How long do you nurse per session?

[icedcoffee]

Have we done this before?

DS1 used was very inefficient at nursing. He’d nurse like 20 minutes per side. I eventually used to cut him off at like 10 minutes per side because it was crazy.

DS2 seems to nurse much shorter. Like 5-7 minutes per side. He’s only 4 days old so now I’m worried he’s not getting enough per feeding.

So...how long per side to you nurse at a time?

[zarapipe]

Gosh I wish I paid attention. I am usually binging Netflix ha.

She only does one side at a time except sometimes at the end of the night.

My guess is 10 min for one side.

[icedcoffee]

Aug 19, 2019 20:05:25 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Gosh I wish I paid attention. I am usually binging Netflix ha.

She only does one side at a time except sometimes at the end of the night.

My guess is 10 min for one side.

Both my kids have been painful nursers (despite correct latch) so I’m usually counting the seconds. LOL

[timorousbeastie]

At that age, DD nursed around 10 minutes per side. Some feedings she only nursed 5 min, others 20+ min per side, but generally it was ~10 min. From what I can remember, I had to do a lot to wake her up to get to 10 minutes for a lot of those feedings.

[pooh8402]

Anywhere from 5 minutes to like 45 minutes. He may take one side, he may take both. Sorry, not helpful.

Early days, E2 did about 15-30 minutes each side.

[zarapipe]

Aug 19, 2019 20:07:15 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Aug 19, 2019 20:05:25 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Gosh I wish I paid attention. I am usually binging Netflix ha.

She only does one side at a time except sometimes at the end of the night.

My guess is 10 min for one side.

Both my kids have been painful nursers (despite correct latch) so I’m usually counting the seconds. LOL

Ouch I’m sorry! Baby is still so little at 4 days and their stomach is tiny too. As long as baby is gaining weight I wouldn’t worry. Do you have a weight check or first visit with the pedi coming up?

[icedcoffee]

Aug 19, 2019 20:28:06 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Aug 19, 2019 20:07:15 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Both my kids have been painful nursers (despite correct latch) so I’m usually counting the seconds. LOL

Ouch I’m sorry! Baby is still so little at 4 days and their stomach is tiny too. As long as baby is gaining weight I wouldn’t worry. Do you have a weight check or first visit with the pedi coming up?

We had a weight check today. Baby was born at 7lbs14oz and is down to 7lbs4oz. We go back Wednesday. Pedi wasn’t concerned though based on wet diapers. He also spit up tons of amniotic fluid the first 2 days so I think his birth weight was a little inflated. Hopefully we go back up a bit by Wednesday.

[scm1011]

I just looked in my app and I averaged 20 minutes in the beginning and it’s slowly dwindled to more like 10-15 minutes as she becomes more efficient. One boob per feeding usually. Both my kids have been frequent nursers though (I rarely go more than 2 hours during waking hours).

[gastro]

My older two nursed quickly 5-7 minutes on one side. I also dealt with oversupply. With this baby anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. She was also in the NICU and tube feed and now at 12 weeks old we often still have to use a nipple shield.

[Susie]

It was around 20 mins per side when DS was a newborn, not counting the cluster feeds when he basically wanted to live on my boob. Now (11 weeks) it's down to more like 10 minutes, +/- a couple. Sometimes it's 7 and sometimes it's 15. And sometimes he's sleepy and just using me like a warm paci, in which case it's interminable/until I cut him off.

I think our pedi told me to cut him off after 15 when I was in the hospital this time, for my own sanity/boob health. Even though I didn't always do it, it was nice to hear from a medical professional that I had "permission" to put the boob away for a bit after a certain (reasonable) amount of time.

[clseale]

Dd was always about 20 min total (roughly 10 per breast). Kid had a terrible latch (initially), but she was always pretty efficient.

[jorja]

My kids only ever ate for 5-7 minutes per side. And a lot of the time would only take one side.

I had overactive letdown, though, so it makes sense.

If baby is gaining weight and having adequate diapers, I wouldn’t be concerned at all.

[hamster]

Now it's 5-10, usually closer to 5, one boob only. At 4 days it was more like 15 I think.

[Ashley&Scott]

Congrats on your baby! Both of my kids were fast nursers, even as newborns. Usually about 10 minutes per session on one side. Sometimes they would do 20 minute sessions in the late evening before bed or during growth spurts.

[kdubs923]

My kids were slowwwww eaters and would sit there for like 30 minutes if I let them. Not helpful.

Mostly posting to say CONGRATULATIONS!!

[tacom]

Forever as a newborn. I don’t remember exactly how long.

Now (nearly 12 mo)? 4-5 min per side. It’s been that way for maybe 6 mo?

[knx9211]

I remember how terribly jealous I was when my cousin nursed when I was at her house and the whole process took less than 15 minutes (for both sides!). DS would hang there for at least 25-30 minutes per side. Pumping took 40 minutes. THE WORST. I'm hoping DD is more like this when she arrives!

[lovelyshoes]

I would go by the diapers at this point. Is he swallowing while he’s nursing and how long is he going between feeds? My son always slept while nursing, so it would take a looong time because he’d take breaks and I had to really work to wake him up.

[brooke77]

DS was almost always exactly 7 minutes and just 1 side.

I remember stressing when a nurse told me he should be nursing for 15 minutes on each side. He screamed and refused and I lied to the nurse and said he did.

He gained weight in the hospital and never stopped. The 15 mins per side “rule” doesn’t work for everyone as long as they are gaining weight and having wet diapers. My DS was just an efficient nurser, which made BFing super easy.

[icedcoffee]

Aug 20, 2019 8:28:41 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

I remember how terribly jealous I was when my cousin nursed when I was at her house and the whole process took less than 15 minutes (for both sides!). DS would hang there for at least 25-30 minutes per side. Pumping took 40 minutes. THE WORST. I'm hoping DD is more like this when she arrives!

Me too! My SIL has had efficient nursers and I get so jealous.

[icedcoffee]

Aug 20, 2019 8:36:38 GMT -5 lovelyshoes said:

I would go by the diapers at this point. Is he swallowing while he’s nursing and how long is he going between feeds? My son always slept while nursing, so it would take a looong time because he’d take breaks and I had to really work to wake him up.

Yeah he seems to be swallowing even when I have to wake him up.

I think my confusion always comes from they say to stop when they stop and are relaxed but both my kids would literally nurse all day. I can’t be a human pacifier though. My nipples hurt too bad. But then I always question if I cut him off too soon. DS2 does seem to be a bit more efficient than DS1 was so even 10 minutes per side might be overkill.

At this point I’m trying to nurse as often as I can while balancing my own needs of not shredding my nipples to hell. LOL

[pandorica]

I just looked back and she averaged 10-15 min per feeding at the beginning. Now she's at 6-10 min total (every 2 hours ish...)

[vlinder]

+/- 10 minutes each side (2.5 months). DS had weight problems in the beginning and would spend too much time unproductively nursing so I was told to cap it at 10-15 minutes a side, which he now more naturally does.

[lifetaketwo]

Aug 19, 2019 19:55:47 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Have we done this before?

DS1 used was very inefficient at nursing. He’d nurse like 20 minutes per side. I eventually used to cut him off at like 10 minutes per side because it was crazy.

DS2 seems to nurse much shorter. Like 5-7 minutes per side. He’s only 4 days old so now I’m worried he’s not getting enough per feeding.

So...how long per side to you nurse at a time?

We’re the exact opposite! DD was a fast eater and now DS is the slow, sleepy, lazy eater. I have no idea when he’s eating for real or using me as a paci! DD was 10mins total and DS is more like 15mins each side. Both gained weight at about the same rate.