Length of time to feed? Week old baby.

[ParsleyLion1]

Hi
I'm new to bf and have a week old baby. She seems to be taking longer and longer for each feed and will take anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours for each feed. She seems to fall asleep on the breast but not had enough so that if I move her she wants more.

Once she is properly fed and asleep she'll sleep 3-4 hours at a stretch and her latch seems ok. Is there anything anybody can recommend to speed her up a bit? Or is it just something i need to live with? I'm worried on the night feeds that I'll fall asleep feeding her when she takes so long.

Do you swap sides when she falls asleep?

Don't worry about falling asleep during night feeds, that's one of the biggest benefits of breastfeeding! Make sure your bed is safe and feed lying down and you can enjoy the snooze.

And dozing and feeding in little bursts is perfectly normal in a newborn by the way - 3/4 hours is maybe a bit too long to go between feeds regularly.

Sounds normal to be honest. One thing I used to do when ds was newborn and wanted feed was to change his nappy beforehand so it woke him up a bit and he at least started the feed as alert as possible. But she is so new and tiny and feeding is still quite tiring for them at that age (new actions for jaw muscles etc etc) that there isn't much you can do. Sounds like you're doing an awesome job as she is latching well etc.
You could also try stroking the sole of her foot, or giving her earlobe a gentle squeeze which sometimes 'wakes' them a little to keep going, but in practice if she is tired she'll fall asleep at some point.
Soon she will be stronger and have more stamina and it won't be as much of a problem. In the meantime ditto what Ritamorgan said.
hth
:)

p.s Just be careful of the swapping sides thing as I did that and ds didn't gain enough weight for a while as I hadn't realised he wasn't getting to the hind milk like he should.

I wouldn't worry too much about hind milk if you are following your baby's lead - so long as you feed from both sides frequently the baby will get hind milk. The milk from an emptier breast is fattier than a full breast, so if you swap breasts often the milk will be fatty.

Good info on fore/hind milk here - www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/07/foremilkhindmilk-and-lot-of-confusion.html

Thanks ladies. I tried the swapping sides thing but had the same problem with the hind milk. The MW recommended reoffering the same breast when she falls asleep. I also change her nappy half way through to wake her up. I don't like to do it at the beginning as she hates it and I've been avoiding stressing her out before we start.

Sounds like I might need to concentrate on making it safe to doze whilst she is in this phase.

OK, I really wouldn't worry about hindmilk - there is no reason to keep reoffering the same side. In fact, limiting the baby to one side per feed is known as block nursing and is usually used to reduce supply.

Swapping sides when the baby comes off/falls asleep ensures the baby gets more milk, more calories and should keep her interest.

Thanks Rita. That's a very helpful article. I think I might re try swapping sides depending how long it has taken her to fall asleep from the first one.