1 Month Old - HELP! Feeding Taking Too Long!

You have a variety of things going on here. First, you can't shorten the feeding, he will eat until he is full. If he is wetting enough diapers, isn't gassy or uncomfortable after eating (more than is normal), he is eating enough. Make sure he is getting a long feeding on the first breast you offer, he needs the hindmilk. If you switch off too soon, he will not get all the fat he needs, which is what the hindmilk is full of. He will give you cues as to when he needs to switch, often they will pop on and off the breast because the flow has slowed down. But each baby is different.

Will he eat more efficiently as he gets older? Yes, but there will times when he will cluster feed right before a growth spurt, and It's similar to what you are dealing with now. I did find that increasing the number of feedings during the day will often allow them to eat more infrequently at night, but I fed on demand for at least the first 10 months, so I'm no expert at how to get them to sleep longer at night, that wasn't a priority for us.

Second, stop giving him formula unless you are trying to get him used to it for when you are at work. You are sabotaging your milk supply. In order to keep your supply up while giving formula you need to pump for every feeding you are missing. If he is spitting up the formula, and there seems to be a lot of it, you may need to switch brands.

Stop keeping track of the night time feedings. Why isn't your husband changing the diapers? That was our deal, at least for the first 4-6 weeks, he changed diapers in the middle of the night and I fed the baby. You are still healing from the birth, you need rest, or you will find yourself with mastitis.

You said, "I'm finding that I can't do much other than feed him day or night." And I'm here to tell you, that is completely normal for his age. That's pretty much all you should be doing. I don't know one mother who didn't say this during the first 6 weeks at some point. It's ok, no one should expect you to do much else right now except take care of yourself and the baby. I see in your profile that you also have a 4yo? Kids are great helpers at that age!

When a baby is first born, their jaw/mouth muscles for extracting the milk is not strong, therefore taking longer for them to extract/nurse. After a while, it takes shorter time to nurse because they become much better at extracting the milk. However, some moms, myself included, think that they are then not getting enough because they nurse so short. In reality, they don't need as long to nurse because they have developed stronger sucking jaws/mouth muscles.

I think the formula is confusing to him and maybe upsetting his tummy. Why are you supplementing? If you are planning to continue to breastfeed then cut the formula and start pumping. This will increase your milk supply, which MAY make him fuller faster (though maybe not, some babies are just slow eaters.) I would also suggest bringing him to bed with you to feed. I know, I know, many people will say this is a bad habit, but there is just no way I could have made it through those first several months if I had to get up out of my warm bed and go into a cold, dark room to feed a screaming baby. I kept diapers and wipes on my nightstand and snoozed while the baby fed. It worked for me with three babies, and we never had any sleep problems once they were weaned.
Hang in there, it DOES get easier, I promise!

Congrats on your baby boy!!!

Why are you supplementing with formula? I'm sure that's confusing him and his body. And it's messing up your milk supply.

Start pumping and giving him a bottle. See how he's taking it. That's one of the problems with breast feeding - you can't always see what you are getting out. And the bottle will allow you to control the amount he gets at a time.

I also pumped after nursing so that I could ensure the hind milk came out - which also increased my milk supply.

I would stop supplementing with formula. That's ME. Choose one or the other. The stress you are putting on yourself is cutting down on your milk supply.

Pumping will help increase your milk supply.
Drinking more water will help as well.
Have your husband step up and help out so you can get rest too. That means pumping to allow your husband to get bonding time with your son.

I can't remember ever having a two hour feeding time. Contact your pediatrician and ask to speak to their lactation consultant. If they don't have one? Contact your local le letche league and they can help you as well. It's always nice to have someone THERE to help you with latching, holding, burping, etc.

Hope this helps!!

Your baby will get more efficient at breastfeeding. Also, their digestive system is really messed up until about week 5 or 6, when it matures enough that they can be restful in the middle of the night.

But yes, breastfeeding does take a really long time for the first few months. And you should let him empty your breasts if that is what he wants.

Have you tried pumping to increase your supply? It 's also a good idea if you still want him to have breast milk when you go back to work. freeze/refrigerate the pumped milk. If he is spitting up alot are you burping him between sides or after a couple of ounces of formula? Sounds like he may not always be hungry, just wants to be held or comforted. It doesn't hurt to let baby cry if he's been fed, changed and you know there is nothing else going on, a fever, tummy ache,... Is his weight what it should be per the peditrician or at least steadily gaining? If he is, he is getting a good supply of nutrition . Have you tried putting him in a swing after he eats or a vibrating seat? Just some suggestions,... Things will get better ! C. S.

I would talk to a certified lactation consultant. It may help to pump a little so he's getting more hind milk. Maybe he has a poor latch or suck. Or maybe he's just comfort nursing.

You may find that it is easier for you to use a sling and learn to nurse on the go. More formula won't help your supply. It will dwindle it.

You've gotten a lot of good advice, and I second most all of it. Someone mentioned that you have an older child also. My main advice is to realize that all babies are different when it comes to breast feeding. I just had number three and still had breast feeding issues this time around. The most helpful thing I found this time around was to find a lactation consultant. Maybe one through the hospital you delivered at, your pediatrician, or La Leche League. I find breast feeding to be counterintuitive so having someone talk me through the "rules" has really helped. Best of luck to you, this stage won't last much longer!

Well, it was a long time ago, but I'm sorry to report that it all sounds fairly normal and similar to my experience with my youngest (now 14), who was exclusively breast fed and wouldn't take a bottle. It took 90 minutes to feed him and then I felt like it was time to start over again. We didn't really go many places for the first couple of months. I was fortunate to have a long maternity leave and then opted not to return to work for a variety of reasons. I didn't really do anything except care for the baby and my 3-year-old. He also didn't sleep well and was colicky. )-:

I agree with some of the others. I'm not sure what you mean by he gets too upset to change him before, but I might trying changing him before he eats. Sometimes you end up changing them twice, but not always. Also, try a lactation consultant. I personally preferred the ones who worked through my clinic over the La Leche League volunteers.

Good luck! It's exhausting, but worth the effort. Oh, my son had projectile vomit and I was told at the time it was from over feeding. Since he was colicky I consoled him with breastfeeding and we overdid it sometimes.

My daughter was the same way, she would nurse for an hour or so because i had a slow let-down. What I did was I started pumping after every feeding during the day and then I just gave her a bottle at night. It became alot easier, she got full alot faster and she was done eating within about 15-20 minutes. Nights became great and both mama and baby got a decent amount of sleep. I dont know if you are ok doing a bottle or not but that's what really helped me. Hope you get on a good schedule soon!

Very briefly, as long as you supplement with formula, he's not going to get more skilled at nursing. It's easier to get milk out of a bottle than a breast, so you're setting yourself for a "lazy nurser." And I'm not sure if I understand the logic behind supplementing in your situation. Your body will produce as much milk as your son demands. If you supplement, you'll have less breastmilk to work with.

Finally, is your expectation that he'll nurse, get changed, and fall back asleep every morning before 8? That may be hard to pull off, honestly, especially since the older he gets, the longer his wake-cycles will be. It might make more sense to get him in the habit of nursing with you and then being burped and changed by whoever will be caring for him. He's likely to accept this change pretty readily while he's teeny -- so don't think of it as a problem, just look at as a new routine.

I have no advise , that others haven't already given. I would change him before he eats. He will be upset but then all you have to concentrate on his him feeding & he will most likely fall asleep at the breast, nice & full.
Also, call a lactation consultant.

I'm not sure why you are supplementing but I will tell you my experience with my 5 mos. old. She was not a productive eater & was losing / not gaining weight. I was told to supplement, even by lactation. Like you , after I changed, nursed, supplemented, & changed clothes because she would throw up ( either because 0f the formula / she was to full)...I had no time for anything else , it was horrible. I finally decided I couldn't do it anymore. I had to pick one or the other & couldn't handle the throwing up anymore. So I decided to give EBFing one last chance. For about 4 days , I constantly had a her @ the breast & she finally started gaining. Once she was gaining , everything else fell into place. My point is you may have another week of horrible, before things get easier.