Newborn nursing session lengths

Lena122

DD is 6 days old and her feeding sessions seem to be shorter than the norm from what research I've done. She can nurse for about 8 minutes on one side and be content for 2 hours. But sometimes she'll do 8 minutes on both sides and be content for only 1 hour.

My milk came in 2 days PP. I do all the tricks of tickling her ear, massaging my breast, etc to keep her awake and interested. That might stretch the session to 10 minutes but rarely longer.

Is it normal for the sessions to be short? Everything I've found makes it seem like she should be nursing for 20 minutes or more per side.

ForeverNewlyWeds

Do your best to nurse as much as you can but don't worry too much if it seems like nothing is working. DS would only nurse for about eight to ten minutes every 1.5 hours. We watched his diapers, he got weigh ins at the doctor, and the concensus was that he was getting what he needed and not all babies need so much (granted he was on the smaller side).

ETA: my supply is also ok but did take about a month to regulate.

VitaLuna

My LO was a fast nurser.. Usually ~10 min, but a max of 15. Try all the tricks to keep her awake, but if she's having adequate diapers and gaining, she may just be a fast nurser. Also, a lot of babies are one side nursers. She may not need both sides and you definitely don't want to be switching her after 8 minutes.

hjweber

My LO is a fast nurser (anywhere from 5-15 min every 1-3 hours during the day), also.  At first, I was very concerned for her and my supply but she is gaining fabulously.