[Jessie0505]

Okay so i know i should know this by now..but i dont! I am so uneducated on this topic and i feel like i caused a problem here..
I know i have an oversupply issue..i pumped 7 oz out of one boob one day! Last night i got 10 oz from both boobs! YA Bella doesnt eat that much!
Anywho..how do you decide which side to feed baby on or do you do bot in a feeding? She seems to only want one side..when i was in the hospital they said 10 min on each boob..well then i only had colostrum..and my mom said 5 min on each side..but i feel like she wont empty them..and i dont want to stop her from eating..if shes hungry i want her to eat! She lets me know when shes done i just dont know how to decide..ive been letting her eat off of one and still offering the other..she just never takes it and i dont know if its b/c of my oversupply issue...so what do yall do? TIA!

[Demetria]

ok, what I have learned from extensive hours of reading online (literally, because I am desperate to find a solution to our problem of oversupply/milk imbalance) if you limit your baby to only a certian amt of time on each breast that is what leads to oversupply and/or foremilk/hindmilk imbalance <-this causes Ava a lot of gas and stomach pains and tons of acidic poops that burn her little bottom So I let Ava take as much time as she needs on one breast and if she is still hungry after she empties one I switch her, its usually unlikely she needs the other one, so I just basically empty the other one with the breast pump and stick it in the freezer. I use the boob with the most milk to feed her, the other I pump. In our hospital they told me to make sure she is doing at least 15mins on each side, that is about how long the pump takes to empty it. They didnt tell me a limit.

[Mana]

I let her stick with one boob as long as she'll take it. She tends to come unlatched before she's actually done eating so I put her back on until she comes off right away (the sign that it's empty - I want to make sure she empties the boob and gets all of the hindmilk), and then I offer the other one. If she doesn't empty it, I offer that one first next feeding. If she does, I start with the one she emptied first next time. If I don't remember, I start with the left because it never has as much milk so I figure that will help with that one's supply.

I actually have no idea if that's a good strategy or not, I haven't really thought about it before

[Karen78]

Calvin usually will only take one boob at a feeding. Then I just do the other boob for the next time. At first I was pumping the other boob that he didn't take, but then that is just telling your body that you need that milk so it's always going to be huge. So then I pumped off just enough to not be so painful, and that worked. Now I don't need to pump the unused boob at all and my body seems to have regulated everything pretty well. But definitely keep baby on one boob until it's emptied so she gets all the hindmilk. Don't even worry about watching the clock. Some babies take longer to nurse than others, and some are little vacuums and can empty a boob in no time.

[Jessie0505]

Thanks girls..so i guess im doing it right then Glad to know that!! i really appreciate it..im gonna keep doing one boob and just offering the other and if she doesnt take it offer it at the next feeding! Thanks!

[pidge26]

That's what I do - only nurse on one side at a time. I use a hair tie on my wrist to remember which boob is next- which really helps in the middle of the night! No pumping here unless I'm going to skip a feeding (and dh is then giving a bottle). So far, I've only pumped three times, just replacing what is being eaten.

[2pinks&ablue]

Can I just say, I love the hair tie idea!

I do the same- let her empty one side and offer the other, then pump the rest to add to my freezer stash

[Karen78]

I love the hair tie idea too!! So simple! I was wondering how I could remember, but all I came up with (but never actually did) was to use a clothspin on my shirt. Haha! Hair tie on the wrist sounds much better!

[Jessie0505]

Great idea! i was wondering what i could do..i was told to use a safety pin on my bra..but i didnt want to do that one as i have sensitive skin! ill use that though! thanks girls!

[Summer13]

Originally Posted by Mana

I let her stick with one boob as long as she'll take it. She tends to come unlatched before she's actually done eating so I put her back on until she comes off right away (the sign that it's empty - I want to make sure she empties the boob and gets all of the hindmilk), and then I offer the other one. If she doesn't empty it, I offer that one first next feeding. If she does, I start with the one she emptied first next time. If I don't remember, I start with the left because it never has as much milk so I figure that will help with that one's supply.

I do the exact same...even down to the left boob being the one with less milk

[sierrasmommy]

hair tie. gooood idea.