My 4 month has spending less time nursing. She seems to be satisfied after a feeding, and I know I am not supposed to watch the clock, but about how long should it take her to sufficiently empty the breast? I have not yet begun feeding her cereal, so I don't think that is the issue. She has been sleeping through the night, but has been waking at about 4:00, 6:00 and 7:30, so I am not sure if that has anything to do with the time spent feeding.
Thank you all for your responses. I definitely notice that she is more easily distracted when feeding, especially with her sisters running around. We have her 4 month check up on Monday, so I will see then how much she has gained. She is very content and happy and usually falls asleep after eating, so I am assuming she is getting enough. The reassurance that this is normal helps. So thank you all!
My baby is 6 months old an feeds in less than 5 minutes per side. If she seems full I wouldn't worry about it. My tank is 18.5 pounds! So, he certainly is getting enough even though it only takes him about 5-7 min for a full feeding!
:)
J.
Babies feed as they need. SO she is getting exactly what she needs at that time. Some feedings may be only a minute or two and some can last an hour or so. I have a 13 month old who still wakes up at 4 Am to nurse for 5 minutes and then goes back to sleep until 6 AM. As far as the cereal goes.... you will know when it is time to start that. I started my daughter with a teaspoon of cereal at breakfast lunch and dinner when she was four months old. I could tell she was ready for something new to try. Breastfed babies know what they want when they want it - so as long as she is gaining weight and is happy, I wouldn't worry too much.
I agree with Brittany. Good advice!
This brings back memories. My daughter began doing this when she was around 5 months. The time we spent nursing each session would almost be cut in half, but at other times she would nurse like normal. She always seemed satisfied, so I just followed her messages. We didn't begin cereal until 6 months. Anyways, she weened herself at about 12 months and it was a s low progression. First her sessions got shorter, then she stopped asking for feedings in the afternoon, then she dropped her nighttime feeding. The last one we kept was the morning feeding and one day she nursed for about 2 minutes and was very uninterested in it. The following morning, she grabbed a book instead. So...use your mommy instincts and her cues. If she's hungry, nurse her. If she's not, she's okay. Unless her weight drops drastically, I wouldn't worry about supplementing. Some moms give a little formula at night after nursing (a great dad ritual) to help them sleep longer, which does work if they need the extra calories. I'm sure she just hasn't found her sleep routine yet, but it may help. Good luck! D
I know it's hard, but you can't watch the clock. I did that with my first child (now 4) and he was on and finished in 6 minutes. 6 minutes! All I had read said that it would be more like 20 minutes, each side. Not for me! Looking back I spent SO much time stressing about it, rather than enjoying the time we were so close. He turned out just fine!
Dear J.
GOD BLESS you with 3 little one I had 3 kids in diapers myself and 47 years ago we didn't have the disposible diapers then but I had them young and I'm 66 now and my oldes is 48-46-45 now we enjoy ourself traveling,I have a retarded daughter she's in a group home she doesn't want be home with us she love where live with others like her they go out a lot she come home one weekend but by Sat morning se want to go to school,it's her day program.
Have a good week and MAY GOD BLESS
1st your breast is never empty. so every time your baby suckles she gets milk & it stimulates your breast to make milk.It may not seem so but they do. & if the baby nurses at night that is their way of increasing your milk supply. your prolactin levels are the highest at night, so keep up the night time nursing & she could be going through a growth spurt. but if she does not have the wet diapers & is not gaining the weight call your DR.
every baby sucks differntly. I remember they used to say 20 mins each breast... HUH? mine finished in about 8 mins, and I had enough milk to feed triplets! they will stop when theyre full or need to switch to the other breast. You can typically tell by feeling your breast after the feeding, compare an empty breast (saggier and lighter, kinda mushy, lol) to the full (harder, heavy, engorged) and this wil give you a good idea. But, im sure your baby is filling her belly up fine
Hi J.,
My son used to nurse 20 to 30 minutes (only one side at a time). When he turned 4 months, he became much less interested in nursing (looking around, distracted...) and would nurse for only 5-10 minutes (and sometimes even less).
I was very worried and brought the subject with the pediatrician. She reassured me a lot. As long as he seems happy, sleeps well, gain weight, it just normal.
Now, he is 10 months old. The only time of the day when he would nurse more than 5 minutes is the first feeding in the morning when he is still sleepy (and also the rare occasions when he would wake up at night)
OUr breast and their mouth just get more efficient with time, I guess!
J., I think if your daughter is growing well and is satisfied, she's probably getting what she needs. If you're nursing her each time she wakes, then she's definitely getting enough. Just relax and enjoy.
J.
Lucky you! The best thing about nursing is that the child can self regulate what they need and your breasts can adjust to what your child is needing. My kids slept through the night by 4 months too. Congrats and welcome to the mommy club!
J.
I nursed my daughter for 11 months and as she got older she simply got more efficient at nursing. Feedings used to take up to 20 minutes and reduced down to as little as 5 minutes. I waited until 6 months to start solids and she was in the 85-90% category for weight up until she began crawling. As long as her weight is doing fine, I would not worry about her reduced time to nurse. Babies have an amazing ability to know what they need :)
i agree with the others i'm going threw the same thing except i just started nursing again after pumping for 2 months to get my daughters weight up
sometimes she nurses really good andothers she nibbles for a few minutes but she falls asleep or seems happy when she's done
kids are good at knowing when they're full and generally on't keep eating when they are full
Is she falling asleep while nursing? I remember my daughter did that, and I'd have to fight to keep her awake so she would eat a good amount and sleep longer! I do know that everything goes in phases, so maybe this is just a growing spurt or something, and the little Angel will start sleeping longer soon so Mommy can sleep!! I remember that being a challenge. Stay Strong!! :-)
Hi J., If her weight is continuing to increase at the expected rate, I'll bet she's just eating more efficiently than she did as a little one - my son was a weak nurser at the beginning and ate very slowly, but then got more focused -- I think was eating more but sucking better and more consistently. -S. H.
I went through the same thing with my daughter and was very worried. I read somewhere that as they grow they become more efficient at expressing the milk and the feedings in turn shorten. My daughter is 20 months now and still nurses for about five minutes on each side (compared to the 30+ as a newborn). She's always been above average in height and weight, so no concerns over the short feedings. As long as she's not showing any signs of distress while nursing (thrush, gas...) everything should be fine.
I stopped watching te clock with my sons after the first few months. I figured if my baby is growing and happy seems like no need to question nature. Your daughter is probably a much more efficient eater than she was before and your flow is pobably super fast now.
