How long do you breastfeed for?

both my boys were loooong feeders. up to an hour a side sometimes - but generally 45 mins.

At that age Daniel was about 30-40 mins all up (but he would only take one side and I had a ton of milk). Now he only takes about 10-15 mins before he refuses to have anymore

jordis was on that long in the early stages, took about 3 months for her to be able to feed any quicker than that.

now i count myself lucky to get her to latch for 4 mins a side i miss those cuddles!!!!

Before my milk came in properly Alex could be up to an hour on each side. Now I follow my midwife's advice, which is to let him have 15 minutes on one side and then as long as he wants (within reason) on the other side - usually 20 mins or so. And I rotate the starting side each time.

Lily would stay on for forever up until a couple of weeks ago, now she will take herself off. Generally a full feed is around 1-120 minutes on one side, with occasionaly 5 or so minutes on the other side.

With a growth spurt she will feed fully on both sides - like last week, and now I have milk for africa!

the only thing is that i feel stink for having to take him off when i give him formula topups cos i feel like if i kept him on for longer and filled him up then i wouldnt need to top him up but when i was giving him those long feeds i was falling apart!! i was tired, upset, depressed!, grumpy, hungry, thirsty!! and he still seemed unsettled! we both didnt settle down until i started giving him topups and 15mins each side. I just feel like a bit of a failure for not being able to breastfeed properly without having to give formula as that was a big thing for me after not being able to b/feed Bay so i wonder everytime i give Astin a bottle whether i will ever be able to fully breastfeed!!???

sorry that was a whinge!!

when haleigh was feeding off me before i started expressing she would feed 45mins - 1hr then 15mins the next side.
my mum told me i shouldve done 10 each side but my mw told me to empty one side them offer other side if sge was still hungry

And don't be harsh on yourself for boosting his nutrition with a bit of formula.  I'm sure he adores you for it!  I found the marathon breastfeeding sessions just about drove me around the bend - you're right, they are exhausting and leave you feeling half-human (especially when you look about at the other stuff you'd wanted to accomplish over those few hours and you were couch-bound instead).  It's all about balance, eh - and if a top-up of formula helps achieve that, I don't see the problem.  There's no reason why you can't breastfeed and top-up once a day or so and continue that for however long you like. 

Han used to feed for ridiculously long periods. I felt glued to the couch for the first year of her life.

A friend's midwife told her that babies get 95% of their feed in the first 5 minutes... so after I heard that I didn't worry too much. And even if it isn't technically correct, based on milk flow etc it's only logical that they do get the largest amount of milk at the start, so he's not missing out with only 15 minutes on each side!

And I'd get in touch with a lactation consultant (one with a good reputation!) and get them to suggest some tips... (if you want to)

Good luck Amber!

The only advice I can think of is try not to increase the formula when he grows. Like when he has a growth spurt let him spend all day on your boob rather than increase the formula amount. That way you will increase your supply and might even be able to drop the formula all together when he starts dropping feeds