Breastfeeding Question - Miami,FL

He's a newborn. Yes, he wants to be as close to you as possible. It's exhausting; but relish every moment. Have Dad walk him so you can shower or take a relaxing bath. Grandma or another relative can take over, as well.
My youngest just got his driver's license. And he wants his independence.
I cherish the memories of my babies latching on and nudging, cuddling, and being in love...

I've read that a normal feeding can take up to 45 minutes in the first few days/weeks of an infants life. (I'm 37 weeks now and this seemed a little intimidating at first, but I'd like to try breastfeeding.) As long as the baby is gaining weight properly, I think it should be ok. Good luck!

Don't worry about being a pacifier. ALL that wonderful sucking now will help your milk come in good and strong. At four days, my kids were literally attached at the boob :) The first 6 weeks of nursing can determine your milk supply for the next year. Nurse whenever he wants, it will serve you well in 6 months when your supply is still good. My pediatrican was a lactation lady as well, and she told me that those first weeks are critical for establishing milk supply later on.

You're doing great.

J.

Has your milk come in yet? If you're still only producing colostrum, that is coming in pretty small volume and he'll definitely want to nurse more often.

It is normal for babies to want to suckle. Feeding on demand for the first few weeks will help establish a strong milk supply. As your supply builds and you learn more cues, he'll spread out the feedings naturally.

www.kellymom.com is a great resource for breastfeeding and giving growth spurt timelines.

I exclusively BF all 5 of my children (my youngest is still exclusively BF, he's 5 months old) and I would feed for 10-15 minutes on each side then be finished. They all got used to that routine. I pretty much demand fed them and sometimes they would nurse every hour. But that would be to nurse them for 30 minutes at the most but I wouldn't feed them again until 1 hour after they were finished (most of the time it was 2-3 hours later). It worked out and they did great! They didn't do pacifiers at all. I think they preferred the real thing. But I never was used as a human pacifier. Congratulations on your new little one and on Breastfeeding!! =)

I'm sure he's just falling asleep on your boob. Just put your finger down there to break the suction. I always used a paci on my boys or yes they want to be hooked up all the time. I sure miss to this day looking down at their sweet little face while they were hooked to their life support system. They have a very strong urge to suck for the first few months, so you might want to try a pacifier if he cries when you take him off of your breast. There's nothing wrong with that.

Every 1.5-3 hours (and that is starting the time when you start nursing) is perfectly normal! This is the time when baby is getting all that fantastic colostrum and getting your milk to come in. And baby will be building your supply over the next 6-8 weeks so sometimes he may nurse like crazy and other times not so much.

The absolute best advice I can give you is to follow baby's lead and nurse on demand.

They go thru a phase where they are literally on the boob for 3-4 hours at night! My daughter was 5-9. My son was around 6-9. They do this to tank up with all that great fatty hindmilk then they pass out! This usually happens around 3 months old

I have 3 children with another on the way. My first born nursed like you are describing. Since she was my first and I was committed to staying home full time, I did not mind at all that she nursed constantly. I swear, my first born could just suckle all day if I let her. My second born was a "down to business nurser." She took what she needed and was done until the next nursing session. With baby #3, I had issues with him from the beginning and our relationship with nursing was cut short when I had to supplement with formula. Every baby is different, as you can see.

You need to make sure that your baby is indeed nursing for at least 10-15 minutes on one or both breasts. Switching breasts is not as important as allowing the baby to nurse as long as possible on one side because it is the rich hindmilk that will give your baby the fat (a.k.a. "weight gain") that is much desired. Any longer than that could just be suckling for comfort but for some babies, this suckling gives them great comfort and do not think the baby is not still getting milk. Even when the baby is suckling, the baby is indeed getting milk from your breast. Is he producing adequate wet diapers and any poopy diapers? The biggest clue is if he is gaining weight. You should be taking him to the ped 2 weeks after his birth for his first official check up and at this time they will weigh him. At 2 weeks post birth, he should have regained his birth weight. All newborns lose some ounces after they are born and this is normal. If he is gaining weight, coming off the breast content (no matter how long he nurses), is producing wet and poopy diapers, I say don't worry at all. Some new moms fear their baby is not getting enough because they can't see how much breast milk the baby has actually taken in.

And whatever you do, always feed your baby on demand! Newborns/infants digest breast milk very quickly and it is NORMAL for an infant to nurse every 2-3 hours. Putting the baby on a "schedule" is not only bad for your milk supply, but it assumes that only you know when your baby is hungry. Let your baby tell you when he is hungry and your breastfeeding relationship will thrive very well.

Very normal. At this point you should let him nurse when he wants to.

YES! But as he gets older, get him on a schedule. Don't offer a feed as a comfort. There are plenty of other reasons why babies cry. They can be calmed by changing their position, tummy, side, left, right, over the shoulder, over the lap, football hold facing out. Offer different things in their line of vision, often black and white calms them down, pacifier for more sucking, movement, up/down, side/side, back/forth. Sometimes they just have to be alone to settle down and learn how to self soothe in their crib. Cradles are very small so put the baby in a crib to one side. Remember not to lie him on his back so often because he will develop a flat head and Torticollis. As a precaution, take dairy/soy out of your diet. It gives the babies acid reflux and then all they want to do is nurse to make that feeling go away. Dairy/soy is extremely difficult for children to digest and break down the casein protein. Try almond milk.

I never get a break as my daughter has NEVER had a bottle. Breastfeeding is not easy in the beginning- but is is the best for you and the baby. What you are going through is totally normal.
As the baby gets older it will get easier- I remember thinking it would never get easier- but it has and now it is a piece of cake! I remember trying to count the number of times mine nursed in the beginning and it was so hard to figure it out cause sometimes she nursed for 2 hours with only a 10 minute break here and there.
Wouldn't you rather the baby want to nurse all the time rather than not enough- that would be a real problem.

I breastfed exclusively for 13 months. This is normal. Just follow your baby's lead. I know it's exhausting but you are doing fine.

My son was like this, and it is normal if he is growing properly. My son was not, because my milk would not come in properly, and after he lost weight I started needed to supplement with formula. Keep at it for now, I am assuming you have a doctors appointment coming up soon and if he has lost weight you can talk with your doctor about it then.

you can slowly pry him off by breaking the suction with your pinky, he might still make the little sucking motions but that does'nt mean he needs more milk. yes babies pacify on nipples, mine still does and shes almost 2.

It gets easier. Mine was like this at first now she is 3 months old and feeds every 4 hours. It helped me to have my husband or mom take her for a walk outside, if she wasn't around me she didn't want to nurse as much.

Totally normal! He is using you as a paci. It is comforting to him. I let my son do it for a while and than he finally stopped.

As I recall at 4 days old he could be taking that long to nurse. Usually the girls would nurse for at least a half hour, sometimes more. My oldest nursed every two hours for about a half hour for the first few months. Every baby is different. If he falls asleep nursing remove him from your breast and put him to bed. But in most cases a baby won't nurse if they are not getting milk so my guess is he is just a slow eater. Also the doctor told me a nursing baby does not need a pacifier and that you shouldn't give him one. I never gave either of my girls pacifier's and had no problems at all. Way to go Mom you should be proud of yourself for loving your baby so much to nurse him. It's the greatest thing a Mom can do for a newborn baby. Hang in there it does get easier. I used to rock in the rocker and drift off to sleep during the night time feedings. It can wear you down but it's well worth it.

I know it seems endless, but it's really not! Someday you'll miss sitting down together somewhere quiet. I never believed that when I was in your shoes, but it's true!

It's perfectly normal for a newborn to nurse a lot--that's what builds your milk supply up to the level they'd like it. Every time they grow, they'll do that for a couple of days until the milk catches up to them. When the supply does meet the new demand, feedings will be more regular.

You're doing a wonderful thing for your baby, and it's a wonderful reason to let everything else go and just be with your son. Enjoy him!

totally normal and exactly what he should be doing. I mean all babies are different...some will go longer stretches than others but both my babies were that way. it's good cause he is getting all the milk he needs and he is working on making sure your milk supply gets off to a good start. Remember you make milk on a supply and demand bases so it's good he is building you up. And yes I do think that sometimes by babies used me as a pacifier but I was fine with that. I would rather them have me then a plastic nipple. And as he gets older he will go longer between feedings and as he gets even older and starts to like to look at toys, lights etc. he will other things to get his mind of wanting you for just comfort. But really at this age I fed my babies about every hour to hour and 1/2. As they got older is was every 2 to 3 hours. But every time they were growing (like around 3 months, 6 months) they would have a week or so where all they did was nurse again all day. But I just new to listen to my babies and give them the milk they need. And they were always happy, fat babies :)

Good for you- you are giving your son the best immune system in the world.
No you don't get a break, sorry,you get to be mom, and this is your job, to heck withanything else. Just cuddle up, and marvel at him. I want to tellyou at one day soon you will blink, and he will be in high school, and you will wonder where all the time went. Please, while you have it, enjoy.
And know you are helping him get the best start in life- so very well done.
with admiration, k

Does he seem content and satisfied if you take him off after 20 mins? If yes then he is using you as a pacifier. If not he could need to feed that long because your let down isn't very strong yet or your milk hasn't fully come in yet. Just one thing... my son did this and it was about a month later we realized he was tongue tied and needed a small procedure to correct it. No big deal. It fixed it immediately.
Good luck and I am so glad you are EBF.