BF baby sucking at nipple for ages - comfort or hunger?

[jumpjockey]

DD is 15 weeks, BF and gaining weight quite happily. Recently she's taken to sucking on the nipple for ages after a feed, the vigorous swallowing part is usually about 5 minutes then she will stay on for basically as long as I let her. She usually gets anothe let-down reflex every 10 mins or so, but in the meantime I'm not sure if she's sucking from hunger or comfort.

At night she can keep this up for an hour or more, when I assume she's doing it as an alternative to sucking her thumb, and at night I don't mind as we co-sleep and both just nod off together. During the day though it can be a bit of a pain - I never know if I should unlatch her as she might be waiting for more milk to let down or if she's just sucking because it feels nice.

Any ideas? Most advice I've seen is to unlatch them after the vigorous drinking part is done, but that would mean really short feeds and I'm not sure if 5 minutes is enough. It's knowing how to tell when she's really had enough from when she's just sucking for comfort.

Sorry just to confirm, she used to unlatch herself after about 20 minutes but now doesn't do that so I never get the "had enough" milk drunk face to say she's done.

They do have a growth spurt at about 3 mths. This is probably what's happening. It should only last for a few days so best to just go with the flow.

Don't unlatch her after the first 5 mins, she'll get all the great fatty hind milk when she starts feeding slower as this is harder to suck out. that's why she's having to feed slower. If she's still going after half hour or so (approx!!!) then offer her the other side.

Babies don't really suck for comfort, it's a bit of a myth. If they are not hungry, they come off.

You could try feeding her more often during this period, then perhaps she'll feed for a shorter amount of time? Swings and roundabouts really!