Breastfeeding ?

MrsRyan61804

Jack has taken to breastfeeding like a champ! We have the occasional trouble latching but all in all it's working well. I do have a few questions I was hoping you pros could help me with.

1) I am leaking a lot and am finding that when I am nursing on one side the other side is leaking like crazy. Is this ok? I'm worried that's lost milk he won't be getting. 

2) right now he is like clockwork waking up and looking to feed just about every 3hrs. If he should not wake up should I wake him or just do on demand?

3) should I let him nurse on each side until he is done or should I stick to the 15mins on each side and break his latch to switch breasts?

4) how do I know he's getting enough? We don't go to the dr for another 2wks and I'm terrified that by then he could have lost weight. 

Thanks ladies!

kittylove

First of all YA for it going well so far!

1) I am leaking a lot and am finding that when I am nursing on one side the other side is leaking like crazy. Is this ok? I'm worried that's lost milk he won't be getting. This is fine. I could soak a diaper in the early days, my advice is to put a bottle up to that nipple and collect that milk. You don't need to but might as well build a freezer stash if you can. As for making enough: your body works on supply and demand. As long as you put the baby to the breast each time he will suck down what he needs and his sucking will tell your body to produce more.

2) right now he is like clockwork waking up and looking to feed just about every 3hrs. If he should not wake up should I wake him or just do on demand? This depends on your baby and his weight gain. Many girls stop waking after a few days, some after a few weeks. Your pedi will know what is best for you and your baby.

3) should I let him nurse on each side until he is done or should I stick to the 15mins on each side and break his latch to switch breasts? 15 minutes each side and break his latch. Your body needs to have the demand on each side at least for now.

4) how do I know he's getting enough? We don't go to the dr for another 2wks and I'm terrified that by then he could have lost weight.  I was terified of this too. But it sounds like you have lots of milk and you will be able to tell if he isn't getting enough. If you are really worried ask the pedi if you can stop in to use the scale. If he is maintaining/gaining weight you are golden!

laura&dan05

1) I am leaking a lot and am finding that when I am nursing on one side the other side is leaking like crazy. Is this ok? I'm worried that's lost milk he won't be getting. I always leaked from one side while nursing from the other.  I'd usually just hold a burp cloth over it so it wouldn't spray all over.  You are producing plenty of milk and probably have a bit of an over supply.  As your supply regulates that will calm down.

2) right now he is like clockwork waking up and looking to feed just about every 3hrs. If he should not wake up should I wake him or just do on demand? I nursed every 3 hours during the day for the first month (including waking to nurse).  At night if she slept past the 3 hour mark I'd let her go but I wouldn't let her go longer than 4.5 hours for the first month.  After the first month I was more comfortable with her consistant weight gain and stopped waking to nurse.

3) should I let him nurse on each side until he is done or should I stick to the 15mins on each side and break his latch to switch breasts? I did 15-20 minutes on each side.  I'd usually unlatch her and switch but only because I didn't want one side to end up engorged and have to pump.  After I got the hang of things and my supply regulated I wasn't so concerned with the timing of each side and I'd just let her go until she was done. 

4) how do I know he's getting enough? We don't go to the dr for another 2wks and I'm terrified that by then he could have lost weight.  It's a really hard not knowing but if he is nursing every 3 hours and on each boob for 15 minutes I'm sure he's getting plenty.  If you are really anxious about it you can ask the pedi for a weight check before your appointment and I'm sure they'd be happy to do that for you.

I'm glad things are going well so far!

epphd

1. Yep, it's fine and normal. You can gently compress your breast flat toward your chest to stop the leaking, or get some breast shell type things to collect the drips.  I have one but never got much use out of it since I stopped leaking over time.

2. If he is back to his birthweight, he can sleep.  It's good for your supply if he is up every 3 hours though.  Check with your pedi though - every kid is different and some docs want you to wake them up.  Sam never slept more than 3 hours so it was a total moot point!

3. Finish the first breast first - i.e. don't switch sides until you need to, then next session pick up where you left off.  If you are having supply troubles, you can switch back and forth every 10 minutes or so to stimulate both breasts every time, but this can lead to the baby getting mostly foremilk and not as much of the richer hindmilk.  If things are otherwise going well with supply and weight gain, just switch when he is ready.

4. diapers!  As long as he is having many wet and a couple dirty diapers a day, you're good   Trust in your body and your baby - and if the output is good you're doing great.  If the output goes down, see about going in for a quick weight check to ease your mind.

Best of luck!!

 

GypsyEsq

epphd:

1. Yep, it's fine and normal. You can gently compress your breast flat toward your chest to stop the leaking, or get some breast shell type things to collect the drips.  I have one but never got much use out of it since I stopped leaking over time.

2. If he is back to his birthweight, he can sleep.  It's good for your supply if he is up every 3 hours though.  Check with your pedi though - every kid is different and some docs want you to wake them up.  Sam never slept more than 3 hours so it was a total moot point!

3. Finish the first breast first - i.e. don't switch sides until you need to, then next session pick up where you left off.  If you are having supply troubles, you can switch back and forth every 10 minutes or so to stimulate both breasts every time, but this can lead to the baby getting mostly foremilk and not as much of the richer hindmilk.  If things are otherwise going well with supply and weight gain, just switch when he is ready.

4. diapers!  As long as he is having many wet and a couple dirty diapers a day, you're good   Trust in your body and your baby - and if the output is good you're doing great.  If the output goes down, see about going in for a quick weight check to ease your mind.

Best of luck!!

 

Completely agree with this - especially the bolded part.  The most important thing I learned from working with an LC was to watch the baby not the clock with breastfeeding.  Let your LO eat until finished on one breast so he gets the benefit of all the foremilk and hindmilk that you are making.  And then next feeding switch to the other breast.

qtpa2t

I ALWAYS leak on the right side.  It's crazy.  I wouldn't worry about lost milk, but if you do, there are these "milk savers" you can attach to your nipple while nursing on the opposign side.

As i understand it, if he's back to his birthweight, you can let him sleep.  If you're trying to get him back to birthweight, wake him up to nurse.  You can also call your pedi if you're worried!

I nurse on one side only for each feeding.   I've tried both.  Just didn't work.

crystalgirl

GypsyEsq:

epphd:

1. Yep, it's fine and normal. You can gently compress your breast flat toward your chest to stop the leaking, or get some breast shell type things to collect the drips.  I have one but never got much use out of it since I stopped leaking over time.

2. If he is back to his birthweight, he can sleep.  It's good for your supply if he is up every 3 hours though.  Check with your pedi though - every kid is different and some docs want you to wake them up.  Sam never slept more than 3 hours so it was a total moot point!

3. Finish the first breast first - i.e. don't switch sides until you need to, then next session pick up where you left off.  If you are having supply troubles, you can switch back and forth every 10 minutes or so to stimulate both breasts every time, but this can lead to the baby getting mostly foremilk and not as much of the richer hindmilk.  If things are otherwise going well with supply and weight gain, just switch when he is ready.

4. diapers!  As long as he is having many wet and a couple dirty diapers a day, you're good   Trust in your body and your baby - and if the output is good you're doing great.  If the output goes down, see about going in for a quick weight check to ease your mind.

Best of luck!!

 

Completely agree with this - especially the bolded part.  The most important thing I learned from working with an LC was to watch the baby not the clock with breastfeeding.  Let your LO eat until finished on one breast so he gets the benefit of all the foremilk and hindmilk that you are making.  And then next feeding switch to the other breast.

TOTALLY agree with this.  I did the switching after 15 minutes thing with DS and regretted it.  I don't think he was getting as much as he wanted in those early days because of this.  Once I stopped watching the clock (sometime in the first week), things were much better.

hannah&ben

1) I am leaking a lot and am finding that when I am nursing on one side the other side is leaking like crazy. Is this ok? I'm worried that's lost milk he won't be getting. 

Totally fine.  Just use nursing pads.  Non-disposables are much softer/nicer in my opinion.  Get several and just toss them in the wash.

2) right now he is like clockwork waking up and looking to feed just about every 3hrs. If he should not wake up should I wake him or just do on demand?

The general rule of thumb is to wake every 3 hours to nurse during the day and every 4 at night till they reach birth weight.  Then you don't have to.  I'd still waked during the day after that point though just to get pack in more calories during the day in hopes of encouraging longer sleep stretches at night.  But let them go at night.

3) should I let him nurse on each side until he is done or should I stick to the 15mins on each side and break his latch to switch breasts?

15 min is a minimum guideline.  Let him go as long as he wants on each breast.  Don't switch till he lets go or fall asleep.  And if he falls asleep before 15 minutes then try to wake him and get him to continue.

4) how do I know he's getting enough? We don't go to the dr for another 2wks and I'm terrified that by then he could have lost weight. 

Wet and dirty diapers.  Lots of wet, at least a couple dirties a day.  As long as he's going potty regularly he's getting plenty!

jmkatz

crystalgirl:

GypsyEsq:

epphd:

1. Yep, it's fine and normal. You can gently compress your breast flat toward your chest to stop the leaking, or get some breast shell type things to collect the drips.  I have one but never got much use out of it since I stopped leaking over time.

2. If he is back to his birthweight, he can sleep.  It's good for your supply if he is up every 3 hours though.  Check with your pedi though - every kid is different and some docs want you to wake them up.  Sam never slept more than 3 hours so it was a total moot point!

3. Finish the first breast first - i.e. don't switch sides until you need to, then next session pick up where you left off.  If you are having supply troubles, you can switch back and forth every 10 minutes or so to stimulate both breasts every time, but this can lead to the baby getting mostly foremilk and not as much of the richer hindmilk.  If things are otherwise going well with supply and weight gain, just switch when he is ready.

4. diapers!  As long as he is having many wet and a couple dirty diapers a day, you're good   Trust in your body and your baby - and if the output is good you're doing great.  If the output goes down, see about going in for a quick weight check to ease your mind.

Best of luck!!

 

Completely agree with this - especially the bolded part.  The most important thing I learned from working with an LC was to watch the baby not the clock with breastfeeding.  Let your LO eat until finished on one breast so he gets the benefit of all the foremilk and hindmilk that you are making.  And then next feeding switch to the other breast.

TOTALLY agree with this.  I did the switching after 15 minutes thing with DS and regretted it.  I don't think he was getting as much as he wanted in those early days because of this.  Once I stopped watching the clock (sometime in the first week), things were much better.

TOTALLY agree!  I was watching the clock like a hawk and poor Lucy was hungry every 45 minutes because she wasn't getting enough hindmilk to fill her up.  You may find that your little guy only nurses on one side at a time - it took me about two weeks (and one call to a LC!) to realize that was what Lucy was doing. 

ESTH2000

hannah&ben:

1) I am leaking a lot and am finding that when I am nursing on one side the other side is leaking like crazy. Is this ok? I'm worried that's lost milk he won't be getting. 

Totally fine.  Just use nursing pads.  Non-disposables are much softer/nicer in my opinion.  Get several and just toss them in the wash.

2) right now he is like clockwork waking up and looking to feed just about every 3hrs. If he should not wake up should I wake him or just do on demand?

The general rule of thumb is to wake every 3 hours to nurse during the day and every 4 at night till they reach birth weight.  Then you don't have to.  I'd still waked during the day after that point though just to get pack in more calories during the day in hopes of encouraging longer sleep stretches at night.  But let them go at night.

3) should I let him nurse on each side until he is done or should I stick to the 15mins on each side and break his latch to switch breasts?

15 min is a minimum guideline.  Let him go as long as he wants on each breast.  Don't switch till he lets go or fall asleep.  And if he falls asleep before 15 minutes then try to wake him and get him to continue.

4) how do I know he's getting enough? We don't go to the dr for another 2wks and I'm terrified that by then he could have lost weight. 

Wet and dirty diapers.  Lots of wet, at least a couple dirties a day.  As long as he's going potty regularly he's getting plenty!

 

ditto hannah..but I collected the leaking milk in a bottle when I could..then again I didn't have an oversupply so it was really liquid gold I couldn't see wasting...

and if you are concerned about the weight..ditto prior posts on call the pedi for a weight check..it couldn't hurt.

Congrats and glad all is going well with bfding...you will be a pro in no time!!!