How long does your baby nurse for?

[lellian]

If baby has proper latch, and my supply is just fine, about how long should each nursing session take? I wonder because it used to take us 60+ minutes a feeding while I was waiting for my milk to come in, and now she seems to be closer to 10-15 minutes on one side before she starts pulling on/off. Night nursing in bed she might spend 5-10 minutes before pulling off to sleep.

Am I making sense? I'm not sure what "normal" is because she's my first LO.

TIA

[littlehoneybee]

My first nursed so fast that he was usually done in five to ten minutes. My second took much longer. When she was a newborn she took about 45 minutes. Once she started getting bigger, she took between five and ten minutes per side.

If your baby seems satisfied and is gaining weight, I'm sure she's fine.

[sunnygir1]

Yeah, once they got going, both of mine have been quick...5-20 minutes total.

One thing you might want to consider is block feeding. I nurse ds twice in a row on each side to make sure that he is getting enough hind milk (and did the same thing with dd). When I tried to stop doing that around 4-5 months, thinking he was getting big enough to empty the breast, he immediately started having painful gas. I went back to the 2x each side before switching and he got better right away. The second time on a given breast he sometimes wants more, so I will give him the other breast.

[akind1]

I think newborns just take longer; DS at less than 6 weeks would take 30-45 minutes a feeding. Now, at 4.5 months he takes about 15 minutes. If he is sleepy, sometimes longer, as he just keeps nursing after he's asleep. As long as your LO is gaining, it should be fine, I just figure they become stronger and more efficient eaters as they get older.

[moondiapers]

Mine nurses until I get bored out of my mind and break suction. She LOVES to eat and has many many rolls, lol. She's just about 10 weeks old and wants to nurse for a good 45min at a time still. If I don't break suction it'll start coming back up.

[mommy212]

sounds about like mine! He also nursed for 45-60 minutes as a newborn, and now only takes 5-10 minutes, unless he falls asleep, and then he usually spends his entire nap eating.

[PatioGardener]

If baby is peeing well (and pooping well for a breastfed baby - depends on age) and gaining weight well, then her nursing patterns are completely normal for her! sounds like you guess are doing great!