Is it okay if baby only breastfeeds for a very short time?

Question

My daughter is 5 weeks old and the most I can usually get her to eat at once is about 7 minutes. She always falls asleep! Sometimes if I change her right after she falls asleep she will wake up and eat for about 5-7 more minutes, but that’s it. Is that ok? Also when I wake her back up to eat more should I be keeping her on the same side or switching sides?

Answer

Switch sides every 5 minutes to help baby stay awake to fully feed and yes that is normal most babies feed between 10-15 minutes (:

Answer

I’d keep her on the same breast especially if she’s only nursing for 5 minutes to ensure she’s emptying one and getting the hindmilk (fattier milk) she needs to gain weight and alternate each side at each feeding. Emptying each side at one time will also ensure you’re producing enough. Empty breast = more breast milk production and full breast = less milk production. If she’s still hungry after doing one side, offer then other. It’s normal for them to fall asleep at the breast. Changing her before eating helps wake them up. You can also try tickling her back, ears or feet lightly.

Answer

My son never nursed more than 8-10 minutes the first several months but was getting plenty.  He’s 5 months now and he nurses for 3-5 minutes at a time.  I did a timed/weighted feed with the LC this past Wednesday though and he took 4 oz in 3 1/2 minutes.  Some babies are just very efficient.  Can you do a weighted feed to see how much he’s getting in that time?
Otherwise, I’d you’re worried it’s not enough, burp and change the diaper when switching to the other breast.  If you express your breast a little it changes the pressure and sometimes gets baby interested again.

Answer

You know what I did when my twins wouldn’t feed I literally would go in the bath with them and it would wake them up. They were more alert in the tub and I would breast feed them. Worked like a charm 🙌🏼

Answer

They become more efficient as they get older, so less time on the boob. My son will also fall asleep on one side, then wake up and nurse again 20 minutes later. I will usually do a diaper change if he falls asleep too soon, this gets him up and alert to finish nursing. He is almost 7 weeks old, he chugs when nursing, I have to pace him.

Answer

The first couple months babies usually take longer to nurse since they are getting used to it my first baby would take 25 min on each side and my second baby only 5-7 min don’t let baby fall asleep while eating try to wake them up and definitely switch sides also feel your boobs to see if they have milk maybe even squeezed a little to see if it leaks

Answer

Make sure she nurses on both sides if possible. We do a diaper change right before I nurse to wake baby up!

Is it okay if baby only breastfeeds for a very short time?

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