My nursling {20mths} switches sides every few minutes

[Brees_Mama]

I'm currently nursing my 20mth old and he does great staying on one side for more than 3 minutes, during the day.

However, at night, he will nurse for literally 3min on one side then switch to the other, just back and forth.

Is this normal? What does it mean? I don't *think* my supply is low. I'm not pregnant, I'm eating good, I haven't lost a bunch of weight and I'm not on any new meds.

[HappyMonkey]

My daughter nurses that way.. I think if they do it normally your milk is prepared for that... I don't worry about it! She's done that since she was probably 9 months old.. maybe earlier. Sometimes she'll only stay 30 seconds on each side for a while.. but as she gets sleepier she stays on one side much longer.

[D_McG]

I didn't allow that. Drove me nuts. One switch and they were done.

[sky_and_lavender]

I was just about to write a post about this. My 18 month old does this (and has for a while), and I find it so annoying at times (like when I would like to be able to sort of sleep/relax or do any other activity while she bfs). I don't think it's a supply issue for me, but I don't know. It is definitely less likely to happen when she hasn't bf'ed in a while and is getting a lot of easy milk out of me. And I know that latching on and commencing nursing can stimulate a let down. In our case, it seems more like she is a bit restless and wants to use bfing to relax but can't handle staying still for that long. Sometimes I make her stop and redirect her attention, but sometimes I can't do that without her getting really upset.

Tonight while I was nursing her to sleep (something I am happy to do and don't want to change now), it was really driving me crazy. The whole situation is annoying for me also because she always tries to play with the other breast, and I have to cover it to keep her from doing that, so I'm constantly having to change which side I'm "holding" and fend off her hand anew.

Anyway, I wish I had some great wisdom about this. Instead all I can say is that it seems to be a version of "normal."

[Angelorum]

My 18 month old does this as well, along with playing with the other side.  I've noticed that if I try and cover up the other side (which I usually do), he'll almost immediately want to switch to the other side.  When he realizes I'm just going to cover up the other side too, he'll stick to one for a while.  The only time the switching really bothers me is in the middle of the night when he's having trouble settling back to sleep, and I'm wishing I could sleep in peace.  That and when we're out in public and I'd like to keep it to just one breast out at a time, but he doesn't want to nurse much when we're out and about anymore. 

[LROM]

This dynamic, right around 18 months, is one of the 3 things that led us to night wean.  At the time I think a few moms told me it probably was due to a change in my supply.  During the day it doesn't bother me so much, but we coslept and she was waking every 90 min or so and switching for another 30... I was ridiculously exhausted.

She still switches quite a bit at 26 months, but will sleep many nights all the way through without waking, and if she does wake, I won't nurse her, just comfort her.

Good luck you guys going through the same waking/switching experience!

[Asiago]

I think when the 'let down' doesn't happen soon enough, baby switches to the other side looking for more milk. I've noticed it also. As per the playing with the other side that PP mentioned..... again, looking for let down. Nipple stimulation will help milk let down. Babies are so smart, they know what they are doing.

[kismetbaby]

Yep, my 16m does this. Been doing since about 11m.  Luckily he doesn't do it at night b/c he's too half asleep. But during the day he will never want just one breast anymore. He wants them both out there and he wants to switch back and forth for awhile, I think until I get my letdown, and then eventually he'll settle on a side. If it's one of his quick snacks he'll just switch back and forth a couple times and be done.  It make NIP a little annoying, I often just tell him he can only have one side if we're out and he'll either accept this or then decide not to nurse.

So I'd say normal! :)

And BTW the time I got stomach flu and definitely had a dip in supply, he did a whole other behavior to let me know he was unhappy with my milk.  He would nurse a little then pull off and look at me and whine.  So for us at least there was a distinct difference and I didn't worry that the switching sides meant low supply.  

[D_McG]

Doesn't it drive you guys crazy? I'm amazed to see so many people allowing it!

[kismetbaby]

sometimes it does drive me crazy. . .but I've allowed both that and the nipple twiddling. I dunno, neither one bothered me enough to fight DS about it (he's very stong-willed, esp about his milk-time!).  I do ask/insist that he be gentle though, any pinching or hitting is where I have drawn the line.

[Shannie77]

Both my DDs do this, although I have stopped my almost 4 year old recently.  She also does the nipple twiddling and will have a big meltdown if I don't let her.  We are slowly making progress with stopping that.  My biggest advice to new BF mom's is to NOT allow the twiddling.  It isn't so bad when they are little.. but once they get bigger. OUCH!  DD2 is almost 9 months and does the switching and she tries to twiddle constantly (but I don't let her).  I don't mind the switching so much... it is just a minor annoyance for me.

[D_McG]

Originally Posted by Shannie77 

;My biggest advice to new BF mom's is to NOT allow the twiddling.

That's another thing I'm amazed to see people allow on here. Even reading about it makes my skin crawl. And when people say 'but she gets upset when I stop it!' I still don't understand it. My reaction was always like they touched a hot stove. Just not even remotely something I was going to entertain. I think I have issues though.

[Catwmandu]

Originally Posted by Asiago 

I think when the 'let down' doesn't happen soon enough, baby switches to the other side looking for more milk. I've noticed it also. As per the playing with the other side that PP mentioned..... again, looking for let down. Nipple stimulation will help milk let down. Babies are so smart, they know what they are doing.

What she said. My 17 month old does it. That is why he likes it so much when my 3 1/2 year old tandems on occasion.... less work for him to get the milk faster! :) Ha. Patience is not something anyone in my house has much of, yet.

[sky_and_lavender]

Hmm. In our case I'm pretty sure that while wanting a faster let down is one issue, another, possibly bigger issue is how wound up she is feeling. If she's relaxed, she won't do it as much and if she's hyper she'll switch often.

Anyway, thought I'd share a new development for us: Yesterday my daughter bit me really hard (not an everyday occurrence here, thank goodness), one of those bites where Iyou feel your nipple is going to come right off in her mouth while it's happening. There wasn't much damage physically, but I was a bit sore and wanted to give that breast a couple hours' break.

We were in a situation where she'd want to do the rapid switching thing, and I just said, "This [my word for breast/milk] is sleeping," while pointing to it. Rather than cry or get upset, she immediately accepted this and went back to breastfeeding on the other one. I have tried this several times in the past few days (but not every time, just in case it does affect my supply somehow) and have found it works very peacefully. Also, it seems to help her fall asleep easier if I have one breast go to sleep after she has thoroughly breastfeed on it, so she can relax instead of switching constantly.

I love how I learned that part of our difficulty was seemingly that it was hurting her feelings to have me say "no" to breastfeeding (even though I was still offering the other side), and this idea, that the breast is resting, was less painful for her.

[Asiago]

The twiddling is actually reccomended when pumping. Women are taught to 'roll' the opposite nipple between both fingers in order to get letdown while pumping. It's likely instinctive in babies.

[xzaviers_mama]

Ugh... I'm nursing my 3yo and 18mo, and I just found out I'm pregnant.  My 18mo is OBSESSED with the nipple pinching.  I didn't even really notice it  before, but now that I'm pg, and my nipples are sensitive, it totally makes my skin crawl.  I cannot take it, and I feel like I'm battling him the whole time.  When I put my hand over my other breast so that he can't get to it, he gets so mad that he winds up smacking at me, and I have to end the nursing session. 

My 3yo also likes to switch back and forth, but it usually just makes me laugh.  He flat out tells me, "mom, all the milt is done in this one... i need my other boobie chouch."  (He calls nursing "boobies couch"... I suppose because that's where we have always sat.)