Feeding lengh?

jeslub

My baby is just about a week old now and the nurse's in the hospital told me that my baby should be eating on one breast for 30 minutes as a time and then on the second for 15-20 min.  What I am finding is that my total feeding time only takes 20 min, 30 top! Do you think he is getting enough?

nicobean1

Our pediatrician told us that the length of the feeding is irrelevant, it's volume that matters. That being said, it's really hard to know if LO is getting enough. I'd say, if your breasts get soft in less time, he's doing good suck-swallows, and you've got enough wet and poopy diapers, he's getting enough. That, plus the weight check with your pediatrician should tell you he's getting enough to eat.

Starfish113

My pedi said 10 minutes on each side is fine. We've had trouble BFing and I've been pumping so I don't know what's common, but when LO does latch that's about how long she spends!

nicobean1

Starfish113:

My pedi said 10 minutes on each side is fine. We've had trouble BFing and I've been pumping so I don't know what's common, but when LO does latch that's about how long she spends!

Me too. LO spends anywhere from 9-18 minutes on a side, and then I pump and supplement him b/c we had latching issues and needed to get his weight up. I let him go on a side until I'm either very soft or he loses interest and starts flutter-sucking rather than actually feeding. 

WildcatPrincess

DD only nurses one side per feeding and never longer than 20 mins, usually closer to 10,  I was concerned about it so yesterday I weighed her before and after every feeding to try and get a feel for how much she was getting.  Turns out it was anywhere from 2-3.5 oz, which is the most she takes from a bottle right now as well.  So like pp said, it's not the length that really matters as long as LO seems satisfied and is producing dirty diapers.

ChristinaD09

If the baby is gaining weight well, I'm sure that's fine.  You do want to make sure the baby gets hindmilk, though (but that feeding length should be perfectly fine--10 minutes I would be more nervous about).  My LO eats for 45 minutes-hour (more like an hour usually) but that's because he is super slow.  He quits sucking in between every letdown on my left side and it takes forever to get him to another--otherwise it would be more like 40 minutes, probably. 

bakedlaurabean

DS never goes that long. If he gets 20 min on one side, he'll only do 5 on the other. Usually it's more like 10ish per side.