how do you know when they're finished?

[EasilyBored]

This might seem like a stupid question, but how do you tell when your baby has finished a breastfeed? It used to be that ds would fall asleep when he was finished, but at nearly 8 weeks he's starting to spend more time awake and now I'm finding it difficult to tell when he's finished. He will stop and refuse to latch, but then want more after he's been burped, but sometimes it seems like he refuses but then wants more 15 minutes later. On the one hand I don't want him to be hungry, but on the other I don't want him to spend his every waking minute attached to my boobs.

Oh, other random question... how long does breast milk keep in the fridge? The HV said 24 hours, but I've seen some people say 48 hours?

according to kellymom you can keep it for up to 8 days in the fridge

hey easily bored my DD was just like this at that age. I just had to grin and bear it! i stopped feeding when she wasn't interested and started feeding again when she cried! their stomachs are very small at that age which is why the feeds are often short but frequent. It does get better, (maybe about 3-4 months) and they started having a feed in one go rather than many different courses, and it gets quicker, hope you can last it out till then!

It's great when they come off on their own - they have a 'milk drunk' look about them and are very contented.

With your DS, at 8 weeks, he could be showing signs of early teething, hence pulling off and then wanting to go back on again or it may just be his way. You kind of just have to go with it and as long as you're happy with the way he feeds otherwise (no pain/blisters etc), then as he grows, he'll work it out. Some babies are simply more fussy at the breast than others.