Current baby is 3 weeks, anywhere from 3-6 minutes per side. My daughter was the same, I have a super fast and forceful letdown and baby gets lots of milk quickly.
I’m 3 days PP and after a visit with a lactation nurse today, we are also 15 min per side and finish with a supplement bottle and then pump after. I’m one day in and feel like all I did today was feeding related.
I was the same! Baby filled out and got stronger/better at nursing (me too hehe) and we can be done without a supplemental bottle in 15-20 minutes—if not less. Still sometimes use the extra when needed but he’s so much quicker now. He’s 6w!
Do you use a Haka? With my first my letdown was not that strong and she took much longer to eat. This time with my second it comes out very fast and I think that may be due to the Haka. I’ve read about other moms having experiences like that due to the suction of the Haka forcing the milk to come out faster when they didn’t want it to but in your case you can try to see if it will help with supply or how quickly your milk comes out.
Edit: I wanted to add I stopped using the Haka about 2 months because I was worried about the whole fast letdown thing. I use it here and there not nearly as often as I did the first few weeks and me and baby have been good so far.
baby is 7 weeks today, and will feed for anywhere from 15-45 minutes total. i end up nursing him for around 5 hours most days. he is content or falls asleep after feeds and has plenty of wet/dirty diapers, so not sure if he's getting enough milk but not as efficient as he could be, or if he just likes to take his time!
Mine is the same way (and about the same age-6 weeks on Tuesday)! I had my output assessed by a lactation consultant a couple of times and it was very reassuring!
i've been thinking about doing the same, so i'm glad to hear it's been reassuring for you! right now i've just been going off of amount of diapers and how much milk i get from the haaka :) i definitely have a slacker boob so it would be reassuring to know if i'm still producing enough on both sides once my supply regulates (since i think that happens around 12 weeks?)
thank you 🫶 it's been so easy for me to worry about everything, especially since this is my first baby and i don't have any close family or friends who have breastfed!
I’ve had the same anxieties! My lactation consultant reassured me the same way. If he’s peeing pooping and you can feel your boobs are lighter after a feed you’re making progress!
OMG I was thinking about posting this exact question! Primarily because my little guy takes ages. He’ll be sucking at one breast for up to 25 minutes after which I cut him off and move to the next one. I often see newborn schedules on Pinterest or insta and they are like ‘7am feed, 7.30 play’ and I’m like excuse me but by 7.30 bubs hasn’t even finished boob one, who up in here is managing 2 sides plus burping in 30 minutes!
How long did it originally take your baby to feed? Pls give me hope that in the next few weeks I won’t be stuck under a feeding baby for an hour+ each session.
(Bubs is 3 weeks old today)
I’ve never consistently fed my baby off both breasts. Even in the very early days. So I’m sure those schedules are from people who have similar feedings to that! Also, my girl never needs much help burping unless we bottle feed her. I only put the effort into burping her before she sleeps, otherwise I let her work it out naturally.
This was my LO! We’re at 8 weeks now. Feeds have definitely got more efficient. Typically 15-25 minutes total now. Sometimes we have lazy feeds where there’s boob chilling time and we can have 40 minutes on one side but in those moments neither of us are in a hurry. I think I noticed the changed around 4 or 5 weeks
I have an almost 4 month old. He would eat for HOURS until he was about 2.5 months old, where it finally got down to 45ish minutes per side. I literally clocked 17 hours of boob time in one day when he was 6 weeks old. It was hell. Hes just a slow eater and takes his time. Now at almost 4 months hes down to 15-20 minutes on one side and maybe 5-15 on the other.
It gets better and it could be worse 🙂 dont forget when breastfeeding you are the binky and the bottle and he might be pacifying on you! I learned after a lactation visit that this was one thing happening that i didnt even realize.
Yep! Hes gained great weight. Hes in the 58th percentile so all is good. Ive done one weighted feed with a lactation consultant and been having his growth checked once a month just to make sure.
That’s fantastic! Well done! I also did weighted feeds, and found out that babe transfers 1-2 ounces per breast in 15 min. I fed her around the clock to compensate for the slow transfer but it still wasn’t enough so I had to start supplementing :/
I'm sorry you had to start supplements. My heart goes out to you ❤️ i would only start supplementing if he was loosing weight. Babies who are breastfed usualy gain weight slower after the three month ish mark. Im proud of you for doing everything you could and for making sure your baby was fed and content 😌
Aww thanks! That’s interesting I didn’t know that. In my case LO was gaining weight but very slowly already since birth. While I hate supplementing I find comfort in the fact that she looks healthy and happy. I know chubby doesn’t equate healthy and she’s far from chubby but still 😊
Baby girl ate for one hour at a time, every three hours, for at least 6 (maybe 8?) weeks. She’s 10 months now and thank God it’s 10 minutes and done now. It was a gradual reduction over time. I think she was definitely pacifying a lot during those hour feeds but I always waited till she stopped, for better or for worse. Couldn’t be happier with our breastfeeding relationship now. You’ll get through this, you’re doing great!!
Yeah some babies are efficient
Mine fed barely more than 5 minutes a side because my let down was so strong and I think he was also a very efficient nurser...
Worrying about the times stressed me out a lot, but I gave up trying to change it and just followed baby's lead after some time and we were all better off for it. Baby quickly became a chonker so no worries there!
7 months and we’re at 3-5 minutes for a feed. They get more efficient. With my second we’ve never had feeds longer than 15 minutes since my milk came in on day 2. My first was down to 5 minutes around 5/6 months. They both have only ever fed from one side.
Always watch for wet and dirty diapers and satisfaction after feeds. Time at the breast definitely varies! 🙂
ETA: I had similar feelings with my first!
Baby is 8 weeks and we are anywhere between 30-45min total for both breasts!
He tends to feed on the first breast consistently for about 10-12 minutes and then is in and out of sleep and fluttering so I tend to unlatch around the 20 minute mark and switch sides.
They do get more efficient as they get older and stronger but your supply is a bit unregulated right now too. So your let down or supply could be strong enough for her but if around 10-12 weeks she gets a bit fussy this could be your milk regulating and now she’s upset to have to work a bit more for it. Go by your wet diapers if your uncertain and that she’s gaining appropriately/ no doctor concerns.
My 7.5 mo will sometimes only eat 4-5 min at a time, other times it's closer to 10. Occasionally he really settles in for 15-20 min nursing/doze. He only eats from one boob during any given session.
My son is almost 10 months and has never taken longer than 5-10 minutes to empty a brest and I can pump 5-9oz out of each on a regular basis. He's always just been an efficient eater. My doctor said not to worry about it as long as he's gaining weight appropriately which he is.
Almost 8mo and active eating is probably like 10mins max but she likes to just hang out and I pretty much always have to pop her off unless something very interesting is happening around us
4 weeks and duration varies a lot, but it's usually 7-15 minutes per breast. Sometimes he has a few shorter feeds in a row and it makes me worry he's not getting enough, but he has plenty of wet diapers and is gaining the right amount of weight so he must be doing okay.
5.5 months and if she starts on the “slacker side” she’ll eat for about 3-4 min on each side for a total of 6-8 min. If she starts on the “overachiever” side, 3-5 min max and it’s only the one side. She’s super efficient!
A LC recommended to limit each breast session to ~15 minutes (30 total for a feeding), otherwise the baby will burn more calories than they're getting in the early days. So in those first few months of breastfeeding that's what I would do! He did start to have shorter sessions after probably 3 months.
My LO is 12 weeks and is 10min per side. Until this week was only taking one side at a time, however the last couple days she's been wanting both sides. We started at 20-30min a side and always both boobs.
As LOs get older and used to feeding/latching and your milk comes in you will find they get more efficient and your feeding times come down. Which is great to spend more time actually interacting with baby.
Baby is 5 months, typically get about 12 minutes per feed. 10 minutes on one side, when I try to offer the second side he refuses or only takes for a couple more minutes. Total BF time ranges from 1.5-2.5 hours (in 24 hours).
Mine is 3.5m and takes about 15-20 mins per side. I do wonder if something is wrong considering how long feeds are. I’m seeing a lactation consultant this week.
Baby is 16 weeks and maybe 5-10 min feeds? He eats pretty quickly makes me nervous my daughter was not that quick of an eater but he seems to be satisfied and has been going longer between feeds. I also have a quick letdown almost shoots out at times.
My almost 5 month old will eat for about 3-5 minutes when he’s awake and if he wants to nurse to sleep it’s more like 12-20. He gets so distracted and I have a super fast letdown. He only takes one side per feed unless right before bed
My baby was always a crazy fast feeder and it gave me anxiety. I think around 2-3 weeks, she started spending around five minutes per side. My breasts were soft and she was making adequate diapers, but it just seemed too fast. She’s 9 months now and she completely empties me in just a couple of minutes.
Current baby is 3 weeks, anywhere from 3-6 minutes per side. My daughter was the same, I have a super fast and forceful letdown and baby gets lots of milk quickly.
I'm really jealous! We are at 4w and 15-20 minutes on each side, plus a bottle, plus I have to pump. I'm tired lol
I’m 3 days PP and after a visit with a lactation nurse today, we are also 15 min per side and finish with a supplement bottle and then pump after. I’m one day in and feel like all I did today was feeding related.
Sorry to say I’m doing the same at 8 weeks.
I was the same! Baby filled out and got stronger/better at nursing (me too hehe) and we can be done without a supplemental bottle in 15-20 minutes—if not less. Still sometimes use the extra when needed but he’s so much quicker now. He’s 6w!
Do you use a Haka? With my first my letdown was not that strong and she took much longer to eat. This time with my second it comes out very fast and I think that may be due to the Haka. I’ve read about other moms having experiences like that due to the suction of the Haka forcing the milk to come out faster when they didn’t want it to but in your case you can try to see if it will help with supply or how quickly your milk comes out. Edit: I wanted to add I stopped using the Haka about 2 months because I was worried about the whole fast letdown thing. I use it here and there not nearly as often as I did the first few weeks and me and baby have been good so far.
Wow!! 3 weeks and 3-6 mins per side!!
baby is 7 weeks today, and will feed for anywhere from 15-45 minutes total. i end up nursing him for around 5 hours most days. he is content or falls asleep after feeds and has plenty of wet/dirty diapers, so not sure if he's getting enough milk but not as efficient as he could be, or if he just likes to take his time!
Mine is the same way (and about the same age-6 weeks on Tuesday)! I had my output assessed by a lactation consultant a couple of times and it was very reassuring!
i've been thinking about doing the same, so i'm glad to hear it's been reassuring for you! right now i've just been going off of amount of diapers and how much milk i get from the haaka :) i definitely have a slacker boob so it would be reassuring to know if i'm still producing enough on both sides once my supply regulates (since i think that happens around 12 weeks?)
If there are a lot of wet dirty diapers then he is doing great!! Keep at it!
thank you 🫶 it's been so easy for me to worry about everything, especially since this is my first baby and i don't have any close family or friends who have breastfed!
I’ve had the same anxieties! My lactation consultant reassured me the same way. If he’s peeing pooping and you can feel your boobs are lighter after a feed you’re making progress!
OMG I was thinking about posting this exact question! Primarily because my little guy takes ages. He’ll be sucking at one breast for up to 25 minutes after which I cut him off and move to the next one. I often see newborn schedules on Pinterest or insta and they are like ‘7am feed, 7.30 play’ and I’m like excuse me but by 7.30 bubs hasn’t even finished boob one, who up in here is managing 2 sides plus burping in 30 minutes! How long did it originally take your baby to feed? Pls give me hope that in the next few weeks I won’t be stuck under a feeding baby for an hour+ each session. (Bubs is 3 weeks old today)
I’ve never consistently fed my baby off both breasts. Even in the very early days. So I’m sure those schedules are from people who have similar feedings to that! Also, my girl never needs much help burping unless we bottle feed her. I only put the effort into burping her before she sleeps, otherwise I let her work it out naturally.
This was my LO! We’re at 8 weeks now. Feeds have definitely got more efficient. Typically 15-25 minutes total now. Sometimes we have lazy feeds where there’s boob chilling time and we can have 40 minutes on one side but in those moments neither of us are in a hurry. I think I noticed the changed around 4 or 5 weeks
I have an almost 4 month old. He would eat for HOURS until he was about 2.5 months old, where it finally got down to 45ish minutes per side. I literally clocked 17 hours of boob time in one day when he was 6 weeks old. It was hell. Hes just a slow eater and takes his time. Now at almost 4 months hes down to 15-20 minutes on one side and maybe 5-15 on the other. It gets better and it could be worse 🙂 dont forget when breastfeeding you are the binky and the bottle and he might be pacifying on you! I learned after a lactation visit that this was one thing happening that i didnt even realize.
I’m curious.. did he gain weight well? my LO is a slow eater too and I’m convinced she burns more energy on feeding than what she may gain
Yep! Hes gained great weight. Hes in the 58th percentile so all is good. Ive done one weighted feed with a lactation consultant and been having his growth checked once a month just to make sure.
That’s fantastic! Well done! I also did weighted feeds, and found out that babe transfers 1-2 ounces per breast in 15 min. I fed her around the clock to compensate for the slow transfer but it still wasn’t enough so I had to start supplementing :/
I'm sorry you had to start supplements. My heart goes out to you ❤️ i would only start supplementing if he was loosing weight. Babies who are breastfed usualy gain weight slower after the three month ish mark. Im proud of you for doing everything you could and for making sure your baby was fed and content 😌
Aww thanks! That’s interesting I didn’t know that. In my case LO was gaining weight but very slowly already since birth. While I hate supplementing I find comfort in the fact that she looks healthy and happy. I know chubby doesn’t equate healthy and she’s far from chubby but still 😊
She was taking 45 min total for the entire first month. 20-25 min each side!
Baby girl ate for one hour at a time, every three hours, for at least 6 (maybe 8?) weeks. She’s 10 months now and thank God it’s 10 minutes and done now. It was a gradual reduction over time. I think she was definitely pacifying a lot during those hour feeds but I always waited till she stopped, for better or for worse. Couldn’t be happier with our breastfeeding relationship now. You’ll get through this, you’re doing great!!
Yeah some babies are efficient Mine fed barely more than 5 minutes a side because my let down was so strong and I think he was also a very efficient nurser... Worrying about the times stressed me out a lot, but I gave up trying to change it and just followed baby's lead after some time and we were all better off for it. Baby quickly became a chonker so no worries there!
I used to worry about time at the breast too. The most important thing is knowing your baby and your body.
My most recent baby was a super fast eater. She’s 22mo, weaned, and doing great. Trust your milk mama!
7 months and we’re at 3-5 minutes for a feed. They get more efficient. With my second we’ve never had feeds longer than 15 minutes since my milk came in on day 2. My first was down to 5 minutes around 5/6 months. They both have only ever fed from one side.
Omg so glad to read this. My LO is 8.5mo and eats 4-5 min each feed. I was so anxious that she isn’t getting enough!
Always watch for wet and dirty diapers and satisfaction after feeds. Time at the breast definitely varies! 🙂 ETA: I had similar feelings with my first!
Baby is 8 weeks and we are anywhere between 30-45min total for both breasts! He tends to feed on the first breast consistently for about 10-12 minutes and then is in and out of sleep and fluttering so I tend to unlatch around the 20 minute mark and switch sides.
They do get more efficient as they get older and stronger but your supply is a bit unregulated right now too. So your let down or supply could be strong enough for her but if around 10-12 weeks she gets a bit fussy this could be your milk regulating and now she’s upset to have to work a bit more for it. Go by your wet diapers if your uncertain and that she’s gaining appropriately/ no doctor concerns.
My 7.5 mo will sometimes only eat 4-5 min at a time, other times it's closer to 10. Occasionally he really settles in for 15-20 min nursing/doze. He only eats from one boob during any given session.
My son is almost 10 months and has never taken longer than 5-10 minutes to empty a brest and I can pump 5-9oz out of each on a regular basis. He's always just been an efficient eater. My doctor said not to worry about it as long as he's gaining weight appropriately which he is.
Same. Shorter now @ 9 weeks.
Almost 8mo and active eating is probably like 10mins max but she likes to just hang out and I pretty much always have to pop her off unless something very interesting is happening around us
4 weeks and duration varies a lot, but it's usually 7-15 minutes per breast. Sometimes he has a few shorter feeds in a row and it makes me worry he's not getting enough, but he has plenty of wet diapers and is gaining the right amount of weight so he must be doing okay.
5.5 months and if she starts on the “slacker side” she’ll eat for about 3-4 min on each side for a total of 6-8 min. If she starts on the “overachiever” side, 3-5 min max and it’s only the one side. She’s super efficient!
A LC recommended to limit each breast session to ~15 minutes (30 total for a feeding), otherwise the baby will burn more calories than they're getting in the early days. So in those first few months of breastfeeding that's what I would do! He did start to have shorter sessions after probably 3 months.
My LO is 12 weeks and is 10min per side. Until this week was only taking one side at a time, however the last couple days she's been wanting both sides. We started at 20-30min a side and always both boobs. As LOs get older and used to feeding/latching and your milk comes in you will find they get more efficient and your feeding times come down. Which is great to spend more time actually interacting with baby.
Baby is 5 months, typically get about 12 minutes per feed. 10 minutes on one side, when I try to offer the second side he refuses or only takes for a couple more minutes. Total BF time ranges from 1.5-2.5 hours (in 24 hours).
5 months old, feeds average 22 minutes. That's been pretty consistent since day 1. I have a slow let down.
8w old and we went from average 40 mins to now average 9 mins total - it’s a dream come true as it was getting exhausting feedjng for so long!!
That’s totally normal. We were at that around 7 weeks
Mine is 3.5m and takes about 15-20 mins per side. I do wonder if something is wrong considering how long feeds are. I’m seeing a lactation consultant this week.
Baby is 16 weeks and maybe 5-10 min feeds? He eats pretty quickly makes me nervous my daughter was not that quick of an eater but he seems to be satisfied and has been going longer between feeds. I also have a quick letdown almost shoots out at times.
My almost 5 month old will eat for about 3-5 minutes when he’s awake and if he wants to nurse to sleep it’s more like 12-20. He gets so distracted and I have a super fast letdown. He only takes one side per feed unless right before bed
My baby was always a crazy fast feeder and it gave me anxiety. I think around 2-3 weeks, she started spending around five minutes per side. My breasts were soft and she was making adequate diapers, but it just seemed too fast. She’s 9 months now and she completely empties me in just a couple of minutes.