Br*astfeeding question?

[KerriF]

Do you/ or have you nursed only on one side per feeding? DD is 6 weeks old and she is starting to have green watery poops. I did some research on the internet and saw several articles that say it could be too much formilk and not enough hindmilk (she is also very gassy, but is gaining weight very well).

 

I am currently feeding 5 min on one side and then switching her and letting her go until she is done (normally another 5 min). All of my kids have been very efficient nursers and finish in about 10 min and go about three hours between feedings.

 

One of the suggestions in the articles was to nurse only on one side per feeding. I am concerned that might hurt my milk supply. Any BTDT?

 

Thanks for your input.:)

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Do you/ or have you nursed only on one side per feeding? DD is 6 weeks old and she is starting to have green watery poops. I did some research on the internet and saw several articles that say it could be too much formilk and not enough hindmilk (she is also very gassy, but is gaining weight very well).

 

I am currently feeding 5 min on one side and then switching her and letting her go until she is done (normally another 5 min). All of my kids have been very efficient nursers and finish in about 10 min and go about three hours between feedings.

 

One of the suggestions in the articles was to nurse only on one side per feeding. I am concerned that might hurt my milk supply. Any BTDT?

 

Thanks for your input.:)

 

I had the EXACT same problem with my daughter when she was a baby and read the same advice. I followed it and it definitely helped. As far as affecting supply, I didn't have a problem because at that age she was eating every two hours or so during the day and still up a couple of times at night. If you're feeding every three hours though, it would be 6 hours (vs. 4 for me at that age) before the other side was used and I might be a bit more concerned. I would try offering just one side but I would probably feed more often if she will accept it. I also found that the more the more the babies nursed during the day, the less they woke up at night.

 

Good luck!

 

Kristina

[stripe]

I have done nursing on one side to help with the green poop issue you describe. It helped enormously.

 

The point of nursing on only one side is in part to hurt your nursing supply -- to address an overabundance of milk. When you nurse her on both sides for 5 minutes only, you are giving her mostly foremilk, which is very watery and tends to cause the problem. By nursing on one side COMPLETELY, you make sure that she is getting more hindmilk. I would nurse more on one side (more than 5 min -- that sounds very short to me); try to have long nursing sessions, like 30+ min. as this will give her the end, creamy milk. Also, don't switch or stop her. Let her stop with one breast, nursing it completely, then switch, if she wants more. That's my advice.

 

Also -- you may get engorged at the beginning. If so, try expressing (manually or with a pump if you have it) ONLY as much milk as you can for comfort, do NOT drain the breast completely. You are trying to swing the supply/demand here. Think maybe one ounce, not a big amount. Nursing for short times on both sides encourages milk supply, a mother who wants to make more milk should do that; you are doing the opposite.

 

Good luck! :)

Edited December 28, 2008 by stripe

[abbeyej]

Yes, I had to do this with my first. It helped *enormously*. At first, I just nursed on one side for any nursings within about a four hour period, and then switched to the other side for any nursings within the next roughly four hour period. Eventually, as he got older, I would just switch him if one side had slowed down and he was still hungry.

 

With my next one, this was less of an issue -- but then, I never *tried* to switch her after 5 minutes or something like that anyway. I just nursed till she was done or till she was still acting hungry and that side had slowed down, and then I switched. If she only nursed on one side, she'd used the other side at the next nursing.

[Blessedfamily]

Yes, I had to do this with my first. It helped *enormously*. At first, I just nursed on one side for any nursings within about a four hour period, and then switched to the other side for any nursings within the next roughly four hour period. Eventually, as he got older, I would just switch him if one side had slowed down and he was still hungry.

 

With my next one, this was less of an issue -- but then, I never *tried* to switch her after 5 minutes or something like that anyway. I just nursed till she was done or till she was still acting hungry and that side had slowed down, and then I switched. If she only nursed on one side, she'd used the other side at the next nursing.

 

This is what I read and did also.

[Lakeside]

I got into the habit of nursing my son on one side at a time because he had lost so much weight early on and the lactation consultant recommended I do that in order for him to get the hind milk. I never had any supply issues, but if you are concerned you could nurse him on one side and pump on the other.

Good luck!

[melissel]

Yes, definitely. This is what I did with both my girls, not because they had green poop, but because I wanted to make sure they got enough hindmilk. With DD2, who was a bit of a fussy nurser (she always wanted it fast fast fast, didn't want to wait for a second letdown ever), I nursed her for several sessions at a time on the same breast and then switched and did the same on the other. It takes longer for the breasts to regenerate the watery foremilk than it does to make more of the creamy hindmilk, so a few sessions on the same breast will result in the baby getting more hindmilk. This is also recommended for helping babies to gain weight and to help them go longer between nursing sessions, sleep longer at night, etc.

 

ETA: Oops! I see that I repeated some info, should have read the whole thread first. Sorry about that!

Edited December 28, 2008 by melissel

[Tammy]

they began to prefer one breast over the other.....so I stayed pretty lopsided for a long time, LOL!

 

.

[melissel]

I have done nursing on one side to help with the green poop issue you describe. It helped enormously.

 

The point of nursing on only one side is in part to hurt your nursing supply -- to address an overabundance of milk. When you nurse her on both sides for 5 minutes only, you are giving her mostly foremilk, which is very watery and tends to cause the problem. By nursing on one side COMPLETELY, you make sure that she is getting more hindmilk. I would nurse more on one side (more than 5 min -- that sounds very short to me); try to have long nursing sessions, like 30+ min. as this will give her the end, creamy milk. Also, don't switch or stop her. Let her stop with one breast, nursing it completely, then switch, if she wants more. That's my advice.

 

Also -- you may get engorged at the beginning. If so, try expressing (manually or with a pump if you have it) ONLY as much milk as you can for comfort, do NOT drain the breast completely. You are trying to swing the supply/demand here. Think maybe one ounce, not a big amount. Nursing for short times on both sides encourages milk supply, a mother who wants to make more milk should do that; you are doing the opposite.

 

Good luck! :)

 

My experience has actually been the opposite of this. I frequently went 6 hours or more between sessions one side and never had a problem because the baby was draining the other breast entirely and nursing through repeated letdowns on the same breast, which also stimulates milk supply. IMO, your supply would be fine either way unless you were supplementing with something else for any of the nursing sessions and thereby reducing the amount taken from either breast at any point. I wouldn't worry about supply until you have to, and if you want to be proactive, have a bowl of oatmeal once a day to help boost your production just in case.

Edited December 28, 2008 by melissel
Mistaken about a point

[mo2]

I have always only nursed on one side per feeding.

[abbeyej]

I wanted to add too that this should not cause supply to be a problem at all! *If* hyperlactation is part of your problem, it may help slow the production a bit to a better balance. But overall, your body will simply respond to what your baby needs (assuming you're nursing her as much as she needs and not supplementing with anything else, and there are no other medical issues or deficiencies for you). Both of my babies nursed well into toddlerhood nursing as I described above...

[Laura Corin]

I always used one side per feed.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[dirty ethel rackham]

5 minutes on one side may be too short and may not allow her to get enough hindmilk. Let her decide when she is finished on one side. Burp. Then offer the other side. If this does not clear up the green stools, then you might want to do block feeding where you nurse on one side for a couple feedings and then nurse on the other. For a baby this young, 3 hours may be too long to wait between feedings. Nursing more often can offset supply concerns. It is normal for babies under 3 months to nurse 10-12 times in 24 hours.

 

My oldest nursed for at least 10 minutes per side and was a voracious eater:). My next child nursed for 20 minutes on one side and wasn't interested in the other side until the next feeding. My youngest was a little more of snacker. She nursed for a little less time - sometimes wanted both sides and sometimes was satisfied with just one. However she needed to nurse more often - she had more of a grazer style of feeding. All were normal.

[swellmomma]

At that age I nursed both sides, but by 3 months or so was on to just one side per feeding. MOst times now baby girl still only nurses one side, but if really tired or clingy she will takeboth sides just to keep going.

[danybug]

I am still nursing my 18 month year old. My dd nurses on demand. I always nurse on one side and have from the beginning. It has just worked out better for us. Of course, I will let her nurse from both sides if she wants.

 

She also had the watery green diapers thru the first month. And then her diapers stayed runny for months. Our pediatricians always said that this was the norm for breastfeeding infants.

 

Hope this offers you some reassurance!

[joannqn]

As everyone has already told you, it will not hurt your supply at all to nurse only one side per feeding or even more than one feeding in a row.

 

I just wanted to add that you can nurse a child on one side only all the time and still have enough milk as you body adjusts. My youngest has never liked my right side so he never nurses on that side. My middle child would only nurse on my right side and never on the left. Both were in the 95th percentile for weight during their first year.

[jojomojo]

I wanted to add too that this should not cause supply to be a problem at all! *If* hyperlactation is part of your problem, it may help slow the production a bit to a better balance. But overall, your body will simply respond to what your baby needs (assuming you're nursing her as much as she needs and not supplementing with anything else, and there are no other medical issues or deficiencies for you). Both of my babies nursed well into toddlerhood nursing as I described above...

 

:iagree:Unless there are other supply issues, your body should adjust just fine to any changes you make (one side per feeding, block, etc).

 

I have always done the one side per feeding.

 

The thing about fore/hind milk isn't that there are two kinds of milk. As the milk flows (and baby gets watery foremilk), fat starts sticking to each other and the sides of the...uh...alveoli (had to look that up lol) At the end of the feeding when the breast is close to being drained, all that fat starts getting forced through too. After reading about that, it helped me understand why draining one side completely was really the best (especially since I seem to produce skim milk as it is lol).

[Storm Bay]

My eldest insisted on nursing on only one side per feeding starting at about 9 or 10 days of age, so I did that with my second dd, too, once she was 2 weeks old because it was so much easier, even if it meant one feeding per hour. Ds would have none of it; there are two sides and he wanted both each and every time.

 

However, I never ever stopped a baby in order to switch them. My milk comes out extremely fast (milk on every single suck, and spewing across the room for seconds and seconds it fhey let go at certain times) so 5 minutes is all my girls ever needed on a side, and that included the hindmilk (I obsessed with worry over the hindmilk until my first was about 6 weeks old and I felt the letdown--it happened within the first minute, which was not what I'd read.)

[snickelfritz]

I was extremely engorged and had such a fast letdown that she would choke on it. She had the strange green poop (different than normal breastfed baby) and was EXTREMELY fussy and gassy. We went about a month where I nursed only one side within a 4 hour period. Eventually, my supply slowed down to what it should have been and she quit having the stomach issues. She continued to be mostly filled up with one side, while occasionally needing to hit the second side.

 

ETA: This dd nursed until 18 months, so no problems with losing my supply. I only had extended nursing problems with my first one, which was more related, I think, to hyper-scheduling.

Edited December 29, 2008 by snickelfritz

[Kalypso]

I have always nursed one side at a time and never had any trouble with supply.

[Lovedtodeath]

It works for a little one. You may need to switch back to both brests after 16-18 pounds.

[Lovedtodeath]

More info for you:

 

foremilk-hindmilk imbalance

 

kellymom.com :: I'm confused about foremilk and hindmilk - how does this work?

 

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html (oversupply)

[KerriF]

Thank you ladies. You have helped a bunch :) My milk comes out fast and that is why she only nurses on one side for 5 min. Yesterday I only nursed on one side per feeding. I noticed a difference already in the amount of gas she had. I will stick with it and then start nursing on both sides when she isn't satisfied.

 

The WTM boards are a wealth of knowledge :grouphug:

[melissel]

Thank you ladies. You have helped a bunch :) My milk comes out fast and that is why she only nurses on one side for 5 min. Yesterday I only nursed on one side per feeding. I noticed a difference already in the amount of gas she had. I will stick with it and then start nursing on both sides when she isn't satisfied.

 

The WTM boards are a wealth of knowledge :grouphug:

 

What good news! Thanks for updating us :001_smile:

[Storm Bay]

Thank you ladies. You have helped a bunch :) My milk comes out fast and that is why she only nurses on one side for 5 min. Yesterday I only nursed on one side per feeding. I noticed a difference already in the amount of gas she had. I will stick with it and then start nursing on both sides when she isn't satisfied.

 

The WTM boards are a wealth of knowledge :grouphug:

 

 

Excellent. fwiw, I make a LOT of milk, and my dd's never needed more than one side per feeding, so it definitely varies. They did nurse more often whenever they got ready for a growth spurt to induce more milk production, of course. My ds, who needed to nurse both sides also grew very, very fast in height (4 inches in the first 2 months, and it was no measuring error as he got too tall for his clothes just as fast) so he just needed more.

[BryRon]

I used both breasts when feeding - only because I wanted to keep my supply up. I think the "standard" (if there IS one) is 5-10 minutes on one, and then switch. You might check on La Leche's web site or ask your pediatrician...hope that helps somewhat. I miss breastfeeding...:sad:

[beansprouts]

I generally nursed on one side at least long enough for my babies to get plenty of the fatty hind milk. I had no problem with nursing on one side, then starting on the other side next feeding. Occasionally I would "forget" and one side would become a little engorged. So, the next time, I would be sure to nurse on the neglected side. Really, breastfeeding should be easy and natural and not something you have to think too much about. In other words ditch the clock, and learn to read your baby's cues.

 

Stools for an exclusively breastfed baby should be mustard yellow, and somewhat runny. My midwife once described it as a "mustard cottage cheese" mixture. How's that for a pleasant visual...

[chickenpatty]

Yes. I did this with all six of mine! They were all fast nursers & were done in less than 10 minutes.

[Storm Bay]

I used both breasts when feeding - only because I wanted to keep my supply up. I think the "standard" (if there IS one) is 5-10 minutes on one, and then switch. You might check on La Leche's web site or ask your pediatrician...hope that helps somewhat. I miss breastfeeding...:sad:

 

I read La Leche's book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding which said, at least that edition, 20 minutes per side, which is why I, a very fast lactator, went nuts with my 5 minute nursing dd's (and they stayed at 5 minutes). What I learned was to watch my babies' cues. Milk supply, however, was never a problem for me, and I have had friends for whom it was. I even had an aunt who did fine with 3 dc, and then had to supplement for her youngest because he just wasn't thriving. I don't recall if she nursed on a schedule. When I started I was told to put my dd on a nursing schedule, but she taught me otherwise;). I tried and was going crazy listening to her cry and decided that putting her on a schedule just wasn't right. A couple of years later, and the scheduling counselling changed.

[dirty ethel rackham]

La Leche League's standard advice is have the baby nurse on one side until baby is done (either the baby will come off the breast or fall asleep.) Then offer the other side. 5 minutes on one side for a young baby is usually too short to get much hind milk. LLL does not go by time limits when nursing but encourages nursing at least 8 - 12 times in a 24 hour period. Most LC's like 10 - 12 times in 24 hours.

[Storm Bay]

La Leche League's standard advice is have the baby nurse on one side until baby is done (either the baby will come off the breast or fall asleep.) Then offer the other side. 5 minutes on one side for a young baby is usually too short to get much hind milk. LLL does not go by time limits when nursing but encourages nursing at least 8 - 12 times in a 24 hour period. Most LC's like 10 - 12 times in 24 hours.

 

This makes sense. The book I read said differently, but it could have been an older edition or something. I didn't live close to a La Leche support group that met at a time I could actually go. My sister knows of a baby who refused to nurse more than 3 times every 24 hours that grew and thrived, but that is a very, very rare case. I agree that for most babies and mothers, five minutes is too short, but my example is just to show variation.

[Melissa in Australia]

they began to prefer one breast over the other.....so I stayed pretty lopsided for a long time, LOL!

 

.

 

 

I nursed all of mine from one side only per feed. that is what the midwife recommended when I had the first, and that is what I continued to do.

I had the lopsided look as well.

[lighthouseacademy]

I too have always nursed 1 side per feeding. If the next feeding is after 2-3 hours, I switched sides. I never had supply issues. I found it much more pleasant to just nurse one side and be done with it rather than fiddling with underthings and clothes and blankets or whatever to get relatched on the other side! In fact, even when they are older I was able to nurse just one side per feeding because your body will regulate to what your baby is needing... I got irritated on the rare occasion when my baby would ask for the other side when they were 9-10 months old :lol:.

 

Also, pay attention to what you are eating, dairy in your diet can easily cause these symptoms too.

[PeterPan]

I always nurse both sides, but it's because he's hungry and needs it. Like Karin's, my boy is growing quite a bit, so maybe that's it? In any case, if you nurse both sides, you should wait until the baby pops off on his own. Don't take him off at a pre-set time or you cut him short, creating the foremilk, hindmilk imbalance. Sounds weird, but I usually just ask him if he's done and wants the other side, at which point he pops off and we switch. I tell you these babies are much smarter than we give them credit for! :)

 

(He'll be 3 months old in a week, btw.)

[Karen sn]

However she needed to nurse more often - she had more of a grazer style of feeding.

 

This is my baby boy.

Nurses and falls fast asleep.

Wants to nurse frequently.

 

My dd (11yo now) nursed less often but was on the boob FOREVER. 30 minutes! Sometimes 45!!!!

 

This baby goes 5 minutes and he's out like a light.

If he manages to stay awake - he can nurse 10 minutes.

 

I only do one at a time - I think your body adapts to your routine.

Sometimes I'll give him both if he's nursing a while a seems to want more but it's rare.

[BryRon]

I never read the book, I just went upon advisement from my pediatrician. Which, later on, I learned to read my kiddos' signs of fullness and usually fed until they were sated. If one breast was more full, they mainly ate from that one, and I pumped the other when they were done.

 

I think it is "momma-specific". Feed 'em till they're done. It's been a few years since I had to think about it! :001_smile:

 

 

I read La Leche's book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding which said, at least that edition, 20 minutes per side, which is why I, a very fast lactator, went nuts with my 5 minute nursing dd's (and they stayed at 5 minutes). What I learned was to watch my babies' cues. Milk supply, however, was never a problem for me, and I have had friends for whom it was. I even had an aunt who did fine with 3 dc, and then had to supplement for her youngest because he just wasn't thriving. I don't recall if she nursed on a schedule. When I started I was told to put my dd on a nursing schedule, but she taught me otherwise;). I tried and was going crazy listening to her cry and decided that putting her on a schedule just wasn't right. A couple of years later, and the scheduling counselling changed.

[Lacie]

Lex wouldn't latch on again if I tried to switch sides. I usually fed on one side and switched at the next feeding. Or I pumped the other side and bottle fed at the next feeding.

 

Ivan wouldn't latch on at all, I think he did successfully one time. So I pumped and bottle fed him.

[Stacey in MA]

My DS is 22 mo., and almost done, and we ended up with using only one side the last few months....The other side still does show signs of producing, but I tried it the other day and it was seriously PAINFUL! for a few days! So I won't bother doing that again.....

 

I almost ALWAYS did what you are talking about. My kids were very efficient nursers too. 5, 10 or MAYBE 15 mintues total for each feeding. I used one side at a time. The trick is to just make sure you switch next feeding and use the other side! Otherwise, that side you neglect becomes less efficient and will hurt more. I don't know if a doctor or nurse or LC would tell you this is OK, good or safe, but I have done it with my kids and they are fine.

 

GL with that sweet little one! - Stacey in MA

[Storm Bay]

I never read the book, I just went upon advisement from my pediatrician. Which, later on, I learned to read my kiddos' signs of fullness and usually fed until they were sated. If one breast was more full, they mainly ate from that one, and I pumped the other when they were done.

 

I think it is "momma-specific". Feed 'em till they're done. It's been a few years since I had to think about it! :001_smile:

:iagree: With my ds, I started on the same side every feeding during the day, and at night, when he nursed in bed, I started on the other one. So much easier than trying to remember which side was the one to start with or use a pin. And my body adapted. All these things I don't really think about much any more are coming back to me now.