How long?

Question

FTM here exclusively breastfeeding my 6week old. How many minutes do u mamas nurse ur babies for at a time? Do u offer only one breast for each feed and give the other breast for the next ? What's the normal time (minutes) a baby feeds for? (Question to the breastfeeding mamas out there as bottle feeding time is obviously different)
Also how long without feed can I let my baby sleep for if she doesn't cry? She goes for 4+ hours in the night without waking up or crying for feed. Is that normal? Should I be waking her up to feed her ?

Answer

I'm exclusively breastfeeding my 4 and a half month old little girl. When she was younger feeding would take around 30 mins - she only needed one side but I would offer both just encase...now that she is a bit older she only nurses for 10-15 mins at a time..I think she is just better at emptying the breast now and not using me for comfort sucking like she used to. 
I remember those early weeks were really hard and I felt like I was stuck on the sofa with a boob out the whole time but it definitely gets easier as they get older.

Answer

Offer both breast, it’s ok if she doesn’t take both. My daughter eats every 2 hours & I don’t wake her up to eat at night. And I let her eat until she breaks the latch. When she was around 6 weeks she would take about 45 min per side, she’s 7 months now & she eats 5-10 min per side

Answer

Same, I've always offered both breasts but thats mainly because my milk supply isn't that great. My bub stayed in special care for two weeks so I had to feed her every 3 hours even if she didn't wake up, I had to wake her. I continued this when she went home but at her six week check up, they told me to just feed her on demand. So whenever bub tells you that they're hungry. It used to take her about 30 minutes sometimes longer to feed. Now she is very efficient and only takes about 10 minutes.

Answer

I always fed and still feed both sides if she wants both, most times she does. My daughter never nursed for more than 20 mins when she was that young. Now at 3.5 months, it’s an average of 12 mins each feeding. And by now, you probably don’t need to wake her up to feed her. Just let her sleep.

How long?

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