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Question: Breastfeeding moms: how long does your baby nurse on each side? and how old is s/he?

(Posted by: jen on 2008-10-13 15:50:05)

My baby's pediatrician said I only need to nurse her 5 minutes per side. Does that sound long enough? (He might have just said that b/ c I had a yeast infection at the time.) She goes to the doctor tomorrow. I'm just wondering other opinions. Thanks! (She's just over one month old.)

Posted by: Momma #3 on 2008-10-13, 15:59:06

Since my baby was born she fed for only 10 minutes every 2 hours. And I was supplementing with formula so I knew she was drinking about 2 1/ 2 to 3 ounces. Since she turned 8 weeks (she is 9 wks now) I started giving her more formula (3 1/ 2 oz) or she nurses for 10 minutes on each breast every 3 hours.

Posted by: I♥Y!A on 2008-10-13, 16:00:16

When we first started, i did 15 mins on each side. as she got older (about 6 months old), i followed her lead and she just had shorter feedings. depending on how much cereal or fruits/ veggies/ meat she has throughout the day she can nurse anywhere from 3-5 mins on each side or sometimes 10 on each side. she is 11.5 months old now. a nutritionist will be a good person to ask if you're still unsure.

Posted by: Mum to tiny Frieda on 2008-10-13, 16:03:03

I feed one breast at a time, my baby is on that one breast for aprox 10 mins. I feed on demand so that can be anywhere between half hourly to hourly too every three hours, I feed until she doesn't want it anymore, you cant overfeed a breastfed baby :D *She will be 6 weeks in 2 days.

Posted by: Kristi on 2008-10-13, 16:03:13

My first nursed 15 minutes per side at a minimum. It felt like all I ever did was nurse with him! My second and third only nursed 5 minutes on each side at the most. It seemed like it wouldn't be enough but they were always satisfied. My advice to you is to allow your baby to nurse until she's done on that side. You'll know because she'll either stop nursing or fall asleep (most of the time). When that happens, take her off and burp her. Then offer her the other side. When she stops nursing, she's done. Your doctor likely told you this to ease your mind. It's not really about how long they nurse but how satisfied they are at the end of the feeding. Good luck!

Posted by: Purrr on 2008-10-13, 16:05:33

My daughter is 7 weeks old, the ped told me to feed her 15 mins on each side coz my daughter will not stop on her own, coz once full she will comfort suck but then i would be sore.

Posted by: All Natural on 2008-10-13, 16:05:37

I don't think your pediatrician knows what she is talking about...breastfed babies are not supposed to have a time limit, bottle fed babies don't have time limits either come to think of it.. Nurse on demand! It's the best way for both you and your baby. My baby is 5 months, sometimes he may nurse for 5 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes. Kellymom.com has a lot of great information if you are interested :] EDIT: Pediatricians aren't who mothers should go to for breastfeeding help. If you have concerns, contact a Certified Lactation Consultant instead :]

Posted by: onegirlwei on 2008-10-13, 16:06:52

I breastfeed my one month old about 10-15 minutes per side. One side produces much less than the other. He generally is satisfiedwith that...and if I'm at home I let him "feed " as long as he wants or detaches himself.

Posted by: erinjl123456 on 2008-10-13, 16:10:05

My kids all nursed on demand. My 3 m old does nurse both sides sometimes. Other times just one side then the other with the next feeding. Do whats comfortble for you and your baby. No one way is right or wrong. As long as your baby is growing and healthy. My baby nurses anywhere from a minute or two to 15 minutes or so.

Posted by: Cloth on Bum, Breastmilk in Tum! on 2008-10-13, 16:11:01

As long as she wants, whenever she wants. Sometimes that's 30 seconds, sometimes it's 30 minutes. (She's 17.5 months now.)Baby knows how hungry she is - trust her! I always let my daughter nurse as long as she wants on one side, and then offer the other unless she is asleep. Breastfed babies don't overeat, so you don't have to worry about how much she nurses. Let baby tell you how hungry she is, not the clock!

Posted by: cute redhead on 2008-10-13, 16:14:35

Well i breast fed 3 babies. my first he started out just nursing 5 mins on each side but as he got bigger he started to eat more, when he was 5 months old he was eating 10-15 mins on each side. emily when she started it was about the same. but hannah she started nursing she would only nurse for 2 -3 mins on each breast, and she never nursed more than that so i had switched her to formula,

Posted by: mary w on 2008-10-13, 16:21:47

The reason the dr. told you to nurse for only 5 minutes per side was prob. because of the infection- you need to make sure each breast is emptied at each feeding. I just had thrush, as did my daughter who was 2 weeks old at the time, and is now 5 weeks, and my lactation consultant told me to stop my daughter and switch her as soon as she stopped sucking vigorously. now that the infection is cleared up, i let her feed longer. but she loves to suck and never stops on her own. So I cut her off when she falls asleep. usually 10-15 min. per side.

Posted by: C J on 2008-10-13, 16:22:26

Your ped is a quack. You should never switch breasts until your baby indicates it is ready to do so. Otherwise you are missing out on hind milk which is the nutritious part. Offer one breast, let her/ him finish and then offer the other.

Posted by: Tauree_brand new mummy on 2008-10-13, 16:29:03

When my daughter was first born i used to force her to be on for at least 10 minutes each side (because thats what the doctors told me is the norm) now she is 9 weeks old and I let her decide when shes had enough, I will leave her on one side until she gets lazy sucking (not the steady 'IM DRINKING' sucking) then I will burp her and go to the other side. Some times she is on for 5 minutes each side, some times 10 minutes, I just leave it up to her to decide when she has had enough. She usually goes 4 hours without a feed and normally only wakes once a night for one. Good Luck

Posted by: Me on 2008-10-13, 16:45:05

I use the clock to know when to nurse my baby but I also nurse her when she is hungry even when it has been shorter than 3 hours. Sometimes she nurses for 20 minutes on one side and sometimes she only nurses for 5 minutes on one side. She does not always nurse on both sides. In fact, she usually only nurses on one side at a time. I don't think there is one perfect way to nurse, but I think nursing on demand + clock watch nursing (you don't want the baby to go too long without eating) is a good way to do it. My baby is 1 day less then 7 weeks old.

Posted by: Just Me on 2008-10-14, 07:20:54

He started out at about 15 minutes on each side. He has gradually gotten more efficient at nursing and slowly that time has decreased. now at almost four months he nurses for about 6-7 minutes on each side and that is it. He eats about every three hours.

Posted by: Velleity on 2008-10-14, 20:27:48

Well, no. Unless he's got some specific reason relating to you (like the yeast thing). My baby is 18 months, and now she breastfeeds about 5 minutes per side (a few times a day, not that often). But when she was a month old, she breastfed CONSTANTLY. I think about 20 minutes a side, possibly more, every three hours. I lived a strange, one-handed life, mostly on my sofa. From what I've read, babies are different, mommies are different, and the whole breastfeeding thing works best when you don't try to manage it too much. If you let them feed as much as they want, whenever they want, they get plenty of hindmilk (the rich fatty milk that comes last, after the sugary watery stuff is out of the way) and your breasts will probably be more comfortable. For some people that only takes 5 minutes, but for lots of others it takes longer. Really, you can trust yourself and your baby. Good for you for doing it this long!

Posted by: Andrewa on 2008-10-15, 07:46:06

Keep her on as long as she wants, she will fall off when she is done. When they look like a drunken sailor then you know they are full, a ped can not determine how fast your baby can empty your boobie! Dont worry about waking up to feed unless the baby is too skinny! I never woke up my precious to feed her she was 7.6 at birth, now she is 8 months old and 24 lbs. So it all works how it is supposed to. Just go with your body. I know some moms that nurse for 10-20 mins each side. Me,I nurse for about 3-5 mins each side. It seems to do the trick. Just tell the ped what he wanty to hear! lol! Always try to empty the breast. If my Kaydee is full off one side and dosent want the other I pump the other and save it for a busy day or whatever I want. You can always use extra. P.S, Try to pinpoint the source of your yeast and get it under control on your own. Avoid meds. You can do it on your own. Go to the local health food store and see about liquid chlorophyll, its a whold food not medication. It will help clean out your body the natural way and it can only do good, no harm! Anoth thing is to really cut back or emiminate the bread out of your diet. Try brown rice or stuff like that. I eat Hemp Heats for added protien and omegas here is a very good link. Please look it up ! Shelled Hemp Seeds are have nothing to do with drugs. They have restored my energy and kept me full on those days when I could not get my crap together enough to eat healthy! They can also only enrich your milk! Alright..........enough already here is the link! healing-source.com/ about_HempHearts_b.htm Good luck good mom!