My 7 week old baby only feeds for about 5 minutes on breast.?

Question

My baby only feeds for about 5 minutes before stopping. she has never had 'long feeds'. the longest EVER was about 15 minutes.
she currently weighs just over 4kg (haven't weighed her lately as been too tired to go out and she has been too unsettled to take out). I have tried to give bottle but then it takes 40 minutes to try and get just 60ml into her. (She won't take large feeds from bottle either despite having given her a fast flow teat and trying various types of teats). How can i get her to eat longer at breast or take more from bottle (other day her total bottle intake was only 400ml). anyone had ways of getting them to spend longer at breast which is my preference but i will bottle feed if i must.
thanks

Hi
just to clarify - she is normally getting breast only (no top ups). i just did one day of bottle feeding only to try and gauge how much she was getting (the 400ml). Also when i speak of 5 minutes - that is the total time feeding. she only feeds from one breast and will not go to second. she doesn't fall asleep feeding - she just stops.
thanks

Answer 1

My son feeds for 5 min at a time from the breast, and my breast could go from completely engorged to totally empty, never underestimatel how quickly a baby can feed once they get the hang of it.

He weighed 3.68 kg at birth and 9 kg at 4 months, so he was obviously getting enough.

If you are deeply concerned about how much milk your baby is getting from the breast the easiest way to keep track is to get a kitchen scale and weigh all her diapers. What goes in must come out (well mostly). You could also weigh your baby before and after each feed, I had to do this in the hospital it will drive you batty and may effect your ability to let-down your milk.

Go see a lactation consultant they are the best people to tell you if your baby is getting enough, latching on properly, etc.

Answer 2

You can't tell by time how much baby is getting. Some babies can empty a breast in 5 minutes while others dwaddle and take 45 minutes to empty a breast.

You need to have baby weighed. If she's gaining good, then shes just a great little nurser.

Have you seen a Lactation Consultant or a La Leche League Leader? A LLL Leader will help for FREE and might be able to visit you at your home. Go to http://www.llli.org/WebIndex.html to find your local LLL
Get advice from other breastfeeding mom at the LLL forums http://forums.llli.org/index.php

This is the most common worry for new (and experienced moms too!) especially since breast aren’t see though and don’t have ounce markers on them.
You CAN'T nurse too often--you CAN nurse too little. It is normal for newborns to nurse every 45 minutes to ever 2-3 hours. They have tiny stomachs (only about the size if their little fists) and breast milk is fully digested in approximately 90 minutes!
Just keep offering her the breast often, even if it means waking her during the day.

Do not supplement with formula or use a pacifier-this will make mom produce less milk!!

Answer 3

To make sure that she gets the hindmilk, she really should be on one breast for about ten minutes. If she stops, burp her, and put her back on the same breast. She may only eat on one side, but you could always pump the other if it bothers you. Take her to be weighed to make sure that she is gaining. When breastfeeding, you can only tell if they're getting enough by weighing. If she is gaining and seems to be doing fine just eating five minutes on each, then so be it. Maybe that's just the way it is. Don't give her any more bottles if you want to nurse. Most likely, she's getting all she needs from you, or she wouldn't stop nursing. She would be fussy and want to eat more. Good luck, and keep up the breastfeeding!

Answer 4

She may be stopping at 5 minutes because she is full, or full of air. Are you burping her after the 5 mins are up? Does she give you a couple of good burps? Do you try to feed her off the other breast after burping her? At 7 weeks their stomachs are still little, they don't handle too much at a time. Also, if you are forcing her to drink a bottle, you can't expect her to do both. At 7 weeks it is too early to introduce a bottle while you are still establishing breastfeeding. Introducing a bottle can cause nipple confusion. Why are you giving her a bottle already?
. I think as long as she is growing and gaining weight and sleeps well, and seems healthy, that all seems to be going well. You can mention all this to pediatrician at her next baby check up.

Answer 5

400 ml is 13 ounces, if that's on top of breastfeeding, it's not bad for an eight pound newborn.

She might just be an efficient nursling, which is fairly common. 60 ml is not bad for one feeding as well. I might suggest that you work on breastfeeding alone, it's a lot easier at that young age, and will help encourage the formation of your own breastmilk.

Some suggestions that LLL gives is to change diapers when they are 'finished', waking them up a little and trying nursing again, jiggle them around, make sure they aren't dressed too warmly (makes them groggy), and most of all, believe in yourself as a nursing mother.

If she's having six to eight wet diapers a day, she's nursing enough. She doesn't even have to poop every day if she's breastfed, because she's fully absorbing all that in.

Also, make sure that you are eating well, if you aren't, it can thin out your milk and make nursing unappealing. Well rounded diet with lots of water.

Good luck, and congratulations on being a nursing mother. It's a wonderful thing

Answer 6

DO NOT WORRY, when my baby was in her first couple months she would breast feed only on one side for only a couple of minutes, but she had more feedings through out the day, shell eat when she is hungary the nurse would tell me but if you are really worried keep a wet cloth with you while you feed her and when she falls asleep while eating rub the cloth on her face head and neck that will startle her and she will wake up and start sucking again

Answer 7

don't be insecure!!! I've been there...
your baby is doing just fine if she only eats 5 or 6 minutes... really! as long as she has a few wet and a few messy diapers every day. even bottle fed babies only eat about an ounce or two ..normal it takes about 10-15 minutes..but every baby is different...
with my first son he would feed for a few minutes then fall asleep and I' haveto wake him up to feed ...I was so afraid that he wasn't getting enought that I begain "pumping" and feeding him with a bottle by the time I relized he was eating about teh same amount of time he's gotten use to the nipple on the bottle and it was hard to switch him back to breast.
as long as you have milk and you baby is eating as often as needed which is also more often that bottle fed babies ..about every 2-3 hours and your changing diapers your doing a fine job! keep it up!

Answer 8

When you say she won't last more than 5 mins, what is she doing? Does she stop nursing and refuse to latch back on? Or is she falling asleep? Will she take the second breast after coming off the first?

Is she having wet and dirty diapers?

Have you tried contacting a Lactation Consultant or a La Leche League Leader? A LLL Leader may be willing to visit you at home and will help for FREE.

Answer 9

You might not have enough coming out and she is getting frustrated, espeacilly if she cries after un latching. If you can get a breast pump and pump until you are dry and it will come in more, I had to do that with my son. and make sure you are drinking a lot of water. You can also try to do both bottle and breast breast more than bottle though. It is a lot easier to ween off of breast than bottle so becareful and make you own desicions. If you really want to breast feed than keep trying .

Good Luck

Answer 10

right now you should be nursing on demand. the way your body builds it's milk supply is based on how often she is eating-not how much. So as long as she is eating every 1-3 hours, and gaining weight, (and Dr says she is OK) she's OK. She is doing her job right now by building your milk supply. Also at about 6 weeks I think there is a growth spurt that would require her to eat more frequently. I am not a Dr or nurse-just a mom. Talk to your Dr or better yet a lactation consultant.