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empty breasts

Katie - posted on 03/27/2010 ( 1 mom has responded )

187

39

Hi , i have a 6 week old baby boy and after many weeks of struggling to get breastfeeding established i find that after about 20 minutes of feeding on the first breast he starts to fuss, eg... letting go and sucking in again letting go and starting again.. could this be that he is getting nothing from the breast and its time to switch to the other or he is uncomfortable with wind? is it possible he isn't getting any? When he does this i take him off and burp him and put him on the other breast and he continues feeding normally till he falls asleep. So i am wondering if the breast can be so low it stops him feeding???

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Christa - posted on 03/27/2010

3,876

14

Your breast is never empty, but it does get depleted and most babies have a line as to how hard they will work for their food. If he's letting go it's probably because he's not getting as much as he wants and doesn't want to suck harder. It could also be gas, just be sure to burp him inbetween. You can also tell by his swallowing, when the milk is flowing good they have a good suck/swallow pattern as that starts to slow you will know you breast is getting to "empty" if he was sucking good with a good suck/swallow pattern and then suddenly fusses that is more likely gas. Switch sides and if he keeps eating then you know the other side was done. Also make sure you start on the side that you left off of the last time. This ensures that your breast are getting "emptied" properly and that allows you body to know exactly how much milk is needed. They will adjust too as your babies appitite increases. Try and relax, your body knows what it's doing. When I had my first I used to freak out and think my breasts were drying up etc, but in the end everything was always ok. As long as he's happy and goes between 2.5-3.5 hours between feedings your feeding him the right amount. :-)

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