Length of newborn breastfeeds

8 replies

bittapitta · 15/01/2016 18:48

Is 10-15 mins per feed okay, 2 weeks in? DC1 used to feed for 45+ minutes. DC2 feeds 8x a day, 10-20 mins maximum. DC2 sleeps a lot too.

OP posts:

tiktok · 15/01/2016 19:14

Best guide to whether it's ok is to see if your little one is thriving - has he/she started to gain weight, and now comfortably back at birthweight?

Length of time at the breast does not correlate with volume of milk taken - ever. It's the effectiveness of milk transfer that counts :)

It is perfectly within normal for a 2 week old baby to have short, efficient feeds, and to sleep a lot.

Point is, you can't draw any conclusions from the time he/she spends at the breast, or asleep.

You'd also expect to see several poos each day.

It would be a good idea to have your baby weighed, if you have not done so for a while.

Original poster

bittapitta · 15/01/2016 19:21

Thank you tiktok. DC2 is a few grams off regaining birth weight. Midwives not concerned. Lots of wet/pooey nappies! I assumed DC2 would feed like DC1 but this feels all new to me!

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Passthecake30 · 15/01/2016 19:26

My ds fed for 40 mins, dd fed for 5....she was more efficient and got on much better with it, so long as there are dirty nappies and weight gain then I wouldn't worry.

Original poster

bittapitta · 15/01/2016 19:28

Thanks for reassurance passthecake

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Flossiesmummy · 15/01/2016 19:29

Just stopping by to reiterate what's been said above

NickyEds · 15/01/2016 20:43

I'm not sure my dd has ever fed for more than 10 minutes. Ds used to be on the boob for hours given the chance but dd just isn't for hanging around!

whatsoever · 19/01/2016 01:19

Sounds ideal to me! DS was 20 minutes-ish every 2- 2.5 hours after about the first 3-4 weeks where he was all over the place. But 10 minute feeds and thriving baby sound even better

LondonKate · 25/01/2016 16:35

I'm a veterinary surgeon and I know that in most other mammals let down is a bit stronger and faster with second (or third or forth etc) babies. So it might just be that you push the milk out a bit faster with a second baby.

As some of the other replies mentioned - the best way to assess feeding is by your baby. If a new born is producing lots of pee and poo and gaining weight (from around 5 days plus) then whatever breast feeding pattern you have is working well.

Flip