How much time for a breastfeeding session for an 11 days old?

My baby is 11 days old. He was born through a C-section but was full term. I had planned on doing breastfeeding exclusively but he had lost too much weight after the birth that the hospital forced me to give him some formula as well. He gained weight all right but ow he is on a mixture of breastfeeding/formula with a few pumping sessions as well.

I don't think I make enough milk: I will breastfeed him for 1 hour at times and he is still hungry so we also have to give him formula. What can I do to increase my milk supply and ultimately stop the formula?? How long should be a normal breastfeeding session at this stage? My guess is that I am only making transition milk right now, I made colustrum for 1 full week.

[DoulaSummer]

It is very normal for newborns to nurse for up to 1 hour or longer, but most do not.  I would suggest since your baby is still so young, you cut out bottles immediately and only offer the breast.  He will eat a lot more often for a few days, but your body will catch up in no time.   You are definitely making milk now, no longer transitional milk.  Sure, there may be some colostrum in there, but only in trace amounts.

[tiredbuthappy]

Having him on the breast that long is the best way to boost your supply. However, I would contact a Lactation consultant and have her evaluate your nursing sessions to make sure that he is nursing well. If he is on the breast that long but still taking formula, he may not be latching properly or he may have trouble drawing the milk out of the breast. Your ped can refer you to a LC. Or, you can contact your local LLL. Many hospitals also offer lactation services, so you can call the hospital where you delivered and ask them. You need someone to evaluate his mouth and s.uck, and to weigh him before and after a session to see how much he is actually getting at the breast. It's very possible there are no problems. He may just be on there that long for comfort. He may just be a lazy feeder, or he may be in a growth spurt where all they seem to do is nurse. Having someone evaluate your sessions and tell you exactly how much he is getting can give you some peace of mind. If you have access to an accurate baby scale you could even try weighing him before and after yourself.

[Ecologic]

Thanks for the answers!

Yes my baby is a lazy feeder: he s.ucks then stops then s.ucks then stops... - always. But I think he has a good latch and my breasts do not hurt. I do have a clogged duct on one of them, I massage it every day in a hot shower but it is still present.

I saw a lactation consultant at the hospital a few times after the delivery, I am planning on contacting her again this week.

I had thought about buying a baby scale, will definitively look into that.

[allmymarbles]

Breastfeeding tricks. As soon as you hear your baby cry to be fed, drink a glass of water. That is how I reminded myself to take in enough fluids. Also, if your milk is still insufficient, drink a bottle of beer a day. The old folks used to say drink Guinness stout. I could not abide the stout, so a drank about 12 ounces of beer a day. The curious thing is that before I was breastfeeding I didn't even like beer, and as soon as I weaned my babies I once again lost my taste for it.

Oddly enough, I am not good with alcohol, and that much beer would normally have made me tipsy. But I had no reaction at all when I drank it while breastfeeding. My body obviously needed it and used it.

[allmymarbles]

A large bottle of beer throughout a day is not much by way of alcohol. If it were dangerous to the baby the vast percentage of babies would be defective. There is a big todo these days about pregnant women not drinking alcohol. As usual this present fad goes over the top. An alcoholic woman can damage her baby, but a woman who drinks a glass of wine with dinner poses no danger at all. I am very tired of medical hysteria.

[allmymarbles]

I have no idea at all as to why it works, only that it does. This is a trick the doctor doesn't know about, or if he does would not tell you, given the current dictum about no alcohol for mama.

By the way, I don't think relaxation plays a part, at least not with me. I am a very calm type.

[allmymarbles]

A last word on drinking and its effect on babies. I spent some time in Sweden, a nation known for its drunks, and there were mongoloids (sorry, sufferers of Down's Syndrome) all over the place. I lived for a while in Portugal (prodigious drinkers, but not as bad as the Swedes) and they have their share of mongoloids. I lived for a very long time in Iran where Moslems are forbidden drink. Some of the more westernized and less religious might have a drink, maybe two, but I never saw a single drunk. Also I never saw a single mongoloid. You don't need statistics to put two and two together.

But as for the person who has a glass of champagne at a wedding, eggnog at New Year's  some wine at a party, and the occasional wine or cocktail throughout the year, there is no problem whatever. In my vast extended family, with dozens of young people, and who knows how many first cousins, there is not a single mongoloid. Also there is not a single drunk and not a single teetotaler. The campaign agains alcoholism to protect babies is reasonable. Including those who take an occasional drink, or are very light drinkers, is not.

[Emily_MHModerator]

Hi ladies -

Unfortunately, we had to delete quite a few posts from this thread.  It is not appropriate to recommend alcohol to a pregnant or breastfeeding woman.  No one has ever been able to prove how much is safe, and what may be safe for one woman or baby (via breastfeeding) might not be for another, and we never know for sure if we have the full story, full medical details, etc.  There may also be unknown medical issues with baby that alcohol - even a slight amount - could complicate.

Thank you for understanding and cooperating,
Emily

[allmymarbles]

Drink Guinness stout. That is the remedy of our grandmothers. I don't like stout so I drank about 12 ounces of beer a day. It worked wonders. Also, take in enough fluid. I remembered to do this by drinking a glass of water every time my baby cried to be fed.