realistically how long will i be breastfeeding a newborn per day?

[babyhopes2010]

bf didnt work out with my first.i regret not trying harder

I would really like to bf this one,he is our last baby.

BUT realistically how long each feed? in newborn stages

i just want to be prepared a but more mentally/


how did u manage bf and looking after a toddler?

 

[nevernormal]

Every baby is different!

My baby started out bfing for 40 minutes or more, but now at 6.5 weeks I'd say it's usually between 10-20 minutes. As he went through the 6 week growth spurt, there was one point that he nursed for 1 hour & 15 minutes straight!

I think it's pretty common for them to get more efficient as they grow, but I could be wrong

 

[babyhopes2010]

Every baby is different!

My baby started out bfing for 40 minutes or more, but now at 6.5 weeks I'd say it's usually between 10-20 minutes. As he went through the 6 week growth spurt, there was one point that he nursed for 1 hour & 15 minutes straight!

I think it's pretty common for them to get more efficient as they grow, but I could be wrong

Thanks. its just i see on here women nursing for 7 hours straight. and as much as i want to bf. i just couldnt bf for 7hour straight as id be greatly neglecting my toddler.

 

[MrsChezek]

My LO nursed for about 45 minutes at a time every 2 hours the first 5 weeks so I'd have about an hour and 15 minutes in between feeds. Then she started getting more efficient and her feeds lasted about 25 minutes for a while, then 15-20 minutes for a bit and then 12-15 for a while again. Right now, she feeds for about 5-7 minutes and empties a breast!!! So they will definitely spend less time once they are older. It's time consuming and hard but definitely worth it!

I don't have a toddler so I can't offer advice but many women on here do so I'm sure someone will chime in soon. Good luck!

 

[nevernormal]

Oh I guess I didn't say, my baby can feed every 1-3 hours during the day normally. He's already giving me a 5-6 hour stretch at night, so as far as energy levels, I think I'd be able to manage a toddler. Granted, we still have some bad nights, but that's to be expected. I haven't yet gotten him in a good routine of napping, and he definitely eats more often when he's awake a lot! He also seems to be a baby that likes to cluster feed, so I'm usually nursing him more often in the evenings -- he's tanking up for that long stretch of sleep! If your toddler has a fairly early bedtime though, this should be manageable as if your baby is like mine, he won't start out going to bed early!

There probably will be a few times in the early days when it seems like you're nursing ALL day. They have a lot of growth spurts in the first 6 weeks! I'm sure moms that already have toddlers and are bfing have some tips on how to help your toddler feel involved & important. One tip I've read is having some books you can read to the toddler while bfing.

 

[nicki01]

I would be interested in these replies too as my toddler is 2.5! And am wondering how hard bf is going to be whilst trying to keep toddler entertained!!

 

[LindsayLucas]

I had DS 1 week ago, according to the hospital feeding every 2-3 hours and 15-20 minutes is good. And that's pretty much what we have been doing. By the time 15 minutes is up he's usually done anyways. All last night he wanted to nurse every single hour- which I did- but now he is sleeping and we are going on hour 3 -i'm about to wake his little butt up. But it's just so peaceful right now

I don't see how woman can do this 7 hour straight thing.

 

[CatherineK]

I've breastfed all my kids, and even when they are in a growth spurt and nurse constantly, it's not hard to multi task. My two week old is wanting to nurse every hour during the day at the moment, but I just hold her in one arm and can still keep up with one and four year old no problem. Or put her in a wrap and she can nurse and I have both my hands free. I nurse while playing play doh, while bathing the older two, playing trains, etc. And even if I need to focus on the new baby for a bit, it teaches the other children patience. Taking turns is part of life!

 

[MrsChezek]

I've breastfed all my kids, and even when they are in a growth spurt and nurse constantly, it's not hard to multi task. My two week old is wanting to nurse every hour during the day at the moment, but I just hold her in one arm and can still keep up with one and four year old no problem. Or put her in a wrap and she can nurse and I have both my hands free. I nurse while playing play doh, while bathing the older two, playing trains, etc. And even if I need to focus on the new baby for a bit, it teaches the other children patience. Taking turns is part of life!

I'm always amazed to hear of moms breastfeeding while doing other things! My LO is 4.5 months old and I still have to lay her across on the Boppy in cradle hold in order to nurse her. I can't find a way to support her just using my body! So kudos to you...I'm in awe

 

[JenX]

I use an app on my phone with a timer to track all my feeds, so I looked back to the first weeks after she was born. In a 24 hour period, I nursed for an average of 4 hours. Now, 10 weeks in, the average has dropped to about 2.5 hours as she's become more efficient. And my baby has nearly doubled her birthweight and grown 3 inches in length, so she's doing very well. Hope this helps.

Edited to add: Oh, and an average feed for us was about 16-18 minutes at first, but that quickly dropped down to 9-11 minutes according to my app.

 

[bumpbear]

I think when LO was two days old, she nursed for 50 minutes out if every hour for about 6 hours straight. I was about to throw in the towel but glad I stuck with it. She certainly did have the odd day when she nursed for what seemed like hours on end, but I had all the time in the world to pander to her. My sister is nursing her youngest (now 6 weeks old) and she has a 22 month old too. She said the first two weeks were tough with unpreductable feeds, but her DH was home to distract the eldest child. Its not a problem now because her youngest nurses for the longest periods between 7-11 after her toddler has gone to bed. During the day, she feeds for about 20 minutes every 3 hours and her toddler has learned to play with mummy watching on during those twenty minute stretches. She also squeezes in a longer feed whilst her toddler is taking her afternoon nap. She's really enjoying their breastfeeding relationship which didn't work out with her first. Give it a shot and see how it goes. If its not right for your family, just FF and don't feel pressured/bad about it.

 

[babyhopes2010]

wow the 8-10 mins is fab! i couldnt make a bottle and give lo it in that time

 

[kitabird]

Honestly mine fed a LOT! He could feed for hours and hours straight, but this was in the evening/night so DH was around to help with DS1. During the day he would feed for around half an hour every 2 hours. As someone else said though, it teaches your toddler to be patient and wait his turn. I did end up having the tv on for him quite a bit My LO was tongue tied, so that probably increased the amount of time he needed to suckle. Now it's mega easy and his feeds take anywhere from 2 mins during the day to 20 mins in the evenings.

 

[TheNewMrs]

Wow those are some efficient feeders! My DD fed 45-55 mins at a time at least every 90 mins. (From start of one feed to start of the other. Not a 90 min break!) Looking back, she had a tongue tie so wasn't transferring milk properly.

Note though, that evening times may have you feeding 2-3-4 hours at a time. Non-Stop! Its clusterfeeding. Then at 3,6,12 weeks there are huge growth spurts that make clusterfeeding more regular.

 

[Rachel_C]

In the very early days, I'd say maybe my second LO was feeding for 10 hours out of 24. Quite a bit of that was when she was asleep so may have been comfort sucking but my first was jaundiced and ended up dehydrated so I wasn't taking any chances - if my second wanted boob, she got boob! It's good for supply to let them comfort suck anyway That was probably only the first couple of weeks when OH was on paternity leave anyway, so he looked after my then 23 month old mostly. But when he went back to work, it still wasn't bad. Baby was feeding less by then, maybe half an hour every few hours, sometimes snacking, sometimes falling asleep on the boob and I'd leave her there. TBH it was easier to let her sleep on me, lay her across my knee or put her in a carrier, then I could play with my toddler, instead of trying to put her down and risk waking her up!

 

[Lara310809]

Some babies go straight into a 4 hourly pattern, but my daughter fed every 1-2 hrs in the beginning and she would take at least 40 mins to feed. By 1-2hrs i don't mean timed from the end of one feed to the beginning of another; i mean wanting a feed at 2pm, another at 4pm etc, so. I was basically doing one hour on, one hour off. but that's because she kept falling asleep. If you figure out a way to shorten the feeds by keeping him awake then that will be great for you. I could never manage it; nothing kept her awake!

 

[MrsChezek]

One thing to consider is feeding vs suckling. My DD would be on forever and I thought she was a slow eater but when I met with a lactation consultant, she said she was only eating for a fraction of that time and the rest she was using me as a pacifier. So once I learned to watch for signs of her swallowing vs just suckling, I would pop her off when she was done eating. There are videos you can watch to see the difference if you can't meet with a consultant. I found the videos on the website of Breastfeeding Inc of Dr. Newman in Canada VERY helpful. Good luck!

 

[danielle1984]

My son is 2weeks and 4 days and he feeds constantly. He can be hours at my breasts. The nurses comes to my house to weight him and check his latch a few times and everything is good. This constant feeding is driving me nuts. I hope it will get better soon.

 

[Dream.dream]

I'd say the first few weeks are the hardest , my first was nursing for 30-45 minutes every 2 hours round the clock , by a month old he was only taking 15-20 minutes to finish with the odd growth spurt thrown in.

I don't see it being an issue this time because I could nurse my son and walk around and still have hands free . I had even fed him grocery shopping in his sling and no one noticed .

 

[readynwilling]

I've breastfed all my kids, and even when they are in a growth spurt and nurse constantly, it's not hard to multi task. My two week old is wanting to nurse every hour during the day at the moment, but I just hold her in one arm and can still keep up with one and four year old no problem. Or put her in a wrap and she can nurse and I have both my hands free. I nurse while playing play doh, while bathing the older two, playing trains, etc. And even if I need to focus on the new baby for a bit, it teaches the other children patience. Taking turns is part of life!

I bought a newborn carrier almost so i can pop him in there and hopefully have him eat while i read a story or a craft with my 2.5 year old.

One thing to consider is feeding vs suckling. My DD would be on forever and I thought she was a slow eater but when I met with a lactation consultant, she said she was only eating for a fraction of that time and the rest she was using me as a pacifier. So once I learned to watch for signs of her swallowing vs just suckling, I would pop her off when she was done eating. There are videos you can watch to see the difference if you can't meet with a consultant. I found the videos on the website of Breastfeeding Inc of Dr. Newman in Canada VERY helpful. Good luck!

I did this with my DD. She was only eating for 10 mins or so once she stopped swallowing and was just sucking i popped her off and gave her a soother.