One breast per feeding or two?

Cindy - posted on 07/17/2011

I'm sure you've figured it out by now since it's been a month since your question.... If you are still wondering then the answer is usually both. At least to offer both. If you are overproducing, often times it's helpful to only offer one.

Lori - posted on 07/13/2011

Holly - keep doing whats working for you. For some of us it works better to do only one at a time, for others it works better to do both sides each time. And what works may - or may not - change as you go. You and your daughter might keep doing both sides for the entire time you nurse, or somewhere down the road you may start doing only one side at a time. The important thing is that your baby gets fed enough. If one side is enough then that's OK. But if you're offering the other side after she empties the first side and she wants it, then I'd say keep offering that other side. If she starts to refuse the other side more often than not, then you know she no longer needs both sides for every feeding.

Laura Zoey - posted on 07/13/2011

If it's working well I wouldntworry, but if she is really gassy fussy or spits up alot or if you have engorged boobs alot then you might want to try one breast per feeding.

Holly Janelle - posted on 07/11/2011

My daughter is 15 weeks old and when she was first born we did 30 min on each side then moved to where we are now 10 min on each side. I'm not a big breasted mommy (36b-only because I'm nursing). Should I just be doing one breast per feeding? After reading all of these post I'm starting to wonder if I haven't been doing it right but I just did what my lactation consultants at my hospital told me to do. Her pediatrician said she looks fantastic and says we are doing good. Should I just keep with what we have been doing?

Christina - posted on 07/11/2011

I am breastfeeding my 2nd child (we're on our 13 month--the first I went for 22months) and I only breastfeed from one breast at a time. This time around as my Lilly had reflux, I'd often breastfeed on the same side for several feedings as during the time when it was severe she'd nurse for short bits and I wanted to make sure she got to the good and fatty stuff! Everything is working out fine : )

Laura Zoey - posted on 07/11/2011

Yes I have tons of milk and if I nursed off both breasts every feeding I'd have more milk then I needed, that would cause my baby to get all formilk and no hind milk so she would not gain enough weight. So since I have oversupply I have to do one breast per feeding.
But since I'm nursing both my baby and my toddler it gets tricky, but we make it work ;)

Olivia - posted on 07/11/2011

Yea I guess they are, my midwife(who has been a midwife for over 30 years) said for the first 6 months to do a minimum of 45 min per feeding on one breast, and to feed on demand. And it was after 6 months that I started doing the two times on one side before I would switch because I found out about how in between feeding the longer you go without feeding on one breast the less good fat there is. My daughter stayed chunky till she started walking and running around. So it worked for me but each women produces milk differently. Some cant even produce enough to feed past 4 months without their child not eating enough from both. Some women produce enough milk to nurse twins plus nurse for other moms. I know of women in both these categories, so in my opinion if each mom followed their motherly instincts along with advise from professionals then to each her own.

Melanie - posted on 07/11/2011

I guess different midwives say different things every lactation nurse in the hospital told me if she feeds for 30 mins then do 15 on each breast each feeding. plus you can use the switch over as a burping break lol my boobs woud be so lopsided and sore if I only did one side per feeding

Olivia - posted on 07/11/2011

My midwife and book that I read suggested 2 different feedings per breast. The reason for that is because the shorter the period you go on feeding on a breast the fatter the milk. Its like first feeding a meal second a nice snack and then I switch sides and do the same thing so my breast dont become lopsided. Thats just my opinion

Melanie - posted on 07/11/2011

both sides !! u dont want to b lopsided plus the more you nurse the more milk you produce.

Elizabeth - posted on 07/10/2011

I nurse off of one side to make sure that he gets the hindmilk. If baby is still hungry when he empties the first breast I let him nurse on the other side too. Most of the time he nurses just one side at a time. I alternate which breast I give him though. So he nursed the right breast last time, I give him the left breast this time.

Laura Zoey - posted on 07/08/2011

I feed from one side each feeding, yeah it's sometimes lopsided but I don't pump. I hate pumping and I don't want to give my kids bottles so I just don't bother pumping. So I just switch sides for the next feeding. I have over supply so to keep it under control I nurse one side each feeding because if I stimulated each breast each feeding id end up with tons of extra milk!

Kristina - posted on 07/07/2011

Lol I didnt read the other posts before mine. I dont produce enough milk to feed off of one side so she takes both. I have a stock pile in the freezer form pumping before going to bed. she has been sleeping thru the night since she was 6 to 8 weeks old. I just recently started to dream nurse because my supply is so much.
Do you ladies pump when they dont feed from both sides, or just wait for the next feeding? How often do they feed? It makes me laugh because when I do only feed off of one side you can see that one is empty and the other is full, I look lopsided.

Kristina - posted on 07/07/2011

Even though he favors one you still need to feed off of both. If he doesn't completely clean that side out them pump it after he switches, Both need to be fed from.

Kristina - posted on 07/07/2011

Depends every women produces different amounts and each breast produces different amounts. If your child is full off of one the pump the other and start a supply in the freezer, if they are not then off of both. Always start on the breast that you ended with on the last session so they both get the same amount of feeding time. Good luck God Bless

Monica - posted on 07/07/2011

My little guy takes both each feeding. He has since birth. I think it depends on the baby. He is almost 9 months old, and at times he only nurses from the other side just enough to fill up and I just pump afterward to completely empty. Since he is on more solids now, the frequency of feedings has decreased to about 4-5 times a day versus the 7-8 he was at when he was at 6 months. So my milk supply is adjusting to the longer time frames between feedings.

Tyrae - posted on 07/07/2011

I do one side per feeding, unless she decides she needs to be comforted before the next normal feeding, then she just gets the same side. I had a horrible case of oversupply and a really fast let down when she was born, and I didn't see the need to put her through two choking sessions per feeding with the first let downs. I still have a crazy let down sometimes but she just lets go and lets herself get sprayed in the face, she thinks its funny... although sometimes I get sprayed in the face instead!

Kateryna - posted on 07/07/2011

I try to do both, but he only favors one...

Mia - posted on 07/02/2011

I would always feed off one then offer the other! Depends on bub and you're supply also but that's what my baby nurse recommends!

Daniela - posted on 07/02/2011

Both sides until Nina was just about 3 months old but then I had seriously big problems with oversupply and it's been one boob at a time ever since. Although these days she is actually quite keen on both of them again. When she is nursing to sleep we might switch over 4,5,6 times. Other boobie? So cute.

Krystle - posted on 07/02/2011

I had a big over-supply, so for me it was only one side.

Ginny - posted on 06/30/2011

When I was nursing exclusively I made sure to do both breasts in one feeding mostly because I hated the feeling of one being full and the other not--it would get very uncomfortable in between feedings. When my daughter was about 7 months old I had a serious case of mastitis in only one breast and it felt like knives every time she nursed. It hurt so much that I stopped feeding her on that side. When the infection was gone I started trying to feed her on that side again and she refused it! She's going on 2 years old now and still only nurses on the one side. Occasionally I'll turn her around and give the other side a shot, but she pushes away and turns herself back around to the "good" side!

Lilliana - posted on 06/29/2011

It depends, if its simply mid-day comfort feeding then one boob, but i have to switch at night since he stays latched nearly all night! I've had over supply alot. Who knew boobs were so dang sensitive!

Laura Zoey - posted on 06/29/2011

Yeah I think I could easily feed triplets :P

Minnie - posted on 06/29/2011

With my first it was both per feeding, which quickly led to a wondrous case of oversupply. So I began off the bat one breast per feeding with my second (and actually that same for several feedings). My breasts think they have to feed the nation of Ethiopia.



But now I'm back to two breasts per 'feeding' now that Adelaide is nearly three. I'm still making enough milk to squeeze out but it's just due to toddler choosiness :).

Lori - posted on 06/28/2011

Most feeds I only use one side, but just before bedtime she usually takes both sides, and during growth spurts she'll want both sides more often too. When she was a newborn I tried to offer both sides every time, but usually she would fall asleep after only one side, or if not, she would just refuse the other side. So, I'd just offer the other side next time. Now I don't even offer unless she seems to be unhappy after nursing one side rather than being content.

Tessah - posted on 06/28/2011

Generally I only use one breast for feeding. It started with block feeding when he was very young and I had foremilk/hindmilk imbalance so I was block feeding (several feedings from the same breast) and I never went back. Now he is 18 months old and the only time he drinks from both is before bed.