Second boob?

[HumTiddlyTum]

I'm looking for some BF advice please.

DS is 3 weeks and BF. He will take a full breast and then fall asleep/doze off. I'm not sure if at that point I should wake him and offer the second breast or leave him asleep. It takes him around 30 minutes to get to the fall asleep stage.

I'm finding it really hard to tell if he's just comfort sucking or working hard at getting the fatty milk out. He's gaining weight so I figure I'm doing something right but would quite like more than an hour or so between daytime feeds!

Your ds sounds normal and healthy in his feeding :)

Please don't think there is a distinction to be sought between 'just comfort sucking' and 'working hard to get the fatty milk out'....comfort sucking is normal and necessary, and is not at odds with getting the milk he needs (babies don't need to 'work hard to get the fatty milk out' - not sure where the idea comes from, as the milk comes out readily whatever the fat content).

An hour between the end of one feed and the start of the other in the day time is normal, and will extend in time.

Waking him up if you think he might take more is a useful trick to try a bit later, but at this stage, it's almost certainly easier to go with the flow :)

I offer a second boob if I think DC has finished on side 1 (as in he seems to have fallen asleep on the job.) Most of the time he opens his mouth enthusiastically, then falls asleep again on top of it! We go 1 1/2hrs between feeds at a similar age.

My first never wanted the second. She'd happily nod off after one. Waking her and offering just made her cross. She fed very regularly. My youngest always had a second side and often a third or fourth. He fed less frequently.

I'd follow his lead.