I don't know why I've never asked this question before...

[PrettyCandles]

...but now that I've finished feeding (forever - sob!) I'm finally going to ask it:

Why does the LO always want to hold the other breast? Why won't they hold the breast they're on? And why, why, why are they never satisfied with holding the other breast, but always try to twiddle the nipple?!

Because it makes your hormones and therefore milk flow faster!

To stimulate letdown. Still feeding a 2.6yr old twiddler myself. It does descend into habit after a while but serves a useful purpose for a time.

Really? Mine never did. I often had a little hand patting and stroking the breast they were feeding from but not the other one.

Nope, definitely the one they were on. Mind you, boobs were a GG cup when feeding, so maybe they just couldn't reach round the one they were on

And I feel your pain - I stopped feeding DD3 in Sept and she's my last baby

Duh! That is so obvious! And there was I thinking I simply had little mummy-twiddling manipulator of a mini-monster.

Though surely the stress-hormones that must flood out as I tried to keep his hand away from my nipple, dreading the pinch, and then as I jumped through the roof and yanked his hand away after a moment's inattention on my part, must have the opposite effect?