Breastfeeding duration

[Whiffle77]

I am currently breastfeeding by 8 week old, im having to use shields as he was bottle fed expressed milk weeks 2-4 and wouldn't go back on the breast after 2 weeks of bottle.

Most feeds take about half an hour, but if it is a mega feed it can sometimes be 45 mins to 50 mins.

Will this ever speed up? And each feed take less time. I know other people who do much shorter feeds, I was under the impression he would speed up as he got better at it - but at 8 weeks I would have thought this would have happened by now?

Thanks

Yes it will speed up - probably around the 12-16 week mark, at least in my experience. And once they start moving/playing/realising there is more to the world than mummy, they speed up again. Congratulations on your baby.

Yes for me, it does up around 4 months to 20 mins per feed and now at 7.5 months it's max 19 minutes per feed. I think ultimately it ends up being less hassle/faff than formula feeding but the work is frontloaded with breastfeeding. This has been true for both my DC so far.

At 8 weeks you're probably just coming out of peak tiredness/physical recovery (depending on how your delivery was) so things should start to feel easier in the next month or so 🤞

Ah thats great news, thanks both for replying! I guess with two weeks of expressed bottle, he has only really been doing it for 6 weeks. Which seems like forever to have been feeding, its not really that long!
I definitely feel like I am starting to come out of the newborn "fog" which is nice its lovely to have been enjoying him more too.
Thanks again!

Hi @Whiffle77 I’m in a similar position to you, baby is 8 weeks, shields and all after having to pump at the start but my baby only feeds from one breast per feed and has usually drained it in 10-15 minutes. I found this video really helpful at the start to see if baby was feeding properly

globalhealthmedia.org/portfolio-items/attaching-your-baby-at-the-breast/?portfolioCats=191,94,13,23,65

[quote peachypetite]Hi @Whiffle77 I’m in a similar position to you, baby is 8 weeks, shields and all after having to pump at the start but my baby only feeds from one breast per feed and has usually drained it in 10-15 minutes. I found this video really helpful at the start to see if baby was feeding properly

globalhealthmedia.org/portfolio-items/attaching-your-baby-at-the-breast/?portfolioCats=191,94,13,23,65[/quote]
Thanks @peachypetite that's a good video. I dont feel like I have much control over his latch with the shields though, they don't seem to encourage a deep latch. I can hear the milk going down his throat too, so he is getting a lot quite fast! I will spend the next few feeds taking a bit longer over the latch tho and see if that changes anything

Hope you and your little one are getting on well

I find the rugby position best for a good latch.

I think at this age the duration is perfectly normal, especially after bottle feeding.

If you did want to speed things up however, have you tried Breast Compressions?

Just to add if you're talking to other people bf similar ages babies they aren't all the same. My son would have massively long feeds. I'm sure it sped up after a while but he was a big fan of the boob.
A few years later I had my daughter and was very confused to find she would only ever have very short feeds. And interestingly at 15 months she has always weighed more than him at the same ages.

This was my experience too Marvin. DS would have happily fed all day and night, DD could get a feed done in five minutes. Both are perfectly normal

There was some good info on Lucy Webber's Facebook page a couple of days ago about shields, it might be that they're causing your feeds to be longer because the milk transfer is a bit slower. OTOH, of course if they're helping you that isn't necessarily a bad thing and it might still improve with time. If you did want help in weaning off them I would recommend looking for real life local support which might actually be virtual at the moment. NCT/ABM breastfeeding counsellor, La Leche League or IBCLC is what you are looking for.

Here's the direct link to the post if you have Facebook

www.facebook.com/411977425899963/posts/1124271858003846/

Thanks @BessMarvin and @JiltedJohnsJulie I know that all babies and boobs are different! Im not worried about my son at all, he is very rapidly gaining weight and a happy chap - just would be nice to think i could spend a bit less time feeding at some point in the future but if not, it is what it is - not like I have anywhere to be at the minute anyway!!

Thanks @BertieBotts I will have a look - I dont want to be using the shields forever but they suit me for now - he completely refused the nipple after having a couple of weeks being bottle fed. I haven't been able to face weaning him off then just yet as he got so wound up, but I will look into it soon. They are great but also a bit of a pain to use

Best of luck I hope it all goes well!

Just as an update to this in case anyone is searching for similar - DS is 13 weeks now, and for the last week or two his breastfeeding duration has dropped dramatically - down to between 15-20 mins generally.

He does do some 30min ones but not that often.

Which is great! Still using the shields but try and do one feed a day without them, so will wean him off entirely hopefully.

He has however started waking in the night again after a few weeks of sleeping through till at least 5am - give with one hand, take away with the other!! I knew we were on borrowed time with how good his sleep was though.

Hi @Whiffle77, thanks for the update! At the moment I am having your same issue: DS is 5 week old and he feedings last ages! I am also using the shields and I was worried that they might be the reason (or maybe it's because of the growth spurt..). I am glad to know that it won't be like this forever!

They feed loads in the beginning @Emma5557, it can feel almost constant! It will even out eventually dont worry, I think they do have a growth spurt around 6 weeks too. We are in one at the minute but it is nowhere near as relentless as it was in the earlier days!
Make sure you drink lots and rest where you can - and eat lots of cake!!