one breast or two?!?!

[FrostD]

Hi all, this might sound like a stupid question, but am new to BF and confused by WAY too much 'advice'. couldn't BF DD for various reasons so am determined to BF DS and have so far managed 2 wks & no top-ups! i have been feeding DS on single breast each feed and this was working well & he's gaining weight nicely. when HV came she said i should start to offer him 2nd breast at each feed, so i did. Now i've got sore nipples, he seems to feed more often and for longer, and is generally more unsettled..... is this normal or a growth spurt? am so tired of BF & confused by which breast to give when that have decided next feed will be from bottle just to give my nipples a break!!!!

any advice please, should i go back to single breast feeding or offer 2nd breast? i thought they needed to get to hind milk to put on weight...so if i switch after 20 mins surely he won't be getting that.... sorry for waffling but i really don't want to give up and need to work out what's going wrong fast!!!

I must stress I have no expert advice re bf. (There are many other posters who may respond though)

But I have bf both my babies and have never had to offer the second breast. Neither dropped below their birth weights and both gained weight really steadily. So I guess I am saying that not all babies need to feed from both breasts each feed.

What rationale did the HV give you for offering the 2nd breast, if ds was gaining weight well?

Sounds like you were doing better on your own to me - bumping for the experts

I've always just used one breast for one feed - I use the next breast for the next feed - i would stick to what you were doing !

What are the factors behind you deciding to change sides after 20 mins? Forget about clocks and timing things when breastfeeding. You need to feed your ds on one side until he is finished and comes off himself. Only then should you offer the second side and follow his lead as to whether he wants it or not.

2 weeks is a common time for a growth spurt. Feed feed feed is the best way to get through it.

Well done for getting this far

HV didn't give any decent explanation for offering 2nd breast but suggested that after he'd fed well from one, spent a little time off and started to look like he wanted more i should offer the 2nd. but i'd always just put him back on 1st when this happened.

funny how you lose your confidence so easily with new borns isn't it! should trust my instincts!

I was told feed till the baby comes off, then offer second breast. At next feed, use the second breast first IYSWIM so you alternate.

My guess is you're going through a growth spurt and would be feeling the strain whichever way you did it.

I always had to feed DS both - sometimes he would then switch back to the first one again, but he's still a huge feeder now and he's a huge two year old, so it's different for different babies.

Not an expert, but my DD never takes anything from the second breast, and is growing just fine. I've tried to offer it to her, but she just smiles at me!!

cheers for all the response, it's helpful to know what the real experts think. I think i'll revert to single breast until such time as he shows any real need for more, but he seems to get all he needs & is putting on weight well.

mrsgboring - i think you're right re growth spurt, DD was bottle fed from the word go, she was v. hungry all the time so didn't notice growth spurts so much! will persevere, it's been a couple of days so should be coming out the other side soon! fingers crossed - until the next one of course :-)