December 2015 Moms

How many hours/day are you nursing LO?

breezypipbreezypip member
edited January 2016 in December 2015 Moms
For those of you who EBF and track the time, how many minutes or hours on average are you nursing per day? I've been tracking on an app and I nurse on demand, which feels constant. I'm at about 7 1/2 hours per day, 45 min per session, give or take. Does this seem "normal" or excessive? I'm beat.
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Re: How many hours/day are you nursing LO?

  • I EBF except for one feed per day (pumped milk). I am around two and a half hours per day (if I were to add in the one bottle it would be closer to three hours per day). Not sure how you time your feed but that's actual eating time (I pause for burping and diaper changes, etc). It usually takes about an hour per feed but I don't rush through it. Hope that helps.
  • I seem to average the same as @AnnH74. According to the app I use we average close to 3 hrs per day (I also pause for burping). DD doesn't eat very long for most sessions though and I think that has a lot to do with my having a fast let down. She sometimes eats 8-10 mins every hr or 15-20 mins every 3hrs. In the evening and over night she'll eat 30-45 mins with 4 hr stretches. This is all with feeding on demand.
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  • Court11152325Court11152325 member
    edited January 2016
    DD has a shallow latch we're working on. She's 5.5 weeks. I probably nurse for 6-8 hours a day - counting comfort nursing after she's done eating.

    ETA she's EBF and rarely gets a bottle right now.
  • I average about 3 and a half hours a day, give or take. We also EBF. He's gotten incredibly more efficient in the last week or so and can finish one breast in 5 to 10 minutes if he actively nurses the entire time. But he likes to suckle for comfort after a lot (i stop timing when he does this)
  • I had a feeling this had to be on the long side. I was wondering how every one else manages! DH barely has any time to bond with her because she's either always nursing or crying to nurse. We have a small window between the two. It also means I have little to no chance to pump, so I can't get a break. She does do quite a bit of comfort nursing which may be included in my time, but even so she's spending double the time at the breast than most of your babes. I would love an extra few hours and I suspect she should be spending them napping which she usually refuses to do. Luckily she's started sleeping longer stretches at night.

    Like @Court11152325 we have had tons of latching issues. I've finally dropped the nipple shield and our latching seems much better, yet we haven't improved our efficiency it seems. I was hoping since we're at 7 weeks now it would start to get better. I'm about to throw in the towel and at least convert some feelings to formula because I'm really starting to feel like a prisoner.
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  • My LO is about 6 weeks old. I BF on average 2.5 hours per day, plus about 2 bottles per day. My LO eats between 12-20 minutes per session...I have no idea if he's extremely efficient or if I have a fast let down, but it's always been that quick. I nurse every 2-3 hours.

    (I use the MammaBaby app to time feedings)
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  • My LO is about 6 weeks old. I BF on average 2.5 hours per day, plus about 2 bottles per day. My LO eats between 12-20 minutes per session...I have no idea if he's extremely efficient or if I have a fast let down, but it's always been that quick. I nurse every 2-3 hours.

    (I use the MammaBaby app to time feedings)

    I think I could manage that schedule! But the only time I get a 2-3 hour stretch in between is when she's sleeping. It's more like 1-1.5 hours. It's like a constant cluster feed. To get a shower I feed her, hand her to DH and rush through my showers and by the time I'm done she's already screaming to be fed again. How is that any way to live? Lol
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  • It really depends, the past few days he's nursed closer to 6 hours. I think he's going through a growth spurt. We are also working through weaning from the shield, so he might be taking longer due to that. When I see that he's comfort nursing I try to take him off and give him a pacifier, which has worked pretty well.
  • I don't time but I would be willing to bet I spend 6 hours/day at least nursing. I let her comfort nurse a lot though she won't hardly take a paci. It's kind of exhausting but what can you do. I am actually okay with it right now as I feel she will probably break of it once I return to work because she will have to!
  • With a shallow latch I let DD comfort nurse because it can help with supply and a bad latch can dwindle supply. @breezypip I have days that I can shower and it's not a big deal, and other times I can hear her crying before I'm even out. This after a 45 minute session. :/
  • I'm like @rzaremba - if I sense that LO is comfort sucking, I use my pinky to take him off and give him the paci. If I let him comfort suck, I know my time would almost double.
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  • Around 3 hours since week 7.
    Week 1-6 close to 7 hours!

    All of a sudden my LO just became very efficient taking less than 20 to feed. It freaked me out at first but hes still gaining weight like crazy (over 15 lbs now.) I used to complain that I was a slave to my couch but honestly now I miss it. Never thought I'd say that lol.
  • @angelicac06 that's the magic I've been holding out for!
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  • I checked my app and were around 3 hours a day. We're EBF at 3w old. She usually liked to eat 5-10 min per boob, with an occasional 20 min session
  • My app says that on average I am an hour and a half on each side. Feeds usually take me about 30-35 minutes with breaks for burping and such. Occasionally, he'll stay on a bit longer, but he's pretty consistent.
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  • So I wonder if it's that she's not getting as much as she should be causing her to br hungry all the time, or if she just has a crazy appetite? I think I'm going to get a baby scale so I can get an idea of how much she's getting per feed.

    I did manage to pump 5oz and DH bottle fed her one night and she went through that like no one's business. A few weeks ago she did the same with 6oz and I had to nurse her right after because she was still rooting.
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  • I don't use an app but I'm like you that I breastfeed on demand and almost all day
  • I am nursing every two hours, 20-30 mins each feed. At night she will sleep 2-3 hrs, feed and then 2 hours sleep, feed, then it's hourly till 5-6am. She is 4 weeks, but she is now over 10lbs
    Basically it's all I do
  • @breezypip you'll want to be careful with such large amounts in the bottles. If your baby goes through them quickly she may not register that she's full. Check out YouTube videos on pace feeding and probably aim for 3-4 oz a session.

    Weight gain is the best way to tell if baby is eating enough, but wet and poopy diapers are another good way.

    Also if you're having latch issues like me, I know that DD has to be on the breast longer to get all the good hind milk so she just takes longer. Comfort nursing is also a good way for her to get hind milk.
  • I only spend about 1.25 to 1.5 hours per day nursing. I nurse every 2 hours, but DD is a guzzler. She only feeds for 5-10 minutes total per session. She isn't really a comfort nurser either. Although this may sound nice, it leaves us with a lot of awake time and she's been petty crabby lately. I often wish I could nurse her longer because she's happy during those times and I enjoy nursing. It is nice at night though, because I can feed her in 10 minutes and go right back to sleep.
  • jenEP said:

    I only spend about 1.25 to 1.5 hours per day nursing. I nurse every 2 hours, but DD is a guzzler. She only feeds for 5-10 minutes total per session. She isn't really a comfort nurser either. Although this may sound nice, it leaves us with a lot of awake time and she's been petty crabby lately. I often wish I could nurse her longer because she's happy during those times and I enjoy nursing. It is nice at night though, because I can feed her in 10 minutes and go right back to sleep.

    Yes this!
  • Very jealous @angelicac06 and @jenEP - Most of my middle of the night feedings take 1 to 2 hours total from waking up, changing diaper, nursing, and getting back to sleep. And for some reason recently DD has decided to stop her 4-5 stretch from 9-1 or 2 and get up at 12. She's been waking up every 3 hours from her last nursing session like clock work. Which means I get as little as 1 hour of sleep it as much as 2.
  • I haven't calculated the exact amount of total time but my LO nurses between 8-13 times a day. Sometimes she does quick times between 5-10 mins. Most of the time she's closer to the 15 min range. But there are days where she may have a couple feedings that are 25-30 mins.

    Most of those longer feedings though I think she might just be comfort nursing cause I don't usually hear any swallowing and she is knocked out.
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