, I am his mother and I'm comforting him while he is establishing a good milk supply for me". It still makes my ears turn red when I hear that phrase!

[SpinsOffResonance]

I wouldn't pump to relieve engorgement. If you pump and empty the breats you'll signal your body to make more, which will only make engorgement worse. Your supply will adjust on its own.
With a newborn baby I let them nurse as long as they want as often as they want. Make sure you nurse at least every 2-3hours. More often is okay too if that's what baby wants. DD1 used to nurse for 40min-1hour every 1-1.5hours. DD2 nursed for 15min and I had to wake her up every 3hours to eat. Every baby is different. Follow your baby's cues.

[octavia65]

I know everyone says to watch the baby and not the clock and I totally get that. But in the beginning I always tried to get my son to do 20 minutes on each side every 2-3 hours. I wanted to make sure he was getting enough until I felt confident in his weight gain. But like PP said, all babies are different and my son is a big boy so maybe needed more. That worked for us and he nursed 20 minutes on both sides for a long time - probably until we introduced solids after 6 months.

[ellabee]

Feb 1, 2015 13:31:03 GMT -5 casey said:

Here's what I did: offer first side until baby unlatches. Burp. Offer first side again until unlatches. Burp. Offer second side (may or may not take) until unlatches. Burp. Offer second side again (may or may not take)... Our quickest feeds were 15-20 at first, but there were times she was on for 30 minutes.

I did exactly this too. My LO would unlatch when she was ready.

[whitney4126]

I had an inefficient nurser in the beginning, compared to many of you all. She often nursed for hours at a time, and would always seem to need at least an hour. I can't imagine cutting her off at 15 minutes every time (although sometimes I prayed that she would just feed for 15 minutes and give me a break) because she seemed to just be getting started. My LC told me to allow her to nurse as long as she wanted to, and to always offer both breasts. But there were times when she just wouldn't unlatch and my nipples were sore and I needed to get up, so I would sometimes watch the clock and after 20 minutes on each breast, would unlatch her. Now she has become much more efficient, especially earlier in the day. I still let her nurse as long as she wants and offer each breast.

[butnotthearmadillo]

I had child that would nurse only for very short amounts of time, about 5 min on each side. I nearly drove myself crazy trying to keep him from falling asleep and keeping him awake with a wet washcloth (as recommended by the lactation consultant). I offered nursing every 2h around the clock at the beginning, with pumping sessions for the first weeks.I pumped a lot because I was worried he'd not drink enough and ended up with an oversupply. I spent the pumping and nursing sessions reading a lot of advice on KellyMom, a breastfeeding website, which is why the whole breastfeeding thing worked out for me in the end.

Hand expressing a bit before you start a nursing session might be helpful just so latching on is easier.

In the end I think the issue was a tongue and lip tie, nursing stayed very painful for a long while and it took a few months until he'd nurse for more 10min at a time..

[ashanne88]

Congratulations! I agree with pp about not watching the clock.

I also had an inefficient nurser due to some problems. The LC and pedi told me to let him nurse as long as he wanted (as long as it wasn't too painful for me) and whenever he wanted. In the beginning, he had hour-long nursing sessions and then would want to nurse an hour later. Now, he is a great and efficient nurser. I think the most important thing is to trust your gut. You know your child better than any one. Good luck!