My 5.5 WK old will not nurse for longer than 10 min at a time. She is then hungry abt an hr or two later. I feel that if she fed for longer she could go longer between feedings. My question is how. She will clamp lips closed and refuse to eat anymore.
Re: 10 min feeding
Do a weighed feeding. My baby was the same 8-10min feed every 2hrs.
Weighed feedings showed she was taking in 2-3oz in that time so was a getting a full feed.
At 10 weeks she has become more efficient and has her feedings down to 4-6minutes! Last weigh in had her take in 2.6oz in 5min.
You can't make a baby eat more...they decide when the belly is full enough. She is still very young so needs frequent feeds. I would do a weighed feeding so you know how much she is taking then just go with it...with time she'll stretch it out a bit. My little one will likely always eat every 2hrs. Early on she ate every 45-60min.
Frankly I don't mind the feeds every 2 hrs when I remind myself she takes less than 10min...many moms this early spend 45-min per feed every 2-3 hours.
I was one of those every 2 hours, taking 45 minutes Moms for the first 4 weeks. I was CERTAIN I was doing something wrong or she just wasn't eating enough. Our routine was eat for 45 minutes, sleep for 45 minutes, repeat... it was brutal.
We're now down to less than 20 minutes every 2 hours and I feel like I have all the time in the world on my hands!!! ENJOY the fact that you have an efficient eater!!! And it'll only get faster as she gets older. Do not give up (I almost did..)! You're doing everything right and it sounds like a very normal newborn schedule.
Lucas 3.5.11
Tyler 4.23.13