when is my son done nursing?

My son (10 days old) is a constant sucker... he likes to be sucking on
something all the time. (just to let you know, I am not a demand feeder, I
have him on a schedule and it works out better for him, my DD and my
self)... any ways He will nurse for well over an hour and I listen for
swallows, he goes well past the swallowing and into suckling, like I'm a
soother.
How long do I nurse for on each breast?
When do I stop?
How do I know he has emptied my breast enough for his apatite?

I worry if he is getting enough,
I want to make sure I am giving him all his little tummy can handle, but I
also am busy with DD and House work.

(Please no comments on the demand feeding, I just wanted people to know the
whole feeding situation before telling me how long I should nurse for. We
tried demand feeding for 5 days and just like my DD he would nurse for 10
mins every hour,I got no sleep or time for any one. Now that I have switched
him slowly onto an every 3 hour schedule he sleeps, I sleep, and he does
allot less crying.)

Thanks all.

K-K

K-K wrote:

How long do I nurse for on each breast?

Until he lets go and won't relatch on that breast, or until
he lets go and you can't stand to have him nursing on that
side any longer.


When do I stop?

When he lets go and won't relatch on either breast. (You're
coming up on a growth spurt, and Caterpillar's 2-3 week
growth spurt meant about 4 hours of nonstop nursing every
night for a week. We called her The Incredible
Non-Exploding Baby, because we were amazed that she didn't
explode from all the milk in her belly.)


How do I know he has emptied my breast enough for his apatite?

When he lets go and won't go back on, the flow of milk has
slowed to the point that he won't keep nursing. If he
latches on to the other side, he's not full yet. You may
have to repeat that cycle a few times. (During the
aforementioned growth spurt, I gave up counting at 19
"sides" with no breaks between. Growth spurts don't last
forever, though, and all that nursing makes sure you have
enough milk.)


I also am busy with DD and House work.

Let the housework slide. The dust bunnies will still be
there when you have more time for them.


he would nurse for 10
mins every hour

Just me, but 10 minutes every hour sounds easier than an
hour every 3 hours. And 3 hours is a long time to go when
your fist is the size of a walnut. I nursed every time she
squeaked during the daytime, which was every hour at that
age, and tried stretching her just a few minutes longer
between feedings at night until she was going one 3-4 hour
stretch at night. That worked well for us, but every baby
is different.

Phoebe
--
yahoo address is unread - substitute mailbolt

Just me, but 10 minutes every hour sounds easier than an
hour every 3 hours.

Whereas I think 10 minutes every hour would drive me stark raving mad! My DS
did nurse about an hour every 3 hours for many months; I didn't put him on that
schedule, it's just what he ended up doing. That worked fine for us. :-)

Oh, and he never once let go of his own accord, until he was probably 2 years
old. I had to unlatch him every single time. But after a while I could
generally tell when he was just sucking in his sleep and it would be okay to
take him off if I needed to. :-)

For the OP: The basic advice to not watch the clock is correct. Let your baby
nurse as long on one side as he wants, and if he's not the type to just let go,
wait until he seems to be asleep or very lazily comfort sucking, detach him,
and see how he reacts. If he fusses, let him latch back on. If not, he's
full.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs

yes, my son will suck forever if given the chance, Just now I nursed him for
about 20 minutes on each side. but I was listening to him and he stopped
sucking after about 10 mins I glanced at the clock when I heard him stop
swallowing... the thing that bothers me is after all that time I tried to
burp him and he was still looking for my breast. I gave him a soother and he
was fine after that. I just don't feel comfortable with what seems like him
looking for more, I cant tell if has still hungry or just wanting to suck.
He does the same thing weather I nurse for an hour or 20 mins.

Do you think he would reject the soother and cry if the soother wasn't
giving him milk and that was what he wanted?

"HollyLewis" wrote in message
...
Just me, but 10 minutes every hour sounds easier than an
hour every 3 hours.

Whereas I think 10 minutes every hour would drive me stark raving mad! My
DS
did nurse about an hour every 3 hours for many months; I didn't put him on
that
schedule, it's just what he ended up doing. That worked fine for us. :-)

Oh, and he never once let go of his own accord, until he was probably 2
years
old. I had to unlatch him every single time. But after a while I could
generally tell when he was just sucking in his sleep and it would be okay
to
take him off if I needed to. :-)

For the OP: The basic advice to not watch the clock is correct. Let your
baby
nurse as long on one side as he wants, and if he's not the type to just
let go,
wait until he seems to be asleep or very lazily comfort sucking, detach
him,
and see how he reacts. If he fusses, let him latch back on. If not, he's
full.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs

Do you think he would reject the soother and cry if the soother wasn't
giving him milk and that was what he wanted?

I think he would certainly cry if he was hungry . . . but he might also cry if
he wasn't hungry but preferred to be pacified at the breast. :-)

Leslie

K-K wrote:
yes, my son will suck forever if given the chance, Just now I nursed him for
about 20 minutes on each side. but I was listening to him and he stopped
sucking after about 10 mins I glanced at the clock when I heard him stop
swallowing... the thing that bothers me is after all that time I tried to
burp him and he was still looking for my breast. I gave him a soother and he
was fine after that. I just don't feel comfortable with what seems like him
looking for more, I cant tell if has still hungry or just wanting to suck.
He does the same thing weather I nurse for an hour or 20 mins.

Do you think he would reject the soother and cry if the soother wasn't
giving him milk and that was what he wanted?

Is he gaining weight and producing sufficient wet and dirty diapers?
And 20 minutes nursing per side is SURELY not a long time to nurse, ime,
so early on. After 6 weeks things will likely change dramatically.
I think if you are not going to demand feed when he is hungry, you have
to be cautious about limiting his nursing time when he DOES nurse,
though every three hours isn't extreme.
It's possible to have multiple letdowns if he keeps suckling beyond the
first one.

K-K wrote:
yes, my son will suck forever if given the chance,

He's a newborn. That's what they do. He has a tiny stomach, and he's trying
to adjust to a scary, bright, loud world full of strange and often
unpleasant sensations; of course he wants to nurse all the time.

Sorry if you don't want comments on scheduled feedings, but this is Usenet
and for your child's health, I'm giving them anyway. Even formula-fed babies
are supposed to be fed on demand. If you insist on feeding your child on a
schedule, your nursing relationship is almost certainly doomed from the
start. Your child comes before your housework.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net
"i have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
i do not think that they will sing to me."

Did you not see that I also mentioned that I have a 3 and a half year old
Daughter... She needs meals, needs me to wipe her bum and not to mention she
needs companionship and attention. I don't think its doomed, I am definitely
allot happier as is my new born with the scheduled feedings. I am not strict
on the times how ever, I will wake him up at the 3 hour mark if he has not
on his own, and if he's fussing for milk 30 mins before his time I will feed
him. any time before that I will just walk around the house with him. Don't
get me wrong, I did not suddenly say 'that's it, I'm only feeding once every
three hours' we eased him into it and it took us 2 days. Now he doesn't need
to be topped up every hour and is content in-between feedings(except for
right after when he wants to keep sucking), he even usually wakes him self
up every 3 hours. the house is much quieter, he does a lot less screaming,
and I do allot less hair pulling. I know his health is important, but so is
my mental well being, with out that I can not be the best mother I can be.


"iphigenia" wrote in message
...
K-K wrote:
yes, my son will suck forever if given the chance,

He's a newborn. That's what they do. He has a tiny stomach, and he's
trying
to adjust to a scary, bright, loud world full of strange and often
unpleasant sensations; of course he wants to nurse all the time.

Sorry if you don't want comments on scheduled feedings, but this is Usenet
and for your child's health, I'm giving them anyway. Even formula-fed
babies
are supposed to be fed on demand. If you insist on feeding your child on a
schedule, your nursing relationship is almost certainly doomed from the
start. Your child comes before your housework.

--
tristyn
www.tristyn.net
"i have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
i do not think that they will sing to me."

K-K writes:
: My son (10 days old) is a constant sucker... he likes to be sucking on
: something all the time. (just to let you know, I am not a demand feeder, I
: have him on a schedule and it works out better for him, my DD and my
: self)... any ways He will nurse for well over an hour and I listen for
: swallows, he goes well past the swallowing and into suckling, like I'm a
: soother.

OK. First there is a lot of confustion about what constitutes "demand"
versus "schedule." I do not want to be confontational regarding your
feeding style, and I have seen some other posts advocating "demand"
feeding, so I would like to clarify some of the issues. I have also
read your comments below, and would like to try to respect your sensitivities.
I will try to deal with specifics of how to breastfeed successfully.

First, there is the issue of maintaining and increasing your milk supply
as the baby grows older (and bigger). For a newborn, one of the largest
items affecting supply is the time spent nursing. In other words, the
more time you nurse, the more milk you will make. There are some other
things that can affect supply, so if you find you have supply problems
and need help later on, post again. In general the four most important
things to increase or maintain supply a
1. Drink plenty of water (not caffinated beverages) at least a 12 oz
glass every 2 hours.
2. Get plenty of rest. Drop the housework. Let DH do the cooking.
Nap when the baby does.
3. Nurse more frequently. Co-sleep and learn to nurse while asleep.
Nurse often durign the day. Nap with baby and nurse.
4. Use dietary and herbals. Eat oatmeal. Take fenugreek.
Unless you have real problems, you do not have to do all of these every
day, but the more you do the better your supply will be.

Finally a word on demand versus schedule for the baby's sake. Taken
properly it means that you shouldn't wait until your baby is crying
before you offer the breast. When you notice that your baby is awake
and rooting around, then is a good time to nurse. Demand is no as
much related to how long you nurse.

: How long do I nurse for on each breast?

For a newborn it can be up to 20 to 30 minutes a side. By the time
he is 3 months it will probably be 5 to 10 minutes a side. Babies
become much more efficient nursers as they grow older. However, these
are just guidelines. As other posters suggested you can listen to
your son nurse. When the nursing slows down from a swallow every suck
to a swallow every 5 or 6 sucks or less, then you can switch sides.
Some women who have a LOT of milk often do not need to switch sides
during a feed, but will nurse from the other side the NEXT feed.

There is one wild card in this. That is second let-downs. If you nurse
long enough on a side, even if the baby is not getting a milk for a
while, you will have a second let-down and the milk will start to flow
again. This means that occasionally, if the baby is sucking and not
swallowing, you will hear him swallowing again. This is a second let-down.
Sometimes second let-downs can be encouraged by switching sides every time
he latches off. However, it is usually not useful to do it too often.
You should probably stay on each breast at least 5 to 10 minutes for
2nd and subsequent "sides" and 10 to 20 minutes for the first side on
each breast.

: When do I stop?

Usually, when the baby goes to sleep (for a newborn) or when the baby
unlatches and starts to play (for an older baby).

: How do I know he has emptied my breast enough for his apatite?

See my comments about swallowing and let-downs to know when he is
getting milk.

This is actually hard to learn for a new nursing mother. Some other
posters have offered some good guidlines. If he finishes a breast
and does not latch on, he is probably done for the time being.

: I worry if he is getting enough,
: I want to make sure I am giving him all his little tummy can handle, but I
: also am busy with DD and House work.

I understand having to nurse a baby while raising a pre-schooler, however
the house work can wait. One possible tactic is to sit and nurse the baby
while you read your daughter a book. This worked well with our second.

: (Please no comments on the demand feeding, I just wanted people to know the
: whole feeding situation before telling me how long I should nurse for. We
: tried demand feeding for 5 days and just like my DD he would nurse for 10
: mins every hour,I got no sleep or time for any one. Now that I have switched
: him slowly onto an every 3 hour schedule he sleeps, I sleep, and he does
: allot less crying.)

A couple of comments. First the behavior you describe (10 minutes every
hour is typical newborn behavior. This changes rapidly as the baby grows
and the stomach becomes larger. The behavior you are trying to encourage
is a natural progression anyway. Because of their small size, there is a
reason that newborns like to nurse often. This doesn't last, even for
demand fed babies. :-) Second, I think you were reading "demand" a bit
too literally. :-) Also, if you were "demand" feeding the first 5 days,
your milk hadn't come in yet, so the baby was never getting full. It is
a LOT easier when your milk comes in! :-) But again, I think it is just
semantics.

: Thanks all.

: K-K

OK. I think the most common concern that new nursing mothers have is how
to know their baby is getting enough, and how they are going to do this
and still have time for anything else, including their own sleep. It is
generally a FULL-TIME job for the first 2 to 3 weeks, then after that you
can ease back into a routine that includes your other activities. Don't
rush it, even if you think there is no one else who can do what you do.

Also, I hope I have answered some of your questions about how to know that
he is getting enough, and how to feed him. It is actually harder to
breastfeed for about the first 4 to 6 weeks, then you start to break even,
and by 3 months, breastfeeding is much easier than formula feeding.

Good luck,
Larry

Do you think he would reject the soother and cry if the soother wasn't
giving him milk and that was what he wanted?



Probably, but since he's still a newborn I'd be very nervous about the
potential for nipple confusion, and if you're only nursing him for a total of
20 minutes each time, I'd pay close attention to his diaper output, weight
gain, and behavior. Especially in the first few months, it's better to err on
the side of letting him suck at the breast as long as he wants, as often as you
can. Of course sometimes you *have* to unlatch him in order to go to the
bathroom or something! -- but whenever you can, just settle in for a good long
nursing session and let him suck away for an hour or more.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs