Both breasts each feed? How long each one?

[scarlotti]

Hi

DS2 is 9 days old and I am bf exclusively now. He had formula top ups in hospital due to low blood sugar but now my milk has come in he seems to be feeding fine.

I am confused as to how long he should be feeding for and if it should be at both breasts.

I let him feed for as long as he wants - sometimes this is only 10/15 mins and sometimes it's longer.
How do I know when to offer the other breast? If he feeds for just 10/15 mins, then should I be waking him up somehow to get him to take more?
At the moment he seems to feed around every 2-3 hours and I get plenty of wet and dirty nappies. We've just come out of a few days cluster feeding followed by 24 hours of engorgement so I'm confident that my milk is in and flowing well.

Thanks in advance - there's so much conflicting advice around.

Scarlotti

Sounds like you are doinf fine

I found I fed from one brest until it 'felt' empty, which could take 20/30 mins in the eraly days, and then I swapped over. DD sometimes only took a little bit from the second one, so i then started her one that one on the next feed. My understanding is that you should try and give them a reasonable amount of time on one breast because the creamy milk comes in after the initial thirst quenching stuff, and obviously they need this rich stuff to fill up and gain weight.

Every baby is different. DS1 used to take both breasts and be twenty minutes each side. DS2 used to be 5 mins (10 max) on one side and never took a second side, ever. He just used to feed a bit more frequently.

I'd offer both sides but don't worry if he doesn't take it.

scarlotti - it's v. true about the conflicting advice

I am an NCT breastfeeding counsellor. You can also call the NCT breastfeeding line on 0300 330 0772.

The best guide is your baby - you swap sides when your baby seems to have fully stopped active feeding on the first side. This has nothing to do with the clock. Your baby may be asleep and not really interested in the second side. That's fine....but dont assume that is 'it' for the next x hours. Just let him snooze, and then offer the second side when he stirs. You don't need to actively wake him, normally. It's a good time to change his nappy, though, and this might perk him up.

A baby who has had low blood sugar may not have got bf off to the best start so it makes sense to be pro-active and make sure you are very responsive to feeding cues and don't try to extend gaps between feeds. 2-3 hourly is about 10 times in 24 hours which is on the normal spectrum. He prob needs weighing and checking over to make sure he is thriving after the low blood sugar, but once everything is pronounced fine, you can relax

Thanks ladies.

tiktok thanks for the advice. He's been weighed since we came home and only dropped 3.2% of his birth weight. Next weighing is tomorrow so hopefully it's now going upwards.
We had 48 hours of cluster feeding a few days ago and that seems to have got the bf going better, it did take him longer due to the blood sugar thing.

I'll try the nappy changing thing when he next stirs and see if that helps. He seems to be consistant within the 2-3 hours bit, it was just when to offer the second breast I was finding confusing.