Breastfeeding Too Short

Hi A.~
Your breast milk provides exactly what your daughter needs in a more efficient time period. Your daughter has also gotten really good at feeding faster. That's that! Nature is amazing, just go with it and enjoy. It also frees up time. As long as her diapers are wet and that she has as many stools as you say, it's all good.
Be well!

I nursed my son for 13 months and as far as going down to 7 mins, from what I understand babies become more efficient at nursing as they "learn" and can get more milk in a shorter amount of time. Doesn't sound like there is much worry about if she is still getting the wet and dirty diapers. That and weight gain are the best signs.

Hi A.,
It may be that she has gotten more efficient at breastfeeding, it may be that now that your milk supply is well established she can get what she needs in less time, it can be that she's less hungry now that she has made up for the weight she lost after birth ... babies' feeding spacing and duration will change but the one thing that your baby does know is when she is hungry. She will NOT stop eating if she is hungry. This is not a "problem." Please don't give yourself a breastfeeding "problem" when you don't have one. If she is still producing so many wet and dirty diapers, is not showing signs of dehydration, then she is getting plenty to eat - if you want to give yourself some extra assurance, ask your doctor if you can bring her in for a weight check. Good luck, sounds like you are doing a great job!

If you're getting wet and dirty diapers there's nothing to worry about. She'll sometimes eat a lot, and sometimes a little. With my first son we would wake him to eat by changing his diaper beforehand and not putting his clothes back on until after he eats (they wake up when they're cold). He was 6lbs, 10oz so it was important to feed him every 3 hours. With my 2nd and 3rd children they told me when they were hungry and woke every 3-4 hours (both were 7 pounds at birth so there wasn't too much concern about how frequently they were eating.)
You may want to check with your doctor's office to see if there's a lactation consultant on staff, or sometimes the hospital where you delivered has one. If not, you can Google le leche league and find someone in your area to ask all of your breastfeeding quesitons to.
Congratulations on your new baby. There's nothing like the first!

A.-

I did not read the other posts, but I nursed for nearly 14 to 15 months with my daughter, who is now 2 years old. I am expecting our second somewhere between now and the EDD of Sept 20th. We plan on nursing again just as long...

Based on my experience, as the baby matures, the baby becomes more efficient at nursing so I would not worry too much about the reduction in time on each side. If you are uncomfortable after the session, pump off the remainder of your milk (most likely "hind" milk) and store it. I did that alot especially in the beginning before my body had the chance to regulate down to the baby's demand. The diapers sound normal so I would not be too worried about that either.

As far as the sleeping issue, you really need to encourage the baby to work each side to get the hind milk. This has the most nutrients and is dense enough to hold the baby over to the next feeding which should become longer spaces as the baby gets older. You might want to try unwrapping the baby a bit to get more air exposure and cool the baby down. If they are nursing and warm, it is almost a sure thing that they will crash out prior to making it to the next side. Also, keep the feet exposed and tickle the balls of the baby's feet to keep the interest by stimulating the baby.

Good luck!!
~C.

First of, Congratulations on your baby-girl!

As long as she is still having the wet diapers and is gaining weight you are fine. She might just be drinking really fast, which might also make her sleepy. My little one (4 months on the 16th) usually just drinks one side each feeding. But se is growing and has wet diapers!
Also don't be alarmed when your little one all over a sudden won't have that many stools each day. It can go down to 1 stool every 7-10 days. totally normal for a breastfed baby!
If you can, get "what to expect the first year" (I got it over paperbackswap.com)
If you are really worried about your little girl not getting enough, go see your pediatrician, or if you have a baby-scale at home, weight her right before a nursing then right after (don't change diapers) and you will see how much she gets!
Take a deep breath Mom, you are doing great!! Follow your instinct!

Both my boys used to nurse only 5 minutes each side. As long as she's gainging weight, you're fine. She has become more efficient at sucking now. You're lucky :)

Sounds like you are doing a great job with breastfeeding, so don't worry too much! My daughter fell asleep really quickly in the first 1-2 weeks after born. I had to wake her up and tickle her, etc. A little bit of advice, based on my expereince - if you are concerned or just want a piece of mind, talk with a certified lactation consultant rather than a pediatrician. Sometimes peds can make you more worried. Best of luck!

Regards,
Annie

I have a 6 week old baby boy that I am breastfeeding. My pediatrician told me that babies become more efficient at breastfeeding as they get older. So, their time at the breast in which they are actually feeding gets less and less. He actually said by the end of month 1 or 2 they can drain an entire breast in under 5 minutes! So it could be that is what is happening. Especially because she is still giving the wet diapers and stools.

But it's always better to be safe - check with your pediatrician to make sure your little one is gaining properly. Some drs even will let you come in to get weighed only, to put your mind at ease.

Hope this helps!

Hi A.! Congrats on your new baby!!!
My first son would nurse for 20 minutes on each side...but my second son was like around 7-9 minutes...sometimes even less!!! I agree with all your postings. If she's having wet and dirty diapers, then you know she is getting enough. Keep up the good work! :)

Hi A.,

My daughter did that too. She would fall asleep almost as soon as she got on the breast. The first few days I even woke her up at night to nurse. If your daughter is still pooping and peeing then she is probably fine. For my daughter I found it more comforting to just nurse her more frequently. Whenever she was awake I would let my husband hold her for like 2 minutes & then I would nurse her. It seemed like I was letting her snack all day instead of forcing her to have a big meal. It seemed to work fine, she gained weight fine & within a few days started nursing more at each session.
One concern would be that she is not getting the "hind milk" - the first few minutes on the breast is the drink & then the fatty, nutrient rich food kicks in. But if she is gaining weight she is probably getting it. For me, I found that I would not switch sides as often. If my dtr fell asleep in the middle of nursing on one side, when she woke up I would put her back on that side for a little while before switching.
Just keep nursing. You both are still new at it, so it may take a while to get the hang of it. I wish you the best of luck.
C.

Both of my daughters were very fast eaters and never went the 20 minutes they tell you to do on each side. If she's dirtying her diaper and gaining weight, she's probably just an efficient eater.

For starters when baby's get this old they become more efficient at nursing so they may take less time. Another thing, when my kids were about 1 mo old, I stopped letting them fall asleep while nursing. While I was nursing, if they started to dowse I'd stop and wake them up. They need to learn that eatting time is eatting time and napping time is napping time. Not just that, but they will start to use you as the pacifier and they will need you to fall asleep (not a habit you want to create believe me). But I would continue to allow her to nurse until she lets go of the one side (my son could nurse for 45 on one side). When it's empty she'll let go. Then burp her and offer up the other side. In a couple more weeks you can start her getting use to staying awake while eatting.

As long as she's gaining weight, i am sure she's fine! My daughter is 9 weeks old and when she was 10 days old i learned that she had lost weight! She was only getting the foremilk then falling asleep at the breast so i thought she was full, but the breastfeeding specialist said she didn't have the energy to keep nursing for the hindmilk. So i had to pump and give it to her in a bottle for about a week and she gained a pound in that week and got her weight right where it should be!! So, to make a long story short, make sure she continues gaining and not losing any weight. I had no idea my daughter had lost weight! Good luck!! She is almost 13 pounds now and in the 90% for weight, so she is doing great!! And, she is a fast nurser and usually only takes one breast at a feeding!!

Congratulations on the baby girl and on the breastfeeding choice! It's the best thing in the world!
your situation sounds perfectly normal. My daughter averaged 5 min. per feeding and sometimes she would do one side only. I think the longest she ever nursed was 12 min. and she was fine. I nursed her till she was almost a year old. So, don't be concerned. in terms of the falling asleep, we used to tickle her toes to wake her up in the middle of feeding, or feed her naked per our lactation consultant's advise. that seemed to work, but really I didn't want to torture to be aware. babies know when they are hungry and how much they ened (especially breastfed ones), so don't get worried if she falls asleep, she will wake up when she is hungry.
Good luck!

My daughter only BF for a few minutes at a time, but she would nurse often. I NEVER woke her to eat, she would doze off after a little sip or eating for a few minutes and would wake again when she was hungry or thirsty. As long as you are feeding on demand and your daughter is producing enough wet diapers, I wouldn't worry too much. Keep an eye on her behavior as well--watch for dehydration signs or colic, but overall, she may just have become much more effective at nursing.

Get a good carrier (like a sling or pouch) that you can nurse hands free and keep her close to your breast w/ as much access as possible whenever you can--that way you won't struggle so much with having to "get set up to nurse" her so much.

If your daughter's stools are frothy green or watery--especially if it coincides with colicky behavior or never seeming to get full enough, consider a food intolerance and keep an eye out for possible offending foods {things you eat everyday (dairy, wheat, soy--found in many processed foods, coffee, etc) if it's constant, or things you eat off and on (tomatoes, oranges, peppers, onions, etc) if it's intermittent} Omit any offending foods from your diet and everything will get much easier if this is actually a problem ;-)

I don't see where the problem lies. Sounds normal to me. Let her eat and sleeps when she wants. Most of us wouldn't want to be woken up to eat either!

My daughter is about 12 days old now too! Congratulations! As for the faster BF it is probably due to you being more efficient in production. My daughter often only needs about 10 minutes right now to fill up and then she may cat nap or look around for 10 to 30 minutes before moving to the other side. She is getting plenty but likes to "take a break" between sides. As long as they are growing and making wet and poop diapers your fine. sometimes quantity of time does Not equal quality! A.

your milk may be coming in more now so she may not have to work as hard to get it my son would only take 15 minutes total so its not a matter of time its a matter of whether you feel lighter when shes finished and like you said her diapers are wet.
from H.

Hi! Just wondering how you're structuring her time. We have great success with the "Babywise" model: Eat, play, then sleep. Nurse when she wakes up (DON"T nurse her to sleep), play for a while (talk, coo, look at pictures, just general awake time), and then sleep. If you work towards this structure, she should be very awake when you're nursing, and not so sleepy. I did have issues with my first - she was a sleepy baby - but would use a damp washcloth to rouse her if she got sleepy while nursing. Good luck!