veteran breastfeeders

ok Lucas is breastfed only** and weighs like 19 pounds so he is getting enough BUT he is a snacker and nurses 5-10 minutes every hour and a half to two hours...do yall know of anyway to make him nurse longer at once...I would really love for him to empty my breasts rather than me have to pump, which I don't do often usually only in the mornings. He is very happy and content this is really all about me.

**oh he does eat cereal mid-morning and a veggie in the evening.


Thanks
Beth

Have you started him on any baby juice yet.  It may be that he is thirsty not hungry.  If you haven't tried the juice yet or you think he is too youg a little water usually does the trick too. 

Does he nurse longer at meal time or does he just do the 5-10 minute thing all day?

sometimes in the early mornings he will nurse a little longer but pretty much he has always done the 5-10 minute thing all day... I thought he would nurse longer as he got older but he still just snacks and I often try to burp him and nurse again but if he gets too much he spits it up with his snacking he never spits up! My ped says no worries but as I mentioned it is more about me.
We haven't tried juice as he won't take a bottle at all!

My oldest was the same way. It would drive me crazy. Then last year when he turned 9 years old the doctors discovered why. He was very slightly tongue tied. It is not enough to cause a speech problem, but enough that when he was a baby it would have made him too tired to nurse for long periods of time when he was a baby. I am not saying that is what is going on but maybe he just gets tired nursing is a big job for little ones and takes lots of energy. He was my first baby so I had no clue as to what was going on or if it was normal.

thanks Emily

I don't have much advice for you, but I wanted to say that Aethyn was also tongue tied when he was born...His was severe...all the way to the tip of his tongue.  We had the opposite problem, he would nurse FOREVER and never seem to be full.  He wasn't gaining tons of weight but enough-we ended up clipping it but by that time he wasn't efficient at nursing and things went down hill from there. 

thanks Becca

Beth...just curious how you know it is just a snack. Are you saying that because it is a short feed time? Maybe he is getting several ounces and it is a full feed?? I know sometimes it is inconvenient to bf on demand, but if that is all his tummy holds I think you are just gonna have to go with it...especially if he isn't taking a bottle at all. You should work on that because there may be a time he 'needs' it. Sorry I don't know any tricks. For me, Micah eats for about 20-30 minutes every 2-3 hours. I wi**** was only 10 minutes...lol I think you have it made! And when I need to be more time efficient, I pump and give him a bottle because he gobbles it up quickly. GL Shari

ya know Shari I think you and Amy are right and he is getting what he needs for him because he is satisfied and growing at a great rate, it just seems like snacking because it is s short to me, especially when compared to what other babies nurse.  Oh and please don't get me wrong I am loving BF, this the first time with any of my babies that I have gotten to experience this.
Beth

Do your breasts still feel full after he eats?    Hannah could empty mine in a very short amount of time (5-10 minutes) when she wanted too.      I know it's a pain to pump, but at least you are making more milk than he needs!