How much and .how long does your baby breastfeed for? My 9 week old is always hungry

[LDNmummy]

Need some advice as I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

My 9 week old is growing well so I know she is eating ok but she is never full. I don't know how long she should be on my breast for but I always give her at least a ten minute feed but can feed anywhere from 10 mins to half an hour. She likes to comfort suckle so I don't know if she has finished eating and is just suckling and have to guess a lot of the time and unlatch her.

She seems to always be hungry to the point that she is feeding at least once each hour and even wakes from a nap after just 15 or 20 mins to eat. This isn't always as she on some days can have monster naps of anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, it just seems that lately she wakes up to eat shortly after being put down more and more often.

So what should I be aiming for in terms of duration she is latched on?

That full stop should obviously not be there

DC3 is 8 weeks and exactly the same as have my other two children been. It is normal IME and should calm down soon

This all sounds perfectly normal, LDNmummy - the thing about having to guess when to unlatch (and sometimes guessing wrong :) ) is also normal.

She will probably become a little more predictable as she gets older and the days when she has a nap you can rely on will happen more and more often.

There's nothing really to 'aim' at except to continue keeping her healthy and happy as you are doing now :)

Ah thanks for the reassurance, the health visitor seemed to think it might be my diet or she isnt getting enough hind milk so I wasn't sure.

AAGGHH

Your HV is wrong. Your diet will not affect your breastmilk, and she is growing nicely so getting enough milk. Don't worry about the foremilk/hindmilk thing.

Comfort suckling is fine (if you have the time...) and is a lovely way to bond and connect - and a great excuse to sit down and relax! When you can manage it, you might just want to let her carry on as long as she wants and see if she comes off by herself.

Aaaaargh.....not another HV who does not understand how bf works!

Your diet will have nothing nothing NOTHING to do with how long or how often your baby feeds.

Hindmilk does not 'work' in the way she thinks.

:( :(

So much confusion is caused by the myths peddled by under-trained HCPs :( :(

She is probably having a growth spurt my dd was weighed Friday and again Tuesday (vacinations)and had gained 10oz so that is probably why I was stuck to the settie last weekend .

We're aaaaaarghing in unison, organic!!

Some useful articles on foremilk and hindmilk that might help:

www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/07/foremilkhindmilk-and-lot-of-confusion.html

thefunnyshapedwoman.blogspot.com/2011/05/foremilk-and-hindmilk-in-quest-of.html

Do you have to unlatch her? Maybe she isn't getting enough at each feed? I always waited for DS to come off himself. at which point I moved him to the other side. I think at that age Ds fed for abut 20mins every 90mins. Could you get a box set of something you've wanted to watch for ages and every time she wants to feed watch a bit so it doesn't become a chore.

Yep - babies' weight can peak at different times and they go through stages at any age where they need to feed more often. It's all good :)

tiktok!!

Throw away the clock. Your baby is feeding for as long as she needs to at this point in her development and as often as she needs to at this point in her development. As she grows the periods between feeds will shorten, she will become a more efficient feeder to, so length of feed will shorten too. And then you will hit a major developmental stage and she will once again need to feed more often and for longer. It's all normal.

Suckling is amazing, it's not just about comfort and building a bond. When she is suckling her fledgling immune system is communicating, via her saliva, with receptors in your nipples, telling your immune system exactly what antibodies she requires from you in her next milk feed. I find that one of the most amazing things in the whole amazingness of breastfeeding.

It's not you LDN and it's not your little one! My first dc fed very much like yours. DC2 was done in 4 minutes (I used to keep a stopwatch :) ) DC3 was like dc1.

Fab advice on here already. And keep remembering that b/f isn't just about nutrition, it's also about just being with your baby, cuddling, loving, nurturing etc. If you can focus on that, you'll feel better able to deal with the 'has-she-STILL-not-finished?' brigade.

Once again thanks for the reassurance. I had read on Kellymom that diet didn't affect breastmilk but when a HV tells you it might be that, it makes you insecure about what you know being right. I assumed HV's were trained in this sort of thing

world that is amazing, I didn't know that. I do let her comfort suckle for a while before unlatching her nowadays because I know how comforting she finds it. Sometimes it makes her sleepy and I know some might say I am making a rod for my back, but I feel like it bonds us even more. She also smiles a lot when suckling which is lovely. I'm going to make it something I specifically dedicate time to now.

hardboiled sometimes if I don't unlatch her, I could sit there for an hour or longer so I feel its better to just unlatch her sometimes.

Thanks for the articles organic, will get onto those now.