Almost 6 months in and I'm still not sure if I'm doing this right!

[Feisty Fidget]

So all mummies that BF that I know offer both sides for every feeding, but my DD never seems to 'tell' me the boob is empty. Left to it she will feed on one side happily for over an hour, by which point the last thing I want to do is start all over again on the other side.

I was tempted to automatically pop her off after a set time and latch on the other side, but I have no idea how long I should give her before doing this. Can anyone advise?

I should add that she is a tiny baby and although her weight is off the chart, she is gaining and HV is happy with her size and weight. She feeds every 3 hours or earlier if she asks for it.

 

[noon_child]

It may be that all she needs is one side (supply varies between women so you can't compare with friends really). However if feeds take an hour at 6months old, and she is low weight, it may be that she isn't efficient at drawing milk out. My LO was off the bottom of the chart and although she gained weight, it was slower than the recommended 6oz (150g) on average every week and this is a red flag where I live. Do you know your LO's average weekly gain?

Feeding to the clock is not recommended as it can mean babies get less milk overall, however some babies who aren't efficient feeders find it hard to draw milk out without relying on the letdown and so these babies often do well with switch feeding (where you swap between breasts multiple times per feed, taking your cue from when sucking becomes sleepy or swallowing stops).

If I were you, I'd definitely at least offer the second side. If she refuses then thats OK, you know she has enough. If she takes it and continues to feed for another hour, I think it would be worth looking further in to why feeds take so long and her weight is low. Has she been checked for Tongue Tie? Do you have any other symptoms like blocked ducts, sore nipples, angled or squashed nipples after a feed etc.?

 

[crownest]

I only ever feed from one side but my DS is efficient feeds in ten mins or so but I can never tell when I'm empty but as a noonchild suggest it might help your Lil one if you change sides a few times might wake her up a bit while feeding. In regrets the growth chart bar in mind must of these are based on ff babies so bf babies gain weight differently they can have spurts where they will draw down more milk and regulate what they drink themselves so if she is gaining weight slow and steady I wouldn't be overly concerned

 

[Feisty Fidget]

Thank you everyone. In truth she is probably done in 15 minutes BUT it's her favourite place to be and so I get used as a comforter, it's difficult to tell if she's feeding or just sucking iykwim.

She was only 5lbs 5oz at birth and as I said they are happy with her weight. She does have a milk and beef sensitivity which wasn't picked up until 3 months when she wasn't really gaining weight and spent 75% of the day screaming. She also had a posterior tie that was cut at 6 weeks.

Her latch is good, but how she draws the nipple in is terrible, she sucks it like spaghetti and it hurts. We've worked with lactation consultants and nothing seems to stop her taking it in this was. Once the nipple is in she adjusts herself correctly and latches well.

I have been popping her off after 20ish minutes and changing sides. It's hit and miss as to whether she's interested for more than a few minutes, which. I guess is normal.

 

[mac1979]

My DD is only four months and does the same. I've started to look for signs/sounds of swallowing when she nurses, if there aren't any I switch sides.