How long is too long?

[Annchan]

Hi there. I have been really wondering if this is normal any help is appreciated.

Often when I breastfeed my baby she will stay latched on and eating for an hour or more. Sometimes I think she has fallen asleep but is still sucking. If I unlatch her sometimes she will be asleep and will not take my breast again right away and sometimes if I unlatch her she wakes up.
She has a strange eating schedule. If I let her eat for the full hour or more (at most it is 2 hours straight) she will usually not need to eat again for another 2 hours after she finishes (for example, if we start at noon and she is done at 1, she eats again at 3)
but if I take her off my breast before she is done is done because I think she has fallen asleep or I have to do something (sometimes we have to go and we are an hour late because she wont stop eating) she will have to eat again about 30 minutes after that (If we start at noon and I take her off my breast at 1 before she is done eating she will want to eat again at 1:30 even though she just ate for an hour...)
is it normal for me to be feeding her for 2 hours straight? could she be eating so long because I don't have enough milk for her? I don't think she is starving because she is gaining weight. she is 5 months old and weighs 15 lbs.

[fell4myfallbaby]

you sound like a bink! my little one will try to use me as one while he sleeps. so she may not be eating all that time. sounds to me like she just likes to be on the boob. that's just what i think. other may have a better opinion. i haven't been nursing that long either. but my little one has his personal schedule times to eat. like every night at both 8 and 10 he will have to nurse for some reason. and it doesn't matter if he just got off from nursing. he will nurse again. can't miss a meal. haha.
i wish you luck! and hopefully you will get better advice on here than me!

[PeacefulMom]

It's also the right age for teething possibly. i know with my LO he started nursing for longer periods when he was popping out teeth.

But otherwise if she is gaining well and having wet and poopy diapers then your milk supply is fine. She may just be a big time nurser. Some babies nurse a long time and some for only minutes.

I would suggest you get a good sling, I like my ring sling, for nursing the baby while being able to get up and move around.

2 hours is a long time. But I doubt it will be this way forever. One thing about babies, especially under a year, they change so quickly.

[Jacksmommy]

Some babies just take longer. I would keep nursing her for as long as she wants. It will change. Mine used to nurse for very long times sometimes.

[jodibug]

Laci does the same thing. It can be inconvenient, but I know it won't last forever!

[Annchan]

thanks. I was not sure if it was normal.
-^_^-

[madelsmama]

Likely most of her feeding occurs within the first part of the hour, and then a lot of her sucking is comfort sucking, which is good for maintaing your supply and satisfying for her. Most babies will suck in their sleep, by the way. You will see the suck, pause, swallow pattern when baby is eating. Sucking is so important for babies, and unlike a pacifier is stimulating to your breast and supply.

Like the others said, this will pass. In the meantime, hang in there.

[KerryS]

If it's a hardship for you to nurse for 1-2 hours straight, you can try breast compression to help her get more flow and more fatty hindmilk:

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/15breast_compression.html

[kohlby]

My son would nurse for a minimum of an hour at a time, though 90 minutes was his usual amount - and that only because I usually unlatched him them so I could get a break! However, he would be back on 30 minutes after he finished. My son did have a very high suck need. Nursing was a big comfort for him. I did try breast compressions and starting on the same side for two sessions in a row. I tried every pacifier I could find but none worked. His gain was far above average. It did get better on his own, though he still nursed far more times a day than any baby I've heard of - and it wasn't spurts, it was all the time. Though he's weaned now, he's still very high touch needs so I think that had something to do with him needing nursing for comfort so much. Hang in there and nurse as often as you can tolerate it! Nursing for comfort is a need for some babies just like nursing for food is a need. But I also understand how difficult it is to have a baby who wants to nurse all the time.

[Annchan]

It is stressful because it is hard to get anything done, but I try to remain relaxed and remind myself that it is more important for my baby to be happy, healthy and comfortable than it is for me to do the dishes at this very moment.
-^_^-

[minx17051]

Hang in there mama. My daughter also nurses forever. I lay her down she wakes up and wants right back on. She is totally different from my first daughter. She wants to nurse all the time and has a high need to suck. She does take a bink however which has been a lifesaver to my boobs in the beginning when I had a lot of pain and other issues from my little aggressive sucker. That has gotten better with time as well. My oldest daughter was an eat and done kinda girl, she also never took the bink. My pregnancy and after circumstances where very different from my first. I had a lot more stress this time round and was afraid I would lose my milk supply because of it. With my first daughter I was molly milk maid. lol My daughter will only take a bink made by Nuk if that helps. Same with the bottle it has to be that brand she prefers that kind of nipple. It is similar to the shape of your nipple while nursing. Good Luck!!

[hilmom]

my 5 week old does the same thing! luckily it's getting better and he just has days like that - then other days where he eats then takes a nap peacefully on his own - today is one of those days when all he wants to do is be at my breast - ouch! i hope it gets better for both of us - good luck!

[ima062002]

She's most probably not nursing straight the whole time but does some non-nutritive, comfort sucking in between. Early on some babies do take a lot of time but it's because they are inexperienced at nursing. At five months that wouldn't be an issue. One thing that might help you is to support the feeding breast with you hand (cupping it) and then gently massage your breast when the vigorous sucking that happens after a letdown changes to a slower pace. Stop as soon as she picks up the pace again/or her suck is getting stronger. Try to pay attention how she drinks when you let down. What is her pattern. Some babies just suck away, other will go suck, pause, pause, suck. Each baby has a patterns and once you know yours you can better distinguish between active drinking and comfort sucking.

One thing I would look into at the next pedi visit would be wether she has a short frenulum. Has her pedi ever checked that? It's the skin that attaches the tongue to the jaw and if it is short it's harder for babies to eat.

[mandeloo]

teething time! Your boobies are soothing her gums probably.

Im actually kinda jealous, my son (10 weeks today) stopped using me as a binky and is using a real binky. I'm all sadface....

=( << see?

I know though, you have things to get done. It's tough nursing a baby like that, she could also be going through the 6 month growth spurt a little earlier.