do babies get more efficient at nursing as they get older?

[sloneta]

Our daughter is now 7.5 weeks old and her nursing sessions have gotten much shorter. She used to nurse at least 45 minutes total and fall asleep in the process. Now she does 20-25 minutes total and stays awake after. She has the appropriate # of wet & dirty diapers each day and seems satisfied when she pops off. My breasts are also softer when she is done. I just thought she might still be a little young for this.

[mommyoftwo]

Babies absolutely get more effecient at breastfeeding. It's not unusual for an older baby to nurse only 5-10 min and actually drink more than they did during their 40 min sessions when they are younger. 20-25 minutes seems very normal to me for the age of your dd. I would not worry about it one bit. HTH!

[citymama]

Totally agree with the PP - 25 minutes sounds right for this age. DD at 7 months is done nursing in 5-10 minutes total - for both sides!

[tarahsolazy]

Yep, they get much faster as time goes on. My son was nursing only 5 minutes at a time by three months, and he weighed 22lbs at 6mo, all on breastmilk. So he was getting enough!

[sloneta]

Thank you!

It seems like it happened overnight so I just wanted to make sure it was normal.