What's normal? BF duration per feed

[summerson]

Hi ladies, I am a FTM with little support in terms of advice so currently just winging it.

I am looking for some advice on breastfeeding

My baby is 6 weeks old and BF has luckily been easy enough so far after my hours of YouTube video watching!

DS feeds every 2-3 hours which is fine, but my questions are these:

1. I only feed from one side/boob per feed. Is this ok? Everything I read online seems to indicate I should be swapping boobs when he has "finished the first boob"
   
   
2. I only feed him for 6-8 minutes a time because otherwise he won't stop and vomits it all up. I think I have forceful letdown as he gulps away or coughs if he is not "concentrating"... if I pull him off to let him cough the milk sprays on him. I hear of women feeding for 20minutes to an hour... if I fed him that long I feel he would pop! Is this normal/ok??? So I time and limit each feed as soon as his sucking slows and generally it's around 6-8 minutes a feed.
   
   Anyway I just wanted to know if what I'm doing is okay... if it's okay for now ...or likely to change ...or if I'm totally doing it wrong!?!?
   
   (Ps,.. he is gaining weight well)

[SerialReJoiner]

Good nappies - wet, plentiful, yellow poo?

[Orangepear]

I have two DC and each of them has only had one side per feed, and they both fed quickly. The milk spraying stopped for me at about 4 months I think. I'm not sure about limiting the time though, could you check that with someone like La Leche League or NCT breastfeeding advice lines? My first DD had reflux so was sick all the time after feeds, could it be that?

[primaryboodle]

That was my experience exactly except dd would feed every 45mins to 1.5 hour! Shes never fed for longer than 10 mins (usually between 5-10) and i only ever did one side - i have overactive letdown like you. My neighbour had the same experience with her dd1 but dd2 now feeds more like the 'textbook' breastfed baby so goes to show all babies have their own feeding routines. If wet nappies are fine and weightgain is fine then plough on with what youre doing :)

[pastabest]

I'm no expert but 6 week old DD sounds very similar and I also have fast letdown. She very rarely feeds any longer than about 8 - 10 minutes but is gaining weight rapidly and has plenty of wet and dirty nappies.

I only ever feed from one side unless she still seems hungry after she has finished one side (I give a bit of squeeze to check) At 5 minutes ish I will burp her and put her back to the nipple to finish off. That generally stops the sick. I always let her finish I never stop her myself because I assume once she is full she will stop.

A good indication is also her hands, if they are still clenched it tends to mean she is still hungry, relaxed and open means she has had her fill. I believe this is a fairly common way of working it out!

[summerson]

Great! Thanks everyone for your input and quick replies... I never knew of the clenched fists thing!

Wet nappies and poo normal, weight normal...

Just the vomiting if over eating is what bugs me and he will always do it if I let him feed and feed and feed... he doesn't seem to mind the vomit, I mean it doesn't disturb him, but it won't just be one little bit of sick it'll be lots and several times over the next hour!

I'm going to stick to what I'm doing 👍 he seems happy and well enough!

[gentlemama]

I wouldn't worry about the vomiting, some babies do this more than others. With breastfed babies the recommendation is to let them feed until they stop. Babies are amazing at regulating what they need so I wouldn't try to control it. The risk is also that your milk supply will suffer since your baby will regulate your milk according to what he needs at different times. Sometimes they'll feed more for a few days because they are at the stage where they will need more milk in the following weeks. So best thing is to be guided by baby.

[Bex134]

Sounds like it's going well- the only thing I wondered was when he slows down sucking is this him getting to the hind milk which is thicker? I sometimes hand express a little off to help my DS get to the thick stuff as he feeds better off this. I find some days are better than others when he's tolerating the fast flow- not sure if it's him or the flow!