Worried-change in length of time on breast

[Rubbishnipples]

my dd is 10 weeks old and she is EBF. However, the road here has been very bumpy with lots of pain and cracked nipples along the way. But we seem to have turned a corner this week with the past few days being pain free (I did think I would never get here!).

Anyway, my query relates to length of time on the boob. In the first few weeks she fed for approx 40 mins (1 boob), at 6 weeks this was reduced to about 20 mins (1 boob). From 8 weeks I have offered both breasts at each feed. Then from this week most of the feeds are about 5-10 min on each boob. She has 6-8 wet nappies and 1 dirty a day and is very content/alert after feeds. I am worried that she is not feeding for long enough.

Has anyone else had experience of fast feeds?

Thank you

Yep my DS only fed for like 5-10 mins by the time he was 2-3 months. Now (11months) it's more like 5 max! They get better at getting milk out and as long as she is gaining weight and has wet/dirty nappies, no worries!

Thanks boomy. I think because we have been thwarted by problems on our bf journey I just expect this to be suggestive of another problem!!

If she is still thriving, then I suspect she has just become more efficient as a feeder. There are a couple of growth spurts on the horizon which may dent your confidence if you're not expecting them, usually around 12 weeks and 18 weeks so be prepared for those.

Thanks world - very useful info. I guess she will just want to feed more during these times? How long does a growth spurt last (or is that like asking how long is a piece of string!).

It is a bit piece of stringy, and I was often convinced that the growth spurt lasted about 3 months :)

In reality they're around 2-4 days. Sometimes they're mental growth spurts rather than physical ones, I guess babies also need more comfort at these times as it's usually to do with learning how big the world is and how small they are.