One breast or two? And Other Question..

[ladyleah]

Hi Mammas-

Do you nurse with one breast or two- and how did you know that one breast was "enough"? Also, did the length of time decrease as far as the time it took to BF your LO, and WHEN did that happen?

My LO is 7.5 weeks old and nurses an average of 7-8 times per 24 hour period (he is gaining weight and has lots of wet diapers so all is well)- and we always do both breasts per feed. It takes me/him anywhere between 30-45 minutes on average per nusing session. Sometimes he falls asleep and pulls off the breast- but that is rare and only in the evening really. He also may pull off the breast on occasion from gas, because he really grunts and struggles with that (whether he is on or off the breast).

I normally know he is done when he is just doing the non-nutritative (I can't spell) sucking thing- so I take him off and burp him and put him on the other side. He never pushes the breast away as if to say "i'm done!" though!

I am not looking to change what we are doing or anything-- I am just curious if this pattern will change as he gets older?

Thanks!

[Bokonon]

Yes, they tend to get much more efficient as they get older. I don't remember when my babies started having shorter sessions, but maybe around 2 months? I have oversupply, so I only ever offered one breast until recently. Now Peepers sometimes takes forever to finish up, and will keep going through a second letdown, so sometimes to speed things up, I just offer the other breast so she gets more milk quickly. But she's 9 months old, and I only started doing this a month ago. I never had to even offer the other breast when I nursed DS.

[hmc]

I am wondering about this very same thing- my 7 wk old daughter will suckle forever- just now she went 30 min on one side, then fell off- burped a little and cried for the other side. I will usually feed 15 min on one side take her off and then again on the other side. Is this too much? Is there such a thing?

[mamacolleen]

I think my DD was around 4 months when she started to get way more efficient at getting milk out. She will now go on for 5-10 mins. max at each session (sometimes longer if it's just before bed) and eats every 2-3 hours or so. I rarely offer both breasts in a session. I usually only do that if she gets really fussy at the breast and I can tell the letdown is long gone. Even in the beginning, if I burped her, I almost always put her back onto the same breast. And I tried to always let her come off the breast on her own, even if it took her 60 mins. and it was obvious that she was doing non-nutritive sucking. I have no idea if what I did was the textbook right thing to do but it worked for us. And I have great milk supply now at 7 months and a very efficient eater.

Good luck! The first little while it feels like all you're doing is BF but blink and they get efficient and quick!

[ladyleah]

Actually- it's not so bad right now. For a while I had to nurse (at least 1 hour for him), then supplement, THEN pump! So each feed took 2 hours +, each waking moment was consumed with feeding! So this feels wonderful to me right now! LOLOLOL

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by hmc

I am wondering about this very same thing- my 7 wk old daughter will suckle forever- just now she went 30 min on one side, then fell off- burped a little and cried for the other side. I will usually feed 15 min on one side take her off and then again on the other side. Is this too much? Is there such a thing?

The first couple of months are like one big long growth spurt, interrupted by a few days of "normal", LOL. Watch the baby, not the clock. Leave baby on until she comes off the breast on her own, and then burp, and then offer the other side. She may or may not take it.

There is really no such thing as too much nursing, especially in the early days. It won't always be like this. And as strange as it sounds, one day you will miss the marathon nursing sessions where you are forced to relax with your tiny sweet baby! My DD is so distracted by everything right now that she will only nurse while laying down in my bed, as long as she can't hear her brother or daddy. I do miss snuggling with her on the couch, just watching TV while she cluster-fed for hours during growth spurts!

[amydiane]

We usually just do one breast now, though there are times, like during a growth spurt or a nursing marathon, where we'll do both. DD will either pop off on her own or fall asleep when she's done. If she pops off and seems happy, she won't take the other side. So I stopped offering unless, like a PP said, she is fussy and has been on a while. She's 6.5 months old now and she's down to about 5-10 minutes to nurse, but I can't remember exactly when she got more efficient.