Need help!! One breast per feeding, ok???

Janice - posted on 05/01/2012

I have always fed on only 1 side per feed. The milk at the end of a feed is more fatty and babies need that so its really better to do 1 breast than 10 min. each side.

Lila - posted on 04/30/2012

i feed one breast every time because my daughter is like that she has a fav breast but now she will eat from the non fav more often just relax your doing alright one at a time is ok

Casey - posted on 04/30/2012

Awesome, thank you tons. I will check out the site. I was worried if I fed him on one side only I wpuld begin producing less. Sounds like since hes feeding so often I should be ok. Thanks for all the help!!

Lori - posted on 04/29/2012

It sounds like you're doing great. And yes it also sounds normal. When you don't feed the baby from one side as you had been doing you've got more milk in there, and so it can get very hard. Once baby feeds and drains the milk it will soften up. Technically a nursing mom's breasts are never "empty", but there is a difference in feel when it's fuller. Your milk works on a supply and demand basis. The more milk that is removed from the breast... the more your body will make. If you pump and remove milk that way, in addition to feeding baby on demand, your body will soon make enough to feed baby, and supply the extra that you pump out. If you feed your baby something other than your milk, your body won't get the signal that baby needed to be fed, and will start producing less milk. Also, your breasts make milk faster when they're more empty, and they produce milk much slower if they're full.



Since you don't want to HAVE to pump, and you didn't ache too bad... you did it perfectly.



Have you been to www.kellymom.com



It's a great website with all kinds of breastfeeding information. It was put together by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant who is also a Mom, and has breastfed her children.



Here's a direct link to her page on breastfeeding a newborn. It covers many topics that are generally of concern to Mom's feeing a newborn.



http://kellymom.com/category/ages/newbor...



And of course - we're here to help any way we can on Circle of Moms. This Breastfeeding Moms group is generally very supportive and informed.

Casey - posted on 04/29/2012

So, I fed him from my left side a few hrs ago and feeding now on my right....I noticed my right side got really hard during the 2 hours that we didnt feed. But now its softened up alot since he fed. This is normal I assume? They didnt ache too bad so I didnt pump. I dont want to have toooo much milk and HAVE to pump, if that makes sense.



Thank you for your reply! This is tough not knowing. ;)

Lori - posted on 04/29/2012

Feeding one breast per feeding is perfectly fine. If he's happy with one, then just let him stay on that one. I have 2 daughters that I have breastfed. And with both, after a few weeks we started mostly just nursing one breast at a time. This time the right side, next time the left side. During growth spurts or some other random times the baby would unlatch on her own and I'd offer the other side too. But for the majority of the time I found it worked very well for me to only use one side per feeding.



You don't need to get out the pump unless you want to. If you're feeling engorged and it hurts, then yes, pump some out so you're not in pain. OR... if you wish to begin stocking up some frozen breast milk, this sounds like a good opportunity to do that. But do you need to to keep your supply? No! Just offer the one he didn't nurse off of the next time he's hungry.