Start your breastfeeding timer when the feed begins and stop it when the feed ends. Save left, right, or both breasts with the entry. If you miss a tap, correct the time later when you know it. The timer records what happened. Its minute count does not tell you how much milk your baby took.
Start with the feed, stop when it ends
Getting comfortable and beginning a feed are different moments. Start the timer when feeding begins so your entries use the same rule each time. Stop it when the feed has finished.
A start at 1:40 a.m. and an end at 2:05 a.m., for example, give you 25 minutes between entries. That is an example of a record, not a target. A single timer includes any breaks within that period. It does not measure active sucking separately.
You do not need to watch the seconds. If reaching for your phone is awkward, save the known time afterwards.
Keep the breast side separate from the time
Use the side field to record the breast actually used. A left-side entry answers "Which breast did I feed from last?" It does not decide which breast to use next.
If you use both breasts during one feed, save "both." That field alone cannot tell you the order. When the order matters to you, add a note such as "left first, finished on right."
Leave the side blank if you cannot remember it. "Both" means you used both breasts, not that the side is unknown.
Before making the next entry, check the previous feed's start entry and note. You can read what you saved without having to reconstruct it at the next wake-up.
Fix a missed start or stop
If you never started the timer but know both times, add the start and end manually. If you started it late, edit the existing start entry instead of adding another one.
If you forgot to stop it, end the active feed and correct the end entry to the time it actually finished. A timer left running until morning should not turn a known short feed into hours of feeding.
Do not invent a precise time when you cannot remember it. If you need to close the timer anyway, add a note to the end entry saying "end time not recorded" and do not treat the resulting duration as exact. See how to fix a missed or incorrect baby log entry for the steps to correct an entry.
What the minutes cannot tell you
A breastfeeding timer measures the gap between two saved times. It cannot convert that gap into a milk amount or confirm that your baby has had enough.
The NHS guidance on feed length explains that babies differ in how long they feed. Keep the number as a record rather than a target. Its guidance on getting enough milk considers several signs, including swallowing and weight gain. If you are concerned, speak to your midwife, health visitor, doctor, or a breastfeeding specialist.
A log can help you bring specific observations to that conversation. It does not assess your baby's health or choose a feeding schedule.
Using the timer in Closeby
In Closeby, tap to start a feed, then choose left, right, both, or leave the side unspecified. The side is saved with the start entry. Tap to finish when the feed ends. You can open the entry in the history to correct its time, change the side, add a note, or set the feeding method to breastfeeding.
When Live Activities are enabled, the active timer appears on the Lock Screen with a stop button. It also appears in Dynamic Island on iPhones that have it. Apple's Live Activity overview explains that users can dismiss or disable these displays. If the card does not appear, finish the feed in the app.
For your next feed, start the timer and save the breast you use. If you switch sides, edit the start entry to "both."