Hind milk

[MegGriffin]

Hi ladies,

My little girl is almost 6 days old and we've managed to get the hang of breastfeeding which is great, but I have a question about when to switch breasts.

Do you wait until one breast is completely drained before offering the other one? also what if baby hasn't finished draining on ebreast completely, falls asleep then wnats feeding 2 hours later - do you use the same breast or use the other one?

My midwife said to make sure baby gets the hind milk as this is the calorie laden milk and is found right at the end of the breast milk, but I am confused about if she is getting this when she finishes and is only halfway through a boob.

Thanks! x

 

[0stara]

I'd like to know this too! Similar to the 'when do you express and which boob' question (for when I can't be around!)

Also, congrats on your new little one hun

 

[midori1999]

The terms foremilk and hindmilk are a bit misleading. The milk doesn't produce two types of milk, nor does it suddenly change at any particular point in a feed. What happens is, the milk starts of watery and then gradually get fattier throughout the feed. Milk at the start of a feed is 'high calorie' too as it is lactose (milk sugar) rich.

Babies are pretty good at knowing what they need, so unless your baby frequently unlatches during feeds (overactive letdown can cause this) then just feed them for as long as they want on the first breast, then offer the second. Your baby might not want the second side, but offer it anyway. You can then offer the first side again if you want/think you need to.

At the next feed offer the breast used last or not used on the last feed, so you start on alternate breasts each time. Do this regardless of when the last feed was.

 

[Ruth 1980]

I'll be honest, bc I knew nothing about bf'ing at the start and nobody told me any different- I always just gave her the one boob per feed and let her drink til she was full. Then the next feed I would give her the opposite boob. She has always had a steady weight gain and been on the 75th percentile for weight since birth. It's very hard to know when you're into the hindmilk or on empty for most bf'ing women, but I use nipple shields (flat nipples) and so I can see the milk in the teat of the shield at the start is like skimmed milk, the milk after feeding for a while is like full-cream milk, then when I'm empty she's sucking but the teat is totally empty. I think if you just let LO drink til they're full (even if that's 45mins!!!) you can trust that your body is giving them the right thing. Best of luck with it! x

 

[Leopard]

Hey darl! I feed until I feel as if one breast is drained and then offer my other breast. I also swap each feed, whether it is half an hour later or 4hrs later.

 

[MegGriffin]

Leopard congrats on your little girl! x