How often do you nurse?

[dislocator3972]

I just called the pediatrician (our first after hours call - how special ) and spoke with a nurse who suggested that I not nurse every 2.5 to 3 hours because I'll wear myself out. DD is 8 weeks old. This frequency is actually a noticeable drop off for her, she usually doesn't make it to the 2 hour mark before she's hungry again. Granted, we're having latch problems, and even if we weren't I wouldn't consider her suggestion (give the baby a bottle if she wants more ) but it made me wonder:

How often do you nurse? And for how long? 20 minutes per session? Longer?

[KristinaMarie]

During the day Jackson nurses every 2-3 hours for 15-20 minutes at a time. We only nurse one side for 2 or 3 nursing sessions, then switch. At night he goes to bed at 9ish and wakes up at 11 nurses for 20 mins and is awake till 1is then sleeps for about 4 hours wakes and nurses for maybe 5 minutes before falling asleep again.

So to answer on average we nurse every 2-3 hrs for about 15-20 minutes at a time. The last few days his latch has been less than stellar and my nipples feel like they have been put through a cheese grater. I now won't let him pop on and off on and off like he was doing that was cause the nip pain.

Hope everything gets going smoother for you really soon.

[texaspeach]

every 2 or 3 hrs for about 15 mins each time. sometimes he eats a lot longer, sometimes a lot more frequently. I usually get one 4 or 5 hr block in the middle of the night.

they told you to give a bottle? wouldn't that make things worse? what about a lactaid or sns if you need to supplement?
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[dislocator3972]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

they told you to give a bottle? wouldn't that make things worse? what about a lactaid or sns if you need to supplement?
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I think she was trying to suggest something that would get fluids in her ASAP. My original call was because DD is congested, spitting up/vomiting, and not nursing enough to even keep my ducts from clogging.

And now I have to eat my words from my original post because I did end up giving her a bottle. She isn't wetting anywhere near as many dipes as usual and after watching struggle through yet another nursing session only to spit/vomit it back up, I thought a bottle would be worth a try. Thumbs up so far. She was able to control the flow better, sit up higher, and get enough milk to calm my fears.

And since our nursing frequency is nearly identical to both of yours, I'm going to assume the nurse was just mistaken or something. Thanks!

[texaspeach]

glad you got some fluids in her

[ErinBird]

I nurse a lot. Both my kids were born suckers

I've tried giving Peter a pacifier a few times but he is not interested. Its probably for the best with my previous supply issues.

Peter sleeps a good 3-4h stretch in the early evening. I nurse off and on for an hour or two leading up to that. He probably nurses 3-4 times while I am in bed for 8ish hours and I honestly have no idea how long each time. During the day every hour for 30+ minutes (though most of it is not active nursing but comfort sucking)? Maybe a little more spaced out. I end up wearing him most of the day and going about my business while he sucks so I'm not marooned on the couch.

It got slightly less with my daughter once she hit 12lbs, so another month or so for Peter?

[ComfyCozy]

Michael nurses about twice a day for about 11 hours at a time.

Seriously, he does nurse the vast majority of the day. But I had a breast reduction eons ago and don't make a whole lot of milk. Last night he just voraciously wanted to suck but he'd fuss, nurse, spitup, fuss, nurse, spitup....So we tried the pacifier and he did like it. I was stunned. I was sorry to whip it out but I'm not having him continue to just spitup and spitup and spitup. He nurses, as I said, the vast majority of the day anyways, just getting about 3 5oz bottles of donated breastmilk to supplement. My boobs are tired. I'd rather him nurse all day, though, and get as much of my milk as possible (and keep my supply "up") than have it be more sporadic and see him get more bottles, and my supply go down.

[Mamatoabunch]

I had a breast reduction 20 years ago so a limited supply in my case. We nurse w/ the Lact-aid. I nurse about 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 7pm-10pm almost constantly. He gets a bottle at 10pm if still hungry and one in the night whenever he wakes. He nurses during the day about an hour at a time. This is the schedule he fell into.

[sunshynbaby]

Every 1-3 hours for 10-15 minutes on each side. A nurse told us to stop nursing so much too. She actually accused us of overfeeding, which is near impossible to do with a breastfed babe. After some internet research I concluded that the nurse's attitude was a cultural one, rather than medical (like how they push formula at the hospital). Our doctor also totally disagreed with her diagnosis.

[Michigan Mama]

Santiago has been nursing every 2 hours or so during the day, but for the past 3 or 4 nights has slept for about 5-6 hours at a stretch before waking to eat. Feels great to sleep that much! Last night he ate about 10:00, then 4:15, then 8 something... He's almost 11 wks.

[GenomicsGirl]

Griffin nurses every 1-3 hours during the day, and sleeps with a 5-6 hour stretch at night, then wakes every 2-3 hours after that. He's a great little nurser and sleeper - the best of my 4 so far!

[thedenverduo]

Solomon nurses every 3 hours or so during the day. He nurses on one side for 15ish minutes. Every once in a while he will nurse a few minutes on the other side. He has never really been a comfort nurser... he just gets the job done and then wants to play/sleep/cuddle. At night it spaces out to every 4-5 hours. I think what you are describing sounds perfectly normal.

Ds and I have the flu and I was paranoid about dehydration. My ped (who I love and respect) told us as long as he is peeing 3 or 4 times a day there is no need to do anything except nurse nurse nurse until he pulls through.

ETA: One thing that has worked wonders for us as far as spitting up is to put ds in his car seat for 5-10 mins after we nurse, for some reason it really helps to keep him sitting up!