long feeder and toddler

[fairy1984]

hi,

with my daughter, when breastfeeding, she took up to an hour each time for a feed. I cant remember the rough feeding schedule but i think she fed around every 3 hours on a good day so this really took up alot of time which frustrated me. not because of the time taken but because i just didnt understand how she could take an hour to have her milk and then sometimes she'd want to go back on 30 mins later.

Was i doing something wrong? it really wore me down and i only ended up breastfeeding for about 8 weeks before feeling exhausted/emotional and like i couldnt cope any longer because i didnt feel like i was satisfying her.

i would love to breastfeed for longer with my next baby but with a toddler, i just cant imagine she will understand if i end up spending that long doing it (sure she'd be ok with 30 mins every 3 hours but for one hour every 3 hours or even more just would seem to her like i was giving baby all the attention and not her). i know that breastfeeding can be tiring and so i'm also worried about how i will keep my energy up for my toddler while breastfeeding the baby.

My thoughts are that if i deal with all my "worries" now then i've got a much greater chance of successfully breastfeeding my next baby.

any advice very welcome

 

[DazedConfused]

The constant feeding it completely normal behaviour for young babies, growth spurts and cluster feeding is how they set your supply up. It normally ends around the 3 month mark.
Best way to handle this situation and a toddler is probably a sling. Other ladies have dealt with the issue more directly

 

[cutie4evr01]

I'd say just wait and see how your new baby is. My daughter was constantly attached for the first 3 months last time! However, this time my supply is much better and my let down stronger and quicker and my new LO only feeds about 10-15 minutes at a time, every 2-3 hours. My daughter has a snack or reads books, or sometimes watches cartoons while I feed DD2 - it has worked out fine for us and much much easier this go around. You might find the same!

 

[fairy1984]

thanks that is good to hear that it can be quicker with different babies.

i guess theres no way of knowing how my toddler will be with a new baby until he/she arrives so i cant worry too much about that but maybe have a few new books etc up my sleeve.