Breastfeeding

[Mamaaaaaa]

Is it normal for LO to feed for couple of minutes and not want feed for an hour or more? DD sometimes only feeds for 1 - 7 minutes and becomes sleepy and doesnt feed for hours

How old is she?

She is almost 11 weeks old

Assuming this has been her pattern from the start and she's gaining weight fine, I wouldn't worry. She may just be a very efficient feeder.

The exception would be if this is a sudden change and she shows any signs of being dehydrated or ill.

My DD did this too. She still does at 1 year. I just made sure I offered it regularly and watched her weight gain. As long as your lo is gaining appropriately then it's fine. They do get very efficient at feeding. 😀

That sounds about the age mine got more efficient at feeding. Especially DC3, by about 3 months old he'd often for 3-4 minutes (glugging and fast sucking) then wouldnt want a feed for 2-3 hours, then usually in the evening and night he'd have slower long feeds.

Thats great to know I thought there was something wrong but she is gaining weight, how often would you say I should offer her a feed?

Feel the soft spot on her head and get used to what it feels like (in the middle a few cm back from the hairline)
If she's dehydrated it will dip in more than what is usual for her.
There was a point where DS was barely feeding when he had a cold and I was having to rock him to sleep then get him to feed while asleep, though if not poorly then you shouldn't need to do that. Keep an eye on her nappies as well as the soft spot just to reassure yourself.

I'd offer a baby that age a feed about every 3 hours in the day, and feed them more often if they were making feeding cues.

If wet nappies are frequent as normal she's probably fine, but if they slow down and you see other dehydration signs (Google them) get her checked.

Okay I will do thanks!

Signs that she might want a feed are sticking her tongue in and out a lot, turning her head lots, or if shes fussing.
If she seems settled but hasn't for about 2.5-3 hours I'd offer and see if she wants a bit.

Remember at night you wouldn't worry about feeds at those intervals, so its OK in the day too as long as shes gaining weight from the amount shes drinking.

Ok thank you, was anxious that in the night she'll often feed longer but only feed for 3 minutes or so as her feed in the morning but glad to know its normal and i dont need to keep track of how long shes feeding for shes gaining weight

Normal, breast milk is supremely high calorie, and your body adapts the makeup of your milk to her needs based on her saliva. As long as she's having wet and dirty nappies as normal and her fontinel isn't depressed, she's fine :)