Thread: Bfing moms: how often/long does your baby nurse for?

I'm still trying to get Carson on a schedule, right now he's 3 weeks old and it seems to vary he eats anywhere from every 1hr to every 3hrs during the day and every 3hrs at night but he'll only nurse on one side for 10 minutes max then fall asleep. If I wake him up (which seems impossible sometimes) he'll nurse another maybe 5 minutes and fall back asleep, sometimes I can't even get him to go back on the breast.

I'm beginning to think I might have an overactive letdown because he gulps and chokes a lot at the breast but his bms are normal and he has plenty of wet diapers. He also has HORRID gas. If I wait until he's been nursing and then pop him off it doesn't spray everywhere but it does leak really heavily. Anyone dealt with OALD before any have any tips? Maybe I should go see a lactation consultant to make sure I have it before I risk compromising my milk supply.

Oh man, I feel like we are all over the place! Sometimes he goes long enough that I start to get engorged and sometimes he wants to nurse again so soon that it feels like he's hardly getting anything. Sometimes he nurses from both sides and sometimes he falls asleep before even finishing one side. I haven't even started looking for a pattern yet. Granted we have only been back in town for 2 1/2 days so we have been in a weird "just go with it" limbo until now. I imagine a pattern will start to develop soonish.

I have an appt with a lactation consultant tomorrow afternoon because I have so many questions! I never saw one (except in the hospital) with ds. I'm not making that mistake again! The pedi said that dd is an inefficiant nurser (nurses for a LONG time to get what she needs). Hoping to find a way to have her get what she needs without taking an hour! Sound weird, but i'm really excited for my appt tomorrow! I would definately go see one because, like you said, you don't want to compromise your supply

Josh is not consistent at all. He is 2.5 weeks old, but really with eating it's as if he is about 5 or 6 days (as long as he has been nursing). He will want to eat anywhere from every 1-3 hours. Sometimes he eats for 5-10 minutes...other times it's 40 minutes. A lot of times I am feeding him back to back, because after eating from one side he will fall asleep and when I try to set him down he will wake up crying...the only thing to soothe him is to nurse him. So I end up just constantly nursing.

Oh heck I've never nursed on a schedule and I've been nursing for 25 months now. Aiden started off nursing for 45 minutes at a time, but didn't nurse but every 3-4 hours (this changed with his first growth spurt). Zoe nurses every 1-4 hours (how's that for consistent?! lol) anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes. I let the kids lead and all has been fine. I've never had a concern of either of them not getting enough milk. I have only ever done one boob a session unless I suspect a clogged milk duct. I've already had one. *sigh* I don't ever wake Zoe up to eat! With Aiden I'd pump a bit to save for later if I needed some relief. This time I just annoy the toddler to nurse. I am leaking way more than I did with Aiden. Zoe definitely has more of a gas issue than Aiden ever did, but it only really bothers her at night, right as I'm trying to go to sleep of course. Zoe seems to be handling my let down just fine even though it is rather powerful.
Forceful letdown from kellymom that might help you: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supp.../fast-letdown/

I had never really spent much time on kellymom until recently. Very helpful site.

Kellen is still pretty all over the place with nursing.
There are times where he only nurses on one side (mainly at night) and not the other... Then theres other times that he goes back and forth not seeming to get enough. I also can have a more forceful let down to the point that if he lets go it sprays all over him and me.

Honestly, I wouldnt be too overly concerned. Babies go through all sorts of eating stages and your supply will reflect that

DD had a terrible evening last night, feeding almost constantly for several hours, uggggg......... It was awful

Growth spurt!