How Long Should My Son Be on My Breast at One Sitting?

Oh yes, this is so very normal. Everytime you think you've got a routine, something changes. You sound like you are very in tune with your son, so I have no doubt you'll do a great job rolling with the punches.

He may be eating more because of a growth spurt. He might be having trouble with gas. Maybe he's just needing you more. Something that worked for me at this age was babywearing in a sling. My son could feed on demand, but was also with me more when he needed the closeness.

Don't forget to trust your instincts. It never hurts to call or visit your pediatrician for any reason at all. That's what they're there for!

Congrats Heather!
I have a 7 week old son, and have been to a lactation clinic hosted at my hospital several times, and I have learned a lot.

My son has nothing I would call a routine yet, but there are some things that I have figured out. He seems to pull away and latch on and get fussy when he needs to burp. I burp him, and put him back on the breast. Sometimes he doesn't take it again, and I can figure that he is done. Sometimes he does that fussy thing, and after I burp him he is still fussy at the breast that is when I switch breasts. (That fussiness being an indication that no more milk is coming out). When he fusses and acts like he is going to yank my nipple off, I learned that that actually stimulates milk let-down (a primal instinct to get more milk). Early on, I found out that I wasn't producing enough milk (my boy actually was still hungry after nursing), and the lactation consultant taught me a few things I could do to stimulate my milk production. This has helped a lot. Mainly, I realized that I was not drinking enough water! Now, I drink about 3 liters a day.

Essentially, I try a few different things everytime in response to this kind of behavior. Most of the time I find what it is that he wants. Sometimes I don't, and I just have a crying baby and have to try something other than nursing (like the swing, white noise, a walk outside...)
This is my first child, so I am learning a lot everyday.
Good luck,
S.

One thing that helped me a lot in the early days (and later during the night) of breastfeeding was to cover the clock. I have fed all my babies (our 4th is 5 months old) on cue. (I don't like to say on demand it sounds like the baby is a little dictator). Sometimes they eat very often, sometimes they go awhile. Babywearing helps a lot with the fussiness and different babies like differnet things, try swaddling, a vibrating chair, a baby swing. My first born was only content to be set down if we wrapped him in a blanket fresh and warm from the dryer. He still likes to be warm and cozy. My second preferred to be somewhat upright and number three had and still has a vorracious appetite. Babies will also nurse for comfort not just food and they are good at adjusting their sucking to either empty the breast or what is called non-nutritive suckling. Keep listening to your baby and trust your instincts.

sometimes they pull of because they have to burp.

Hey momma! First, congrats on your newborn and on breastfeeding! It really is the best gift only YOU can give your baby.
If I remember correctly, there are 3 main growth spurts: 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months- and it is very normal for babies to feed more frequently or "cluster feed"- lots of shorter nursing sessions at a time.
I too am a beleiver in "cue feeding" aka nursing-on-demand, and am not a fan of scheduled feeding times. If your babe is giving you hunger cues, I would put him on the breast.
I'm not sure if I can link it, but there is a wonderful website where I get all my nursing information (besides LLL), it's Kellymom dot com.
Also, some babies are quick nursers (mine was never on for longer than 5 minutes in her itty bitty age, and some babies are marathon nursers. I have friends where their little one would easily nurse for 45 minutes!

I was told to feed on demand. It could be every 3 hours or every 1/2 hour. I fed 15 minutes on each side. If my daughter looked a little tired or if I leaked a lot, I would do 5 minutes each side, back and forth a couple of times.

My daughter never pulled of my breasts, lol. She still a big eater. Now I'm feeding her stage 2 food. They say she'll close her mouth & turn away when she's done. She never does that. lol I have to just pay attention to how much she has had so I don't over feed her. :)

Every baby is different. I would feed on demand for the first 2-3 months if I were you.

I nursed my twin girls who are now 2. When they were little babies they would nurse for 30 to 45 minutes at first. I was told that after 20 minutes they should have all they needed to eat, but I loved the nursing so I just let them stay on. As they got older the time they spent eating got shorter. By 6 or 7 months they were on there for 6 minutes only.

There's no such thing as "routine" at that age, nor should there be. Just feed him when he wants. It's that easy. (Hard for mommy, but that's what it's all about.)