How Long Should an 8 Week Old Nurse For?

Have a lactation consultant help you check your latch, make sure he is getting the milk he needs! When he is nursing, make sure you can hear him swallowing milk. If he is getting enough milk, it may be that hw just tires out quickly, try offering him the breast more often. As he gets older he will nurse for longer periods of time. Good luck and keep up the good work!

I was always worried about this with my kids. I too was hyperlactive, and both were on maybe 7 minutes, and also like you just one side. My ped said as long as they are gaining weight and seem satisfied no need to worry. In my case my let down was very fast and plenty. They didn't need to stay on that long.

I should note tho' that with my first he did not stay on long enough to reach the hindmilk. I had a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance for awhile and it did cause him to have some diaper issues and also issues with not being satisfied. For the first 2-3 months I had to block feed him! I noticed once I leveled out he nursed closer to the 10-12 minute mark!

you obviously have great flow, and he obviously has a very effective suck. If he goes three hours between feedings and is gaining weight at normal ranges, then consider yourself lucky. Mine nursed for and hour at this age and her weight gain was very sketchy.

Ditto Heidi F.

I have read, that reaching the hind milk, takes about 15 minutes.

All I know is, both my kids breastfed for at least 15 min. to 1/2 hour... actively nursing. I saw and heard them swallowing. For me, I nursed from both breasts per session though.

I would do what Heidi F. suggested.

Some kids are fast, some kids are slow. It's very frustrating as a mom, but there are very few hard & fast rules. Your best bet is to trust your ped that your baby is healthy, and trust your baby that he/she is happy.

If you are nursing on cue (that is, following your baby's cues) and your child doesn't seem upset/hungry or sick otherwise, then it's likely that your son's body is just self regulating and that he doesn't need as much milk right now. When he's older, you'll likely see days when you wonder if he's going to starve and days when he's on a growth spurt and is eating like a horse.

By the time my twins were eight weeks they would nurse for 15-20 minutes. As long as he still has the right number of wet and soiled diapers a day, he is getting enough breastmilk. If he was hungry he'd keep eating. I also found the time decreased as they got older. Nursing eventually took only 7-10 minutes.

He's probably recently really gotten the hang of nursing, and now he's really efficient at getting what he wants. He's obviously filling up if he can go 3 hours between feedings at this age.

My 2nd baby is is/was just like this - no worries.

That sounds about right to me. If you can see him swallowing, and he's satisfied and growing, he's getting enough. The fact that he's waiting 3 hours between also means he's getting full.

I nursed my daughter on one side for each feeding the entire 11 months we breastfed. I worked absolutely fine for us. Just be sure to remember which one is "up" next (I could tell by looking mostly, but I read a suggestion to put a safety pin on your bra and then moving it after a feeding to indicate which side is next.) You want to use them equally, or one might either slow down, or have blocked duct problems.

My oldest would nurse for 30minutes and then be hungry an hour later. My youngest son would nurse for 5 minutes tops and be full for 2-3 hours.

Each baby is different. he SHOULD only be nursing on one side per feeding, so keep doing that. As long as he's wetting, pooping, content and active and sleeping hten he's just fine!

It varies with individual mom's milk flow and individual baby's needs. Your pediatrician can help give you an idea if your baby is growing adequately (getting enough) via his weight at his next visit.

he may just be "efficient". I also did the one breast at a time and my son never nursed longer than that. He is 8 months old and still only nurses 10 minutes. If he's hungry, he'll eat.

Personally I think it depends on the flow of the milk from the breast. My daughter when she was that young would only breast feed for up to 5-10 minutes at a time because I was producing more then needed milk and it came out very fast. But I did wonder if I was giving her enough because every 30-45 minutes later she would be crying for more. You might be the same way... your milk just might be coming out fast and hes getting his fill faster.

As long as he's having enough wet diapers (ask your ped) and gaining weight, he's fine. Be grateful you've got an efficient nurser-- at 8 weeks mine was nursing for 45-60 minutes every 3 hours. That (literally) sucked. :-)

I woldn't know any official answers to that, but can tell you our first-born spent a good half hour on each side, while our second was done after 5 minutes each. The funny thing is, he still eats at a very slow pace, while she wolfs down huge amounts and then gets on with her life.

If he is done after 10 minutes perhaps that's all he needs right now. Is the breast noticeably lighter? Maybe he is efficient like our daughter was. No matter what, it is just a phase and during a growth spurt he will agan be interested in larger or more freqent meals.

Good luck, and enjoy your baby. They are all so different.

D.