How do I know if my 8 week old has finished feeding?

[Biscuits88]

I’m currently EBF my 8 week old and I feel like his feeding habits have changed. I’m now finding it hard to know when he’s finished feeding and I’m worrying he’s not getting enough.

He used to take at least 30-40 minutes to feed but I feel like he’s maybe now getting quicker. Is this possible? After he has a good chug, he then starts unlatching and relatching himself every few sucks but is quite happy doing that for what seems like forever. He’s not really actively feeding at this point. I often feel like he’s finished and is just having fun instead so sometimes I take him off to see if he starts rooting again. He will often cry when I take him off but once I start chatting to him or show him a toy, he starts smiling and seems to forget that he was crying. But then I worry I’ve cut his feed short and that I’m not ‘feeding on demand’?

If I pop him back on after a while, just to check he’s had enough, he then just comfort suckles and falls asleep. He would rarely fall asleep when feeding before.

Is this normal behaviour? Should I be leaving him on my boob whilst he’s unlatching constantly?

He has plenty of wet and dirty nappies. I haven’t had him weighed in a couple of weeks but will do later this week so I’m hoping that’ll reassure me!

I think it means he’s finished, he’s probably just got better at feeding quickly.

My DS used to feed super quick - literally 5 mins.

You’ll know if he hasn’t had enough because he’ll want his next feed quicker than usual.

The good thing about babies who are healthy is that you can depend on them to be incredibly vocal about being hungry. So I wouldn't worry about that.

To be sure he's finished, I'd switch him to the other side and see if he is as fussy on the other side. If he is then I think you can be confident he is just fussing rather than simply trying to trigger another let down from an empty breast.

They do get a lot quicker at feeding around that age. I remember noticing it with my eldest as she changed from a longish feed to a short one quite abruptly and it worried me until I looked it up and was reassured. Sounds like they are finished if they start coming on and off. Especially if you have offered both breasts (I always did, but only one child routinely took both). Try not to worry about them falling asleep on you when they didn’t before because for the first four months or so the sleeping and eating patterns are quite fluid. You think you see a pattern and little bit of routine emerge and then they switch on you to something else. And I think you’d know if the baby was hungry from their behaviour and more crying etc.