Breastfeeding question?

[manitobamama]

It's been so long since I breastfed a babe and my thoughts have changed so much since then!
Here is my question:
Do you switch sides? Time you babe?
With my other dd's I did what "they" told me to do and timed 10 minutes on each side which was a big hassel and I don't want to be tied to the clock. So mamas what do you do?

[Shelsi]

I'm no expert by any means (I only made it 4 mos with ds...hopefully will go a lot longer with this oen!). I was always told though to nurse on one side until they fall asleep or have stopped actively nursing. Then I would burp and possibly change their diaper to wake ds up, then offer the other side. It was certainly more than 10 mins usually! It's important they get the hindmilk. Ds was also a very slow and languid nurser. He'd nurse for 45 mins or more sometimes.

A good online resource for bfing info is www.kellymom.com I bet you can find something there. It's usually the first place I look when I have a bfing question.

[SleepyMamaBear]

nurse until they are done. if they get sleepy, tickle their feet or undress them to make them more alert.
dont time it.
also, feed whenever they want it. which right now should be often. if its not every 3 hours or more often wake them to feed them. your breasts will thank you.
you can also check out Dr Jack Newmans page for good info.

[Lissybug]

I would nurse on one side until ds seemed done or got distracted then offer the other. I eventually stopped offering the other side very often because he almost never wanted more at that point. However, if I was needing to nurse on both sides for my own comfort reasons I'd switch after a while. I somewhat tried to keep track of which side I'd nursed on last, but mostly wound up just patting each boob to see which one was fuller at the next feeding. So basically I was pretty relaxed about it and just tried to nurse until ds seemed done and it worked out well for me.

[BrownEyed]

This is my first so keep that in mind.

Until my milk came in I would nurse on both sides to get my body used to it. Now that my milk in I nurse on one side one feeding and the other side for the next. My MW really stresses that DD should get both kinds of milk so she stresses that babe should eat on one side per feeding for the best chance of that.

I never time for the purpose of the quality of the feeding but sometimes just out of curiousity.

[NaturalTXMama]

I nursed my son until he was 26 months. This is what I did...

Nursed him on one side for each feeding, then at the next feeding on the opposite side. I never timed him, because he could eat in 10 min what most newborns ate in 25. (I tested this at a lactation consultant, she weighed him before and after the feeding.)

I would suggest you feed your baby until it is full or falls asleep. If it wants to eat more, then feed it again. (Basically, I nursed my son on demand.)

Blessings!

[luckydog]

I've nursed for over 50 months give or take and I did it like others in the PPs - one side per feeding. With the little jiggle to remind me which breast was full and therefore the one neglected during the prior feeding.

With that said, as they got older (1+ years) I would - almost unconsciously - start favoring my left breast only (since I'm a right-handed mouser!). Be warned: That makes for a very lopsided look!

[glycerin19]

I would nurse on one side until ds seemed done or got distracted then offer the other. I eventually stopped offering the other side very often because he almost never wanted more at that point. However, if I was needing to nurse on both sides for my own comfort reasons I'd switch after a while. I somewhat tried to keep track of which side I'd nursed on last, but mostly wound up just patting each boob to see which one was fuller at the next feeding. So basically I was pretty relaxed about it and just tried to nurse until ds seemed done and it worked out well for me.

That is exactly what I did too.

[fw221]

Originally Posted by luckydog

I've nursed for over 50 months give or take and I did it like others in the PPs - one side per feeding. With the little jiggle to remind me which breast was full and therefore the one neglected during the prior feeding.

With that said, as they got older (1+ years) I would - almost unconsciously - start favoring my left breast only (since I'm a right-handed mouser!). Be warned: That makes for a very lopsided look!

That's me, but only 35 months. My left boob is definitely bigger than the right.

[jee'smom]

Remember that every baby is different too. Jee (a preemie) woke up every 4 hours (unheard of in a breastfed baby), completely drained the right breast (about 25 mins), completely drained the left breast (about 25 mins.) and then fell asleep for 4 straight hours again. Peter nursed for about 10 mins. on one side (very efficient nurser like a pp said about their baby), I'd offer the other, and he'd nurse just for a little (I did this for my own comfort). Then the next time, I felt my breasts to see which one was full (neglected at last feeding) and gave him that one. He was a cluster nurser at first (ate every hour for about 5-6 hours, then slept about 3 hrs. straight- once a day he did that; the rest of the time he nursed about every 1 1/2 hrs.) Good luck! You'll figure out your own babies nursing pattern soon! (Oh, and I've been nursing for 4 1/2 yrs. straight!- about 55 months!- Bee, doesn't feel good knowing that we've decreased our risk of breast cancer by ALOT?!!!)

[manitobamama]

Thanks mamas! This is what we've been doing after my milk came in. It's so nice to have you mamas to ask questions! My nipples aren't nearly as sore as they were at the beginning. I can't believe Emerson will be a week old tomorrow! Time is already flying!

[javamama]

[QUOTE=luckydog;8603098

With that said, as they got older (1+ years) I would - almost unconsciously - start favoring my left breast only (since I'm a right-handed mouser!). Be warned: That makes for a very lopsided look! [/QUOTE]

Yep, that hppened here, too. With this new babe, the side that was bigger before is huge! I am using cabbage leaf=ves on the one side to tone it doown a little! If I am starting out lopsided, imagine how it will be at 1 year!!

I agree with the PPs, one side per feeding. Forget the clock.