How do I know when she's finished?

[PrincessWatermelon]

My DD (1st) is 11 days old. Breastfeeding is going v well...she latches like a dream and gets on with it.

But I wonder how long she's meant to spend on each breast. She tends to guzzle like anything for about 8 mins, have a rest and look round, then carry on. But then she dozes off or starts being ineffective, or can do this bobbing back and forth and not latching, messing about. I then take her away, but she'll then latch properly and go at it again! So she'll be on one side for about 20-30 mins.

I tend to them offer the other, and she'll have a guzzle of that too. Is this.right? Should I let her stay so.long, even when I'm not sure she's drinking much?

Ta.

This is absolutely 100 per cent normal behaviour in a young baby :)

And you are absolutely 100 per cent normal in wondering whether she is finished at any one time or other.

You are responding exactly right - judging from her behaviour what to do at any one time.

Don't look at the clock and think about whether it's too much. Not drinking all the time when on the breast is normal, too - babies need the breast for comfort and closeness, and even the ' non-nutritive sucking' as it's called is important for supply and for the baby's overall emotional and cognitive development :)

Perfectly normal - keep doing what you're doing.

LO is 3 months - sometimes a 5 minute feed will satisfy him for 3 hours, other times he feeds for 15 minutes, then needs another 15 minutes an hour later.

Thanks for that. Good to know...esp about non nutritive sucking.

She was weighed today and gone from 8lb 14 to 9lb 11, so reckon we must be getting it right between us!

when did that happen?!

11 days!

you need to come to the postnatal thread!

but yes, totally normal :)