When did your baby's feeds shorten?

[jessicatunnel]

My lo is a month old today and for the last week or so about half of his feeds have only been about ten minutes. He still has some 30+ minute feeds but I'm worried that the 10 minute ones aren't long enough. Is he getting enough then? He pulls off the boob and won't open his mouth when I try to put him back on and if I do manage to get him back on he pulls back off a few seconds later. He seems satisfied but I'm worried he's not getting the hind milk. He has plenty of wet and dirty diapers though, which I know is a good sign.

When did your baby's feeds shorten??

 

[kung_pao mama]

I don't remember when it FIRST started, but I know around 2 months I began to get worried about the same thing. He started taking only 5-7 minutes to eat, when it was at least 20 minutes before. He has always eaten quite often though. Every two hours or so. But I know he is just an efficient eater. There are times, in the middle of the night, when I feel very full because he hasn't eaten in 6-7 hours. He wakes, eats for 5 minutes and will totally drain me. lol.

Are the dirty diapers "normal"? I've read that when a baby has a foremilk/hindmilk inbalance, their poo is green/brown and mucousy. gross. i know.

 

[jessicatunnel]

He does eat every 1-1.5 hours so quite often. And yes his dirty diapers are the normal yellow breastfed poo's.
His suckling is a lot harder than it used to be so maybe he is becoming a more efficient eater. I don't think he fully drains me though. But I hardly feel really full, maybe because he eats so often.

 

[kung_pao mama]

Yeah, the only time i ever feel full is when he sleeps longer than 6 hours or so at night.

I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as he is happy, gaining weight and having normal poo.

 

[Perplexed]

Just a note on feeling full- i personally hardly ever feel full. Can probably count the times I did on one hand and my LO isn't having any issues with supply. Good weight gain and enough wet/dirty diapers. As for length of feed, it isn't often that she will feed efficiently but there are a few occasions where she will. But I think my LO is a bit slower due to nipple shields and every baby is different. As long as there are enough wet & dirty diapers then everything is fine

 

[little_lady]

Hi Jess. Yeah it's normal. Isabelle only ever fed for 10 minutes at a time, Joel shortened his feeds at about 6 weeks old (they were lasting an hour before that). I would take it by how full the diaper is, like you said, and also weight gain being consistent.

 

[ready4family]

Somewhere around 6 weeks. Now she eats for about 10 min. They get much more efficient at it! As long as there are plenty of wet diapers, baby is fine

 

[hakunamatata]

My lo's feeds have been shorter too. He's currently 2 months old. Good to know this is happening to others too.