Time feeding at each breast

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Just a fairly basic question i think. ... I know there's no set time to leave a baby on one breast before switching and that you're meant to wait til the baby takes himself off but apart from when he's going through a growth spurt i think my son would hang out on the same boob for hours without quite filling himself up.  If I left him there indefinitely it'd make for some very long and slow feeds. Although i expect that to a certain extent at 3 weeks old i don't want the night feeds going on any longer than they have to when they're coming every 2 hours!

His pattern seems to be to feed enthusiastically for 10 minutes,  then have a break, then go back on for another 10 - 15 minutes, slowing down all the while and often falling asleep.  I then pop him back on sometimes and he really just seems to suckle or flutter feed.  I normally do get another let down after a while and he will pick up pace for that, but i can tell it doesn'tllast long. Eventually he'll fall asleep and drop the nipple. I normally don't, but if i offered the same breast again he'd take it and the same thing would happen. Instead I then switch breasts and he's off again for another 10 - 15 minutes of good feeding before he's done.

So would you put him back on for that third session on the first breast or just offer breast 1 twice and then switch?

[michaeljacknnugg]

I'm going to suggest just offering the first side twice - to get a definite break between feeds and because two sides would mean more foremilk rather than hindmilk.

What do you think?

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Ooh, haven't thought of that..... Will try it now (just up for a night feed). If he'll settle after just one side and goes just as long between feeds it'd definitely cut down on our feed times.  Will keep you posted.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Hmmm.... Well he woke for a feed at 11.30 and i just offered the left breast twice,  by which time he was zonked and I couldn't get him to feed any more anyway. Put him down and half an hour later he's crying.  Thought it might be wind cos I could hear it gurgling around but after a few bottom noises he still wasn't setting.  Picked him up and and he started rooting frantically so put him back on my left breast a couple of times.  He fell asleep again, winded him, , offered tge left breast again and he wasn't really latching on properly so tried the right side as my left breast feeding felt very soft. He had a small feed then did a big sicky burp and wouldn't go back on again. Put him down and he's still not settled (turning his head to the side,  licking his lips and grunting) so back on the right side again and he's feeding well now apart from some wind which is making him a bit fussy.  However, we're 2 and a half hours on from his first wake up time now and although he's had a few snatches of sleep during all this i haven't! 

This is actually a fairly typical night waking though,  albeit a bit more drawn out cos i normally would have offered the right breast sooner. It's not unusual for them to go on for a couple of hours though

Edited to add: It's now 4an and we're still going. ..  The most he's slept is for half an hour after which he wakes up screaming. I'm wondering if there's something else going on cos although he'll feed once he's latched on,  he's very fussy on the breast at night, struggling to latch on and crying or fussing a lot til he's on there to the point where it actually stops him latching on.   

[Fiver]

If he's falling asleep after being put back onto the first breast, I'd be inclined to offer the other one.
How old is your LO?

[LovelyLilyandJack]

He's only 3 weeks so very tiny still.  I think part of the problem with the long night feedings is that i was falling asleep, which meant that so was he and I'm often trying to put him down without knowing if he's had a full feed or not. He hasn't got his days and nights straight yet either i don't think,  so where he's dozing on me he's then not sleeping well in his bed. So tonight I'm feeding him in another room like i did his big sister so i can stay awake and keep him interested in the feed.  Hopefully he'll get a full feed this way and therefore a proper sleep afterwards.  I'm on the first night feed now so we'll see. ...

I think you're right though that he needs both breasts. He gets frustrated with a slower flow on the first breast before he gets full.  It's a shame cos he's very windy and if he's getting lots of fore milk that probably isn't helping,  right?

[Fiver]

So many things can cause wind, so I'd be wary about blaming foremilk too quickly
At 3w, sleepy feeding is still pretty common, especially, as you say, he's likely still got his days and nights mixed up.

[eva026]

I remember those days...shudder;)
I swear I fed and fed and fed for about 2 months because LO would BF a few min and drift off, I'd try wake her, she'd feed a bit and sleep again. I was actually recently wondering why I felt so tired at the beginning because DD only had 2x NFs, but I then remembered that I'd be up for 1-1.5h each time feeding her, watching something on the laptop to try keep awake and not fall off the feeding chair.
At around 2.5 months things suddenly changed and she went from feeding for ages to 15min feeds (I panicked then too that she wasn't getting enough!)

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Yes, all that sounds familiar! He also seems to be the same as my daughter in that you think he's done and then 20 minutes later he wants more. At least this time round i know it DOES end, even if it feels like it's going on forever at the moment!

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Just going back to my original question (whether to keep offering the first breast even if it doesn't seem like jack is taking anything from it), I have a quick update.  Jack now refuses to go back on the first breast once he's drained it / it becomes too soft so he's answered my question himself! Feed times have dropped by around 10 minutes as a result

[michaeljacknnugg]

Fab news! Glad things have improved so quickly.

[Fiver]

Glad he's confirmed it again for you