[beebs]

...how do you do it? Does this mean every 2-3 hrs by the clock or from when you start on one breast? I'm trying to do this to regulate what I think is oversupply, strong let-down, and DD's almost daily vomiting/overeating. But DD (7wks) can eat every hour or not at all in a given 3hr period, that is if she eats two or three times in a 3hr period, she might not eat again until 3hrs later. And at night she'll sometimes sleep for 5-6 hrs at a stretch, so does that mean I should skip one side because two 3hr cycles have passed? I feel like I'm doing something wrong cuz sometimes I don't use one side for hours and it ends up engorged.

OK, so if I feed on the right side at, say, 5pm and again at 7pm, do I switch to the left side when the clock says 8pm even though she's not going to eat until, say 10pm? Or do I switch sides next time she eats (10pm) and switch 3 hrs from then or whenever she eats next, even if it is 5 more hours? Hope that made sense to someone...

:

 

[wombat]

I had an oversupply happening until dd was nearly 6 mo. It was a real pain at night having to get up to pump to relieve it a bit while dd slept. Not fair.

Anyway what I did was forget about the clock and focus on my boobs. I was getting plugged ducts from them not being emptied. So I'd feed dd on one side for however many hours it took her to empty that boob - sometimes this was 3 hours, sometimes 6. Because I was getting so engorged, it was really obvious when she'd 'emptied' one side properly. I'd hand express or pump the other side a bit to relieve the engorgement. I think my body was just real slow to respond - took about a month or two to really regulate my supply.

With the strong letdown and baby spitting up, make sure you burp her every 5 mins or so. They swallow a lot of air when they're gulping loads of milk.

Is she really vomiting? as opposed to just spitting up? Cause that could be reflux or something other than strong letdown.

 

[Angie676]

If I remember right, I'd feed off the left anytime he ate between 9am-12pm, then right side from noon-3pm, then left again 3pm-6pm, etc. So basically whether he ate 1 time or 20 times, he'd be on that side. If he slept through, say, the left-breast 3 hour period, I'd only nurse off of the left if I felt uncomfortable. It didn't take long at all for my supply to adjust.

Those 3 hour periods for us have stretched out to the point that we generally only nurse from the left side during the daytime, and from the right at night. I may do one or two feedings from the opposite breast for my comfort.

My advice (based on nothing other than my experience) is to use the 12-3-6-9:00 hours, as it's easier to remember. Whenever you feel uncomfortable on either side, nurse (or pump, if you prefer) to comfort, and then return to the other side for whatever is left of the 3 hours. You're body should adjust fairly quickly. Once your body adjusts, you can ignore the clock and just follow your body's cues.

 

[AmyG]

I also did just what Angie did. It was the easiest because I didn't have to write anything down or remember when we started to use each side. If the baby does completely miss one 3 hour period, you can use the other side if it feels uncommonly full.

 

[beebs]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I'll try sort of a combo, like if one boob isn't emptied by the clock method, I'll just keep feeding her till it is emptied. I've been noticing some lumpiness and think I unplugged a duct on my left nipple (whitehead looking thing, right?) so I want to avoid that.

My only other concern is she too young for me to be messing with my supply? I feel like we haven't quite established a rhythm yet, but this let-down/oversupply is part of the problem, I think. I don't want nursing sessions to continue to be full of screaming and stuff. I'm pretty sure I get to her before she's starved (she starts moving her mouth, sucking her hand, and saying "eh, eh"), but then when I put her to my breast she starts screaming. I really don't know why

Then when I get her on, she's been making clicking noises lately after the early weeks of not doing that. So then she gets major gas from sucking air and is more unhappy. I just started treating ourselves w/ GSE for thrush, in case we have it. DD has the white tongue (but it's not a thick coating) that doesn't rub off and I have some breast pain. We'll see if that has anything to do w/ it. Or maybe it's just a fussy phase?

wombat - I think it's vomit, not spit up, because she'll pretty much empty her stomach. she usually only does it at night, after feeding once and hour for three hours, but I was switching at each feeding so maybe she was getting too much of the let-down even if she only wanted to comfort nurse. the vomiting doesn't seem to bother her, cuz she's smiling right after and then hungry soon after that! I've been letting her go on one breast now so she can comfort nurse on an "empty" breast and that seems to be helping.

 

[cinnamonamon]

the comfort nursing on the one breast! My ds did that quite often in the early months (oh my -- I can't believe he's old enough for me to say that!!)

the thrush -- that sucks! And your symptoms sound pretty clear for it. Hilary (active on the vaxing board quite often), commented in passing that thrush was a diet inbalance -- if the GSE doesn't clear it right up, you may want to look into that before getting antibiotics. Just fyi, anyway.

Congrats on your new little

!

 

[beebs]

I've been doing about 6hrs (about 2-3 feedings) per side for a while now. DD is 3.5mo. How long do I keep feeding this way, forever? Sometimes I try to switch sides at each feeding (i mean, one feeding left, next feeding right...), but I don't feel my breasts get sufficiently "drained" that way. Does this mean I'm still overproducing? I thought my supply would "regulate" by now. Wondering...

 

[AmyG]

Your body will accomodate whatever you're doing. If you want to start using a different side for each feeding, then you should probably try to start doing it gradually. If you're using the same side for about 6 hours now, try going down to about 5 hours for a few days, then 4, and so on. I'm guessing that by now, your DD is going longer between some nursing sessions than others. So for some parts of the day, you'll be doing 2 sessions on one side, and then just 1 during other parts of the day. That will help your body slowly get used to it. Just make sure when your time segments get smaller that you don't ever completely skip a side.

If your breasts don't feel quite as empty as normal at first, that should be fine. Your body will get used to it after a while. Just watch your DD to make sure she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable and that her stools stay more or less the same.

 

[DaryLLL]

See, some moms store more milk in their breasts and have plenty for a full feed in one side after an hour or two. Myself, I had low storage capacity. I had to give both sides, every hour or so, most times, for my kids.

So lots of moms with larger than normal supply or storage capacity continue to just give one side per feed, "forever." Perfectly fine. During a growth spurt, you may need to adjust this pattern, at least temporarily.

I know a mom who fully bfed her triplets. Now she has a singleton and that baby only needs one side per feed, you bet!