How do you offer two breasts??

[aichi]

I've just started to breastfeed in the bed during the night/early morning, which seen to help my 4weeks old baby send sleep soon afterwards.

My concern is she falls asleep after one breast, which leaves my other side full until next feeding time, usually 4hrs time, making my breast sore and hard...

I've tried to express some but I'm not sure how much to and if this is the way to deal with the situation?

During the day she sometimes takes 2 breasts but not always.

Should I stop her half way (say 15mins, but difficult to tell when..) and swop over? Sometimes she's on for 50 mins!!

Any tips would be appreciated!!

Hi Aichi

Glad feeding in bed is working for you.

A 4 weeks, breastfeeding isn't fully established and because babies change their habits so often at this stage it's hard to 'manage' their feeds, and it's common to feel engorged, uncomfortable I know.

If you feel happy doing it, you could try offering the other breast part way through (and yes the 'when' will be a bit of trial and error). But remember that milk changes throughout a feed, and if you swap over too early, she might be missing out on the richer, calorie heavy milk that she'd get towards the end of a feed on one breast.

You could also try expressing from the other one, either at the same time (although that takes practice and might be a faff if you're in bed too and don't want to then get up and deal with refrigeration etc), or perhaps express just a little before you go to bed, which might help see you through another 4 hours or so without getting engorged.

But if you can stand it, it might be best to stick it out another few days (as long as you're not getting so engorged it's either disturbing your sleep or risking blocked ducts) because if your daughter sticks to that pattern, your body will adjust.

Believe it or not, your body and your baby will synchronise eventually, so your breasts will be soft and comfy while still entirely meeting your baby's demands!

Good luck.

Take a look at our antenatel thread here bunnygirl80's post on Tue 07-Dec-10 at 23:41:22.

We were discussing this and it seems most babies only really feed from one side at each feed. I'd carry on with what you're doing, your supply should settle after a day or two and no longer cause you discomfort. Try not to express too much as this will just up your supply making things worse in the long run, although I'm sure expressing a small amount to ease the discomfort should be OK. Just watch out for signs of mastitis.