How long to nurse?

[Lutrupemo]

Not in their lifetime but how long should it REALLY take a 2 month old baby to feed to fullness?

I have had to, for the sake of my sanity (Irish twins), start pumping and bottle feeding EBM during the day when DH is gone, because my DD will spend 45-60 minutes breastfeeding each time. With one hour or less between feedings. So 50% of the day is feeding, and that just was not working.

I feel bad about this and know I can not maintain 100% supply for her this way, but I tried 'cutting her off' when her sucking slowed and she just cried and cried.

Someone on another board said their LC told them 20 min was all they needed and if they went longer than that, it was just comfort sucking? Anyone else ever heard of this?

[alegna]

Your supply is going to be in serious peril.

It's very normal for little babies to nurse like that.

And BAH to the LC who said that. Total BS.

-Angela

[bdavis337]

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[Khourtniey]

They will nurse until they are full... unless of course they have issues and stop nursing before then.. but you know.. If it is taking her a lot longer than 20 minutes then she might not be sucking right or might not be getting much?

I know its harder for babies to suck from the breast than bottle, but too much time nursing can cause some other issues especially if they are over-exerting themselves nursing.. As long as she is happy and fed I wouldnt worry about it

[happy & blessed]

My dd would do this when she was little. She was seriously nursing for what I thought was 60 mins or so, sleep for 30 and then want to nurse again. I have since realized that a lot of what I thought was nursing was actually comfort sucking. (which isn't a bad thing - babies need comfort sucking too). But try to listen for swallowing, look at baby's neck to see swallowing and determine if she is actually eating or just sucking. When they are actively eating, you can often see their little ears wiggling from the sucking, and then it will slow down to a fluttery less intense sucking. This is probably just comfort sucking. But as I said, babies do need comfort sucking too. When she slows down and you unlatch her, she is probably fussy because she is wanting to continue the comfort sucking - not because she was still eating. You will get better at learning your baby's cues. The first few months are so intense, but such a wonderful time too. Enjoy it!

[Lutrupemo]

Thanks for the replies.

I should have mentioned, this is the third child I have breastfed. I know it is time consuming, but it was not getting any better, and with a young toddler, it was becoming dangerous to be indisposed so much of the day. I feel terrible about it, but I have to do what is going to work for my entire family. I guess there is nothing more I can do, aside from the old standby remedies for boosting supply, which I'm doing. Thanks again.

[RachelGS]

My second child was done in ten minutes. My first would have starved to death if ten minutes was all she got. She nursed just like you're describing. She grew out of it. Two months old is little teeny still. What about nursing in a sling or carrier, so that you can still move around if you have to?

[smocklets]

Originally Posted by Khourtniey

I know its harder for babies to suck from the breast than bottle, but too much time nursing can cause some other issues especially if they are over-exerting themselves nursing..

Can nursing alone really over-exert a two month old? I have never heard this. Can you tell me where I can read more?

[attachedmamaof3]

It is totally normal for your child to nurse this way...she will grow out of it!! My oldest (now 9yrs old) nurse EXACTLY this way...he would nurse for an hour, stop for 5-10 min and nurse for 45 minutes, stop for 15, nurse for an hour. A sling really helped. You can nurse while doing other things! I recommend zolowear.com (ringslings) or my favorite: hotslings.com (pouches).

Be patient with her, don't mess with your supply by substituting pumping for nursing. This can and will be detrimental to your long-term nursing relationship if she begins to grow and is still hungry after you feed her ESPECIALLY right before some of her major growth hurdles. I, too, have a toddler and small child. The toddler can and will adapt, but it is harder for your baby to do so.

Your baby was crying because she was still hungry and/or needed the comfort of your breast.

[GatorNNP]

Ummmmm, I totally disagree with babies over exerting themselves nursing. Perhaps you could try a babycarrier. You can take the toddler for a walk and nurse your 2 months old in the sling. Heck, I could chase after a toddler and nurse the 2 month old with one arm. You are just getting to the easy months, almost there! Hang in there you can do it. Take a deep breath and ask your DH to help distract the toddler in the evening so you can chill on the sofa and nurse the baby, this could be a growth spurt and need for baby to increase your supply, interrupting nursing with ebm in a bottle will not help.

[SPOpa]

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[prettypixels]

Originally Posted by Khourtniey

They will nurse until they are full... unless of course they have issues and stop nursing before then.. but you know.. If it is taking her a lot longer than 20 minutes then she might not be sucking right or might not be getting much?

I know its harder for babies to suck from the breast than bottle, but too much time nursing can cause some other issues especially if they are over-exerting themselves nursing.. As long as she is happy and fed I wouldnt worry about it

I agree with this. I'd get her latch checked by a good IBCLC. ASAP.

Nursing can exhaust a baby if they are not getting milk effectively, so if they are having to work harder for every drop for whatever reason; supply, latch issues, tongue tie, etc... it can make them work harder, get tired. Nursing is *exercise* for babies. It involves a lot more muscles than bottle feeding does! If they are not getting milk effectively they might never get full, either, so they finally fall asleep... but then wake up still hungry.

OP you also might consider trying to supplement pumped milk (it doesn't sound like you have a supply issue right now, and pumping will just help maintain it!) with an SNS/lact-aid to see if the nursing time gets shorter.

I'd also want to do test weights with the LC.

My baby was behaving like this and it was due to low supply. It might be nothing. OR it might be something that you can actually fix. Everyone told me my baby was comfort sucking when in reality she was trying to get enough food to stay alive. : So the answer is, it's impossible to tell what the answer is without doing some sleuthing.

Good luck mama! :

[prettypixels]

Nursing gently all the time is/can be nothing, or it can be a red flag of something wrong.

"Mom reports Baby nurses "all the time". Baby may be flutter sucking. Baby is only getting milk pooled in ducts behind nipple. He is not drawing milk down from milk sinuses."
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/...html#Contented

Most of the info about this has to do with special needs babies (ie: Downs, or preemies), or I'm googling wrong, but really think about it. What activities does a baby do all day that make him sleep so much? He nurses. Looks around. Cuddles. All those things burn calories and help "tire" the baby out. So if the baby is working hard at nursing and not getting enough milk, it makes sense that the baby would fall asleep from it. Mine did.

Of course weight gain is the gold standard of suck and supply. If baby is gaining fine, it's less likely there is a problem. But even then, if he is having a hard time nursing and it CAN BE FIXED to make him a more effective nurser, why not do that???

ETA this from Kellymom

If baby seems to be nursing all the time, you first want to make sure that breastfeeding is working well. Problems with latching can result in frequent nursing if baby is not transferring milk efficiently. If baby's latch is shallow, it can be like when you're drinking from a straw and pinch the straw mostly shut - baby is still getting milk but it takes a loooong time at the breast to get enough. Often, even minor changes in latch can help a lot. Using breast massage and breast compression can also be helpful at times for babies who are frequent nursers.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/frequent-nursing.html

[nikihodges]

try all these things and be patient with your self

[RachelGS]

...and patient with your baby, too.