When do you switch sides?

[bettyboo83]

I am EBF my 14wo and currently feed from one side until he pulls off (or falls asleep at night), then I pat him a bit until he's burped or seems comfortable then feed him from the other side until he seems finished as above. At the next feed I start with the 2nd breast. However my Mum thought I should be putting him back on the same side after the initial break for winding i.e. I'm switching too soon. He is gaining weight but at his last weigh in he's dropped from the 25th to the 9th centile so I want to make sure I'm feeding him as well as I can. Any thoughts?

What you're doing sounds fine, betty.

Dropping from 25th to 9th is well within normal.

You are watching him and his behaviour and letting him decide to switch. The fact he pulls off having had what you regard as a good 'go' and is then happy after a short break to 'go' again...well, it's all good :)

To replace him on side one would reduce your supply and it's what people do when they have over-supply. With well-established bf it's not a big deal, though, whether one side or two - but don't change the way you are feeding because you think that way he will somehow gain weight faster, because he won't :)

Congratulations on the birth of DS. Congrats on BF.

Sounds to me you are doing it just right. I speak from personal experience. Fed 4 DSs for a year or more.

Feed from one side (r). Burp. You could offer up same side (r). You should be able to feel whether it is empty, so to say, or if more milk there - baby will let you know if when not happy. If baby is still hungry, offer other side (l). You might find lil one doesn't want much more, but if having growth spurt will take more. On next feed offer (l) side - as baby probably didn't feed that much from that side.

Sometimes I used to forget which side I fed from last, but could usually tell by weighing breast in my hand, or generally feeling a bit fuller in one side over the other.

I wouldn't worry about the centiles too much. If baby is happy and content and producing plenty of wet and dirty nappies then is thriving. I think sometimes babies drop a bit or even out, but you will probably find in a week or so that he will have a growth spurt and you'll be feeding a lot. Also remember to take care of yourself too by eating healthily and keeping hydrated.

Try not to worry too much. I sure more mums will come along to offer their pearls of wisdom too. You are doing fantastically well.

I used to do 10 mins one side roughly and 10 the other. No science to it at all, just seemed to suit us. This was between 4-7mths, got shorter as she got bigger. Must have had more suck? Anyway, don't worry about it, a weight gain is a weight gain so all good.

Thank you for your replies He does seem satisfied after feeds so I think he's getting enough. He is very long but quite skinny so I don't know whether that affects the centile charts?