BF moms - questions for you

MrsAMB07 · January 2012

DD is a week old today and still SO hard to wake for nursing. She had weight loss issues earlier and we were supplementing her with pumped milk after nursing in case she wasn't getting enough. Since that seemed to replenish her, she had been staying awake more. Today she was back to her old self. When I wake her she'll do 20 min. or so on one side, but it's very rare for her to be awake enough, or still awake I should say, to take any from the other side.

Tell me about a typical nursing session for you and LO.

1. Do you let LO have their fill from one side and then offer the other if you can... or stop one side early enough to get the second one in, too? (like 10 min. and 10 min.)

2. How long does your LO nurse in one session? (Is only 20 min. too short?)

pcrock92 · January 2012

For your first question, my DS is a monster and eats A LOT! (Sometimes 5 oz from the bottle, and he's only 18 days old, ha). I let him eat until he unlatches, then I burp him, then offer him the other breast. If he wants it, great. If not, I pump that breast.

He nurses any where from 15 minutes - 45 minutes. I keep him awake by getting him completely undressed, and I touch his feet or belly, or whatever else to keep him awake so he eats for at least 15 minutes.

Hope this helps.

aeshipley · January 2012

I wouldn't worry about getting in both sides but rather let LO get her fill on one side then offer the second. If she nurses from that side too great if not then start with that side next time.

Reason being is that you have both fore milk and hind milk. The hind milk contains more calories and fat than the more watery fore milk. If you switch mid way, say after ten minutes, baby could be missing the more nutrious hind milk.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about how long your nursing session lasts as the time it takes to nurse varies from baby to baby and from session to session. As long as baby is having enough wet diapers.

Lastly if you are having a hard time getting baby to stay awake you might try getting her undressed to her diaper for feedings.

KitKat83 · January 2012

Is she jaundiced? Declan has some jaundice, and its hard to wake him up to eat. Once he's awake I usually nurse for 20min on each side. If he starts dozing off, I gently blow on his head, play with his feet or move his chin up and down and he'll pick up again.

MrsAMB07 · January 2012

Thanks for the quick responses. I know the hindmilk is important, especially because of her weight issues, but it's good to hear that I'm not too far off with what we're doing. We undress her, use a wet washcloth, even chilled cloth from the freezer, etc. to get her to wake up. If she's not ready none of it works for any length of time. My son was a little piggy when it came to eating and she's just so different. I guess I just have to get used to her style.

She's has more than enough wet/dirty diapers in a day...but only gained 1 ounce since Tuesday's weight check at the doctor and is still 13 oz. below her birth weight, so I tend to worry about her. Hopefully we're on the right track!

Annya26 · January 2012

aeshipley:
I wouldn't worry about getting in both sides but rather let LO get her fill on one side then offer the second. If she nurses from that side too great if not then start with that side next time.
Reason being is that you have both fore milk and hind milk. The hind milk contains more calories and fat than the more watery fore milk. If you switch mid way, say after ten minutes, baby could be missing the more nutrious hind milk.
Also I wouldn't worry too much about how long your nursing session lasts as the time it takes to nurse varies from baby to baby and from session to session. As long as baby is having enough wet diapers.
Lastly if you are having a hard time getting baby to stay awake you might try getting her undressed to her diaper for feedings.

this exactly!

mexicolombiana · January 2012

Yup I agree fill up on one side.

And with DD I went crazy trying to make sure she was eating enough and even bought a scale to weigh her (which was silly). She was really sleepy all the time so my mom and aunt would do the same and strip her down to her diaper and put little damp wash cloths on her feet to wake her. It sounded and felt cruel but I was desperate to have her wake up and eat! Anyway it all worked out so don't go too crazy

MrsAMB07 · January 2012

mexicolombiana:
Yup I agree fill up on one side.

And with DD I went crazy trying to make sure she was eating enough and even bought a scale to weigh her (which was silly). She was really sleepy all the time so my mom and aunt would do the same and strip her down to her diaper and put little damp wash cloths on her feet to wake her. It sounded and felt cruel but I was desperate to have her wake up and eat! Anyway it all worked out so don't go too crazy

With DS we took him to the post office a couple times and used their scale because it was accurate to the ounce. DH and I were looking at scales for home this time.

mexicolombiana · January 2012

Well I bought one I forget where maybe babies r us or something and ended up using it a few days and was able to return it!

BritanyV · January 2012

We only nurse on one side at a feeding and he can be done in as quickly as 5 minutes but average is about 15 minutes, rarely does he go as long as 20 minutes.

Ashley&Scott · January 2012

Typically DS only nurses on one side per feeding, he usually falls asleep before I can switch. Our feedings average about 10 minutes every 2 hours.

JWSchwarz · January 2012

Mrs.AMB07:
DD is a week old today and still SO hard to wake for nursing. She had weight loss issues earlier and we were supplementing her with pumped milk after nursing in case she wasn't getting enough. Since that seemed to replenish her, she had been staying awake more. Today she was back to her old self. When I wake her she'll do 20 min. or so on one side, but it's very rare for her to be awake enough, or still awake I should say, to take any from the other side.

Tell me about a typical nursing session for you and LO.
1. Do you let LO have their fill from one side and then offer the other if you can... or stop one side early enough to get the second one in, too? (like 10 min. and 10 min.)
2. How long does your LO nurse in one session? (Is only 20 min. too short?)

Sounds just like mine!! He has enough diapers though so I guess it's okay. It worries ne that he's so sleepy though but we have his first dr appt on Monday.

Lioness bean · January 2012

My midwife coached me to pump her arm or leg - bend at the elbow or knee. The milk pump, it works well for us. She looks like she's sleeping but keeps suckling.

MrsAMB07 · January 2012

Lioness bean:
My midwife coached me to pump her arm or leg - bend at the elbow or knee. The milk pump, it works well for us. She looks like she's sleeping but keeps suckling.

I'll have to try that. I think in her whole little life she's been awake for maybe 2 complete feedings. She's definitely a sleep eater. Luckily she's starting to have more awake time when she's not eating.

SoonToBeMsP · January 2012

We had trouble waking DD to feed, too! I don't think she was getting enough since we had latching issues. What worked for us was undressing her, changing her diaper (with a cold wipe), and sometimes getting our hands really cold and then touching her feet.

Since I started using the nipple shield, she nurses for 20-30 minutes on one side, and that is every 2.5-3.5 hours.

I have tons of milk coming in and am trying to decide whether I should pump the side that she didn't use that time. For now I am just alternating which breast I start with.

GingerWife · January 2012

DS can be the same way. I struggle with knowing when he is done, but I had the nice surprise Friday of finding out he has put on 1 pound since he was born 2.5 weeks ago

Hang in there. I'm finding BF really frustrating at times.

You might see if you have a lactation center nearby. Ours will do free weight checks and can be really helpful answering questions.

mrs.larry · January 2012

aeshipley:
I wouldn't worry about getting in both sides but rather let LO get her fill on one side then offer the second. If she nurses from that side too great if not then start with that side next time.

Reason being is that you have both fore milk and hind milk. The hind milk contains more calories and fat than the more watery fore milk. If you switch mid way, say after ten minutes, baby could be missing the more nutrious hind milk.

Also I wouldn't worry too much about how long your nursing session lasts as the time it takes to nurse varies from baby to baby and from session to session. As long as baby is having enough wet diapers.

Lastly if you are having a hard time getting baby to stay awake you might try getting her undressed to her diaper for feedings.

this. and adding that switching too soon might keep the first breast from emptying completely, which will mess with your supply. better to completely drain one and then, as aeshipley said, start with the other side on the next feeding.

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