Most of the milk is depleted in the first 5-10 minutes on each breast. If comfortable, you can let the baby nurse as long as desired on the second breast. Alternate the breast you start with at each feeding. Feeding should not take more than 45 minutes. If your baby falls asleep, try to awaken him or her.
Nursing is a stimulus to the breast to produce milk for the next feeding.
The longer your baby nurses at a particular feeding, the more milk you will produce for the next feeding. The keys to nursing are to relax and to position your infant properly. Positioning can be discussed with your health-care provider or a lactation consultant. A comfortable armchair, a rocking chair with arms, like a platform rocker, is an ideal place to nurse and a wonderful gift or investment. Another comfortable position for nursing as the baby gets older is lying in bed on your side with the baby beside you.