How long does YOUR baby suck actively?

Question

My babys 2 months and i breast feed her..she sucks on each breast for 2 mins.....i think thats very little time to feed.

Answer 1

Some babies are incredibly efficient at getting milk. If she's efficient and you have an abundant supply, she may be getting a LOT of milk in that four minutes!

How many diapers is she wetting per day? And how's her weight-gain?

If you're seriously concerned, contact a lactation consultant. (You can find one free through La Leche League http://www.lalecheleague.org/ or WIC.)

The first thing the LC will probably do is have you come in so she can weigh your baby, then have you nurse & weigh her again. Most women are surprised to discover (in that very concrete way) just how much milk their baby is getting.

If her diapers are wet and her weight gain's good, I wouldn't worry too much. But, seriously, an LC can help you with this. And if there IS a problem, she can help you fix it.

Answer 2

I also have a 2 month old and she eats for 5 minutes but only on one breast at a time. I know that she is not getting enough milk because she sucks her fists and sticks out her tongue and continues to root after a feeding but does not want to suck on the breast any more. She feeds every 1.5 hours or less. If you see that your baby is not hungry do not worry, she might be getting enough during these 2 minutes.
But if she is hungry what I found helpful is pumping milk and giving it to the baby in a bottle if the baby does not take the bottle syringe feeding the milk also works. She would take about 1 or 2 oz with a bottle or syringe after a feeding and be happier and sleep longer.
There is allot of advice to call a lactation consultant, I had one come in and did not get allot out of it except some money out of my pocket. She did not see anything wrong and said that she baby might just not want to eat any more at the breast and syringe and bottle feeding is fine. So I would not advice that, unless you really want to. The pediatrician did not have too much to say either.
My best advice to you is to keep checking the baby’s weight and number of diapers. Try feeding the baby only one breast maybe she will stay longer and get the hind fatty milk out ( I don’t think that they get it out that fast, but I might be wrong). Pump to keep the milk supply up and try feeding while she is sleepy .
Hopefully they will outgrow it.
Good luck.

Answer 3

My son sucks for about 15 mins--usually one breast per feeding.

At night it's 5 minutes tops and hes done and back asleep for another 3 hours.

Is she having 6-8 wet diapers/day? 1 dirty diaper per week? gaining weight (4-7 oz/wk?)

My only concern would be foremilk/hindmilk imbablance. If she is nurseing such a short time on each side she may be getting too much watery foremilk and not enough fat riach hind milk. If so she would have symptoms

Baby cries a lot, and is often very irritable and/or restless
Baby may sometimes gulp, choke, sputter, or cough during feedings at breast
Baby may seem to bite or clamp down on the nipple while feeding
Milk sprays when baby comes off, especially at the beginning of a feeding
Mother may have sore nipples
Baby may arch and hold himself very stiffly, sometimes screaming
Feedings often seem like battles, with baby nursing fitfully on and off
Feedings may be short, lasting only 5 or 10 minutes total
Baby may seem to have a "love-hate" relationship with the breast
Baby may burp or pass gas frequently between feedings, tending to spit up a lot
Baby may have green, watery or foamy, explosive stools
Mother's breasts feel very full most of the time
Mother may have frequent plugged ducts, which can sometimes lead to mastitis (breast infection)
If many of these experiences seem familiar to you, it may be because you have an overabundant supply of milk, which can cause a forceful milk ejection (sometimes referred to as overactive let-down), and/or foremilk-hindmilk imbalance.

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 home.) WWW.LLL.ORG
Get advice from other breastfeeding mom at the LLL forums http://forums.llli.org/index.php

HTH

Answer 4

my baby sucks for about 30-45 mins but she goes in and out of sleep during the process...she was 5 weeks early and had to learn to breastfeed and it took a few days before she got it down pat. the hospital told me that she should be nursing for bw 20-30 minutes between the two breasts. this is the average and ensures that the baby is getting enough milk.

all babies are different but 4 mins is extremely short...that may be something that you want to bring up to your pediatrician...good luck with ur new bundle of joy!! :)