BF advice

[Sunisshining12]

My 3.5 week old feeds for about 45mins every 2hrs (not sure if normal but I just go with what she demands, can be up to 1hr).

I usually feed her from one breast per feed as I want to make sure I drain it properly & so that she gets the fatty milk at the end.

Should I be feeding her from both breasts per feed? How long does it take to 'finish' the breast & for a baby to get to the fatty bit?

The advice I've read is that when baby unlatches to offer the other side but my baby never ever unlatches herself! She often falls asleep but still strongly latched on. I break the latch after 45-60mins.

What do you ladies think?

What's her weight gain like? Plenty of wet and dirty nappies? Are you in pain at all? Is she settled in between feeds?

I'm not an expert but I suspect she's not really feeding for that long but comfort sucking after a while. That's not necessarily 'wrong' as it makes her happy. I was offered the advice with dc1 of feed for 15mins, wind them if needed for a min or two, offer the other side. Keep swapping for as long as your baby wants to. Some only want one side, some want more.
Also remember you are your baby are still learning how to feed so just do what feels natural. You will naturally flowers into a routine. Congrats on the new arrival

Naturally 'fall' not flowers
Also not all babies feed the same each time. Sometimes they just want a top up feed and sometimes a big meal. I think that's why most bf experts don't talk about the fore and hind milk now.

Average 2-3 pooey nappies, 5-6 wet nappies. She's put on 4oz from her birth weight, health visitor didn't seem concerned. She doesn't settle well between feeds unless someone is holding her, she has reflux so I'm guessing it's down to that or just the fact she wants comfort. She's always being held or in the sling.

I just don't 'get' when to unlatch her & offer the other side? They drilled into me in hospital about the starter, main & dessert of the breast milk & to make sure she doesn't just get the starter/watery milk.

She slows right down for the last 15mins taking pauses but she is genuinely still feeding as can hear her swallowing/cheeks still out etc.

How long on average do you think leave on per breast? I know people say 'go with your baby' but she never pulls off & would happily stay on the same breast for 1 hour!

Congrats on your baby!

DS was like this, usually fell asleep on the boob and I didn't bother swapping sides each feed. He put on weight really well and he was my first so I didn't mind the hours sitting on the sofa with him feeding/snoozing on my lap. At about 3/4 months he stopped falling asleep at every feed and so it wasn't such a drawn out process.

If she is gaining appropriately I wouldn't worry, but 4oz doesn't sound like a lot but I can't remember what weight gain should be in the early days! You might want to ask for the thread to be moved to infant feeding?

My son did about 15 mins on side 1 and 10 on side 2 once bf was established and going well about 6weeks in.
I used to detach a few mins after he had slowed right down and had gaps between sucks. If you are feeding to sleep keep going and wait it out. If you are more keen for a feed to be 'complete' detact them at this point. You can always put them back on if they wake up and want to get going again! Yes you can detach too early but (assuming feeding is generally going well) I suspect you are at the other end of things. You are still learning so experiment a little and you will work out what works best for you and your baby. If you detach and she doesn't like it, you can put her back on.

Ohh yes thanks I should have posted there, how do I get the thread moved?

She lost 9% of her body weight in the first 3 days (tongue tie & not feeding well) so I guess she had to play catch up. At 10 days she was nearly back to birth weight, and at 3 weeks had put 4oz on to birth weight. She's on 9th centile, I have no idea if this is okay!

Think you need to report your OP and put request in there but not entirely sure?

You don't need to fall asleep. There's a lot of research now that worries less about the difference between fore and hind milk. The thinking is that if you are feeding on demand, so long as there are no other issues, baby will get what they need.

IME, I panicked when the health visitor gave me a big cross in my red book for not offering both breasts so I started taking DD off and offering her the other. The result? Massive oversupply, very unhappy baby. Turns out me and DD were doing just fine the way we were - she always fed until she slept and was gaining weight really well. Now I've got 10 week old DS and I'm letting him lead. He comes off when he's finished but he's not interested in the other boob at all.

*You don't need to worry if she falls asleep!

Thanks tea, I'm not sure where to go from here!

Honestly, it sounds like you're doing ok! What happened about the tongue tie? Because that could be a problem which you would want to get sorted asap.

Do you know much about the fourth trimester? If not, Google it because it will explain a lot about her behaviour in her first 3 months.

Had her tongue cut & latch much better. Although for the past day I've had the most excruciating pain in my left nipple both when feeding & not, nipple isn't cracked. Right nipple fine. It's agony!

It's good that they've got the tongue tie cut so quickly but it might be worth getting that checked again because you shouldn't be in pain now. Do you have a BF clinic locally or somebody you could contact about it? I don't know much about tongue tie but if it hasn't been fully snipped, she still might not be able to get the milk efficiently.

We paid private & had it cut immediately 3 weeks ago. It was only very minor. The NHS waiting list was 3 months!

Our lactation consultant said once they are sleeping or if they are not actively feeding, do 2 breaststroke compressions and if there is no response then break the latch. Switch to the other side and let them drain that one.

She usually falls asleep after about 40mins - so do I need to wake her & put her on the other side or just put her down to sleep?! I've only had pain in the left side for the past 24hrs

Four ounces is not much over birthweight at this age - it would help to have a proper consult with a BFC or BF-minded Hv, I think. Forget about fatty milk, draining properly, finishing the breast etc etc. The key is to be responsive to your baby and watch for signs it's time to switch sides. Feeding one sided is fine for many babies but no one should be doing it deliberately as a consistent policy - to do is to reduce intake and production, and people advising mothers to deliberately feed only on one side and to drain and reach the fatty milk.....well, it's about time they updated themselves :( :(

Thanks Tiktok - that's my problem, I don't see any signs for when it's time to switch breasts! The latest feed was for 45 mins on one side, she fell asleep completely but was still tightly attached. At what point am i supposed to break the latch & change sides??

As soon as she slows right down and is taking really long pauses between sucks, I would switch her to the other side. Before she has a chance to fall asleep! It's all guesswork OP, there really isn't any specific formula, so if that doesn't work then just switch her over a little earlier the next time and see how you go.

Yes- agree with Bue.

Definitely agree that you don't need to have each side drained. My little one tends to clamp down and punch the nipple so not feeding. Check for your trigger points and do the breast compressions twice, no response then offer the other side but don't force the second. Have you had any test weighs to check the transfer and supply levels?