is it normal for a breast fed baby to be satisfied with only 5 minutes at the breast?

Question

im worried he isnt getting enough as after five munites he is finished and wants to play?

my babie is now 4 months old!!

i mean baby

Answer 1

An older baby may be able to get enough in just a few minutes. For a 4 month old, the question that comes to mind for me is, could he be distracted? This is a common age where they are beginning to notice the world around them and sometimes it is difficult to get them to nurse for very long at a time. I'd suggest trying to nurse him in a dim, quiet room for a while and see if he will nurse longer then.

Answer 2

You didn't say how old your baby is or how often you are feeding your baby. Those variables change the answer dramatically. I am assuming that he is probably over 6 months if he is so anxious to play. If that is the case, he definitely needs to be eating for longer periods because the very rich hind milk does not start coming in until after 10 or 15 minutes. If he only eats for 5 minutes then I am also assuming that you are probably feeding him fairly frequently. I personally do not think this is the best for him or you. If he is over 8 weeks old I would stretch out his feedings to no more than every 3 hours and concentrate on extending his feeding times. If he is a newborn, than disregard this and feed him when he demands and for as long as he demands. Good Luck

Answer 3

Not common but it does happen. Is he gulping down a lot? How many diapers (both pee and poop) does he have in a day?

[Edited to add:] If he's doing a _lot_ of swallowing for the whole five minutes and his wet diapers are ample, it's probably okay. If he starts getting green poops, then consider nursing only on one side for a few feedings so he gets more fatty hindmilk or pump off (and dump) a little before a feeding, again, to get him more hindmilk.

Answer 4

I worried too, because you always hear how they'll nurse for 20 minutes. Both of my children were short nursers, 5-10 min. I fed on demand as I was home all day with them. As long as they are gaining weight and having 6 to 10 wet diapers a day, he is fine.

Answer 5

If he wasn't getting enough he wouldn't go off and have a play. Maybe he just fancies a snack or maybe its a bit of a cuddle. Talk to your Health Visitor if your worried but if he's putting on the weight and is quite happy and sleeping OK and generally content, you are doing great. Keep going till it's stops working for both of you.

Answer 6

It may mean more frequent feeding...my let down ahppened fast so my son was full a lot quicker. I found that he wanted to feed every 2-3 hours..he was also sleeping through the night at 2-1/2 weeks so I found that he was a lot hungrier in the daytime

Answer 7

My daughter does the same thing she comes and gets a drink and carries on with what she was doing. She really eats a lot when she takes her naps and at bed time.

She has breast milk in the morning when she wakes up, her morning nap, her afternoon nap and when she goes to bed. In between that she just comes and gets some drinks. At least that is what i think.

Answer 8

babies will feed till they're satisfied, this may mean more frequent feedings but they'll be very vocal about when they're hungry. Enjoy the time u have to breast feed, it is the most wonderful thing u can do for him

Answer 9

well its highly variable depends on the baby's appetite for starters and if u wanna keep an eye on that during regular visits to ur pediatrition well accordin to weight, height and head circumference if its within normal range for his age - accordin to months well then u shouldnt be worried important thing is health not how fast

hope this helps

Answer 10

each baby is different my son only eats 5 minuets on one breast a feeding and he is gaining weight fine.