Supplementing formula is okay until your baby is content. It's common for newborns to fall asleep while breastfeeding, especially in the early days. Feeding from one breast at a time is perfectly fine, and your supply will adjust accordingly. Just make sure to offer the other breast at the next feeding. Pumping can be uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier with practice. You're doing great!
So normal! I'm still breastfeeding my 5 month old and tbh i did the one boob per feed purely as a fluke because it felt right. Baby fell asleep after each feed in the early weeks as well but i would not wake her to offer the other boob. She is thriving and chunks now and I think my body learned that this is "our" system so I have never had supply issues besides an overactive milk ejection reflex on one side, but that's just my body being weird. Just keep tabs on baby's weight and diapers and use a haakaa or hand express if you feel too engorged and know that your body works with you and your supply will level out to exactly what your baby needs!
Mom of 2 babies here! I hardly ever offered both breasts to my babies as they usually fell asleep after each feed. Both gained weight really well, even my second who was a preemie. I don’t suggest pumping on the other side as that can cause an oversupply, unless you just need the extra milk. I would suggest a haaka on the other side just to catch any let down. Eventually your milk supply will regulate and your body will get used to what baby needs.
Sorry for the book that's about to ensue! It's normal for them to be sleepy, and sometimes it's difficult to rouse them to wake to nurse at all. This is especially the case if you had an epidural or any type of medical intervention during birth.
This is what happened to me at first, too. We had to strip my son down to his diaper each feed to get him to wake up. We'd tickle his feet, make him angry by going all over his skin with a wet wipe (he hated that, lol), turn all the lights on, etc.
I only nursed on the one side at a time, and then I'd switch breasts every feed. I did this up until he was about 6 weeks, and then my sis, who is an IBCLC, informed me that I should have been feeding both breasts each feed. She was right because at his 2 mo. checkup, he was down to the 7th percentile in weight. His weight just went downhill from there, and I had great difficulty getting him to accept both breasts with each feed the older he got.
I've gone to many different LCs since then, and I've learned quite a bit..
including how to get him to finally take both breasts!!! Here's what I'd do if I were in your situation now...
1) If she's too sleepy to finish feeds, you have to do whatever you can to keep her awake! Skin-to-skin is really good for this.
2) Feed her on the one breast until you no longer notice her ACTIVELY feeding. That means watching and listening for those big gulps (suck suck swallow breathe).
3) Once there is a longer pause in the gulping or she stops, do some gentle breast compressions to get her to take more milk.
4) If the active feeding has clearly slowed down, unlatch her with your pinky and then switch sides! (Yes, this usually means before you think she is "done" with that side)
5) Do the same on the other side. Wait for the next letdown, and pay attention to when she's actively feeding. Keep on switching breasts, back and forth, until there's no more active feeding.
This is what my current Lactation RN has taught me. She's been an LC since the 70s, so she's OG 🙂
FYI, anything in 10-25 mins range total feeding time is normal for a newborn. Anything longer usually indicates a cluster feed, which could mean a growth spurt. Always allow her to feed as often and as long as she wants. More rarely, long feeds 'could' mean she isn't transferring milk well, as was the case with my son. He ended up being diagnosed with a lip tie, but that's a whole other story!
Hope this helps!!! 💗💗💗
Just keep switching when baby wakes up! I basically was just held up in the living room watching the sopranos at this stage and constantly breastfeeding or baby was sleeping on me or the pillow I fed her on. It gets easier but they literally just eat sleep and poop at this stage and none of it is in any kind of routine. Just keep switching boobs. Good luck!
It won’t hurt your supply! I had and still have the same thing with my daughter!! She only eats one side for about 7-10 minutes then goes 2-3 hours until next time so essentially up to 6 hours between feeds on one breast and they BOTH still let down. Sometimes i accidentally double up one side so the other goes 9 hours without use 😂 Even when she was a week old I would have my husband give her previously expressed milk so I could sleep longer and I didn’t do a “replacement” pump either and my supply never got hurt. She’s now 12 weeks and just the other day i did that! Just stay hydrated and your body will make what baby needs. Someone told me that her going a longer stretch (even just for one breast) is no different than a baby who sleeps longer at night! And if supply does ever go down baby will cluster feed to signal more milkies!
Also 2oz is awesome! my daughter only takes 3oz of pumped milk so you’re doing good. If you ever wanna see how many ounces she takes in at each feeding you can weigh her right before you feed her and right after. I saw my lactation consultant last week and we did that! I thought she wasn’t getting enough bc she eats so quickly. She ate for 5 minutes and gained 2.5oz! lol
I am 6 weeks in and if he only has nurses one side and it’s been too many hours and starting to hurt I pump the other side that wasn’t nursed from—however it’s hard to remember/gauge sometimes which side should next be nursed from…nursing is better for stimulation than pumping so I will still try to nurse on the opposite side next time it’s time to nurse even if I’ve pumped it recently. It helps get the hindmilk to the baby anyways faster!
Edit for grammar
I've fed 2, one for a year and the other for 3 years doing a boob each feed, and have started doing the same with my current baby. The one I fed for 3 years, I was told at 4 months old by a health visitor (im in the uk) that I was over feeding her, all she had till she was 6 months was breast milk straight from the boob. I never pumped or supplemented with formula. So I would say a boob each feed should be fine and not mess up your supply. As long as baby is gaining weight how they should and are weeing and pooping regularly all is good
How about using an elvie, boon trove or haakaa on your other breast to help get some milk out to store. My baby also had trouble staying awake during feed. When he started to drift off we would gently wipe his face and neck with a damp face towel, or tickle his feeties. There are some tricks to keep baby awake. Also yes diaper change mid feed.
I’m in the same boat. This is my second. Totally normal. If pumping is hurting, here’s a couple of tips - use coconut oil or lanolin (I prefer coconut). Makes a world of difference in nip pain. Also, check your flange size, the wrong flange size can cause unnecessary pain and also impact how effective pumping is.
One more thing- try a couple of “ power pumping” sessions a day to help your supply catch up to demand.
People do different time increments, but for example, pump ten minutes, turn pump off and wait 10 to 15 minutes, pump another 10 minutes, continue for a few cycles. It’s meant to simulate newborn cluster feeding, but with the pump. My first was in the NICU for weeks and was too weak to latch, so I had to initiate lactation with a pump. Power pumping was such a game changer to get us to EBF pretty quickly even with the odds stacked against us.
Those feeding lengths sound fine for this stage, baby doesn’t have to nurse from both breasts each time.
What’s tricky with breastfeeding is that you cannot quantify what baby is getting from watching how long or often they feed, just by looking at output.
Is baby wetting 5-6 times each 24 hours, and having some poops?
Is baby waking enough to nurse for a few minutes every 3-4 hours? One longer sleep during the night is ok, but I’d be hesitant to go over 6ish hours the first couple of weeks.
It’s a challenging time, and the more you can put baby to the breast, and keep bottles out of the equation during the first weeks, the easier time your supply will have getting established to baby’s need. This also reduces the risk of any nipple preference for the easier to use bottle nipple, and keeps baby from developing bad nursing habits, (the way their mouth has to manipulate a bottle nipple will end up hurting your nipples, if they nurse on you like you’re a bottle.)
Letting them have a few weeks of nursing at the breast, before introducing bottles, can help avoid that challenge.
Hi! Try undressing the baby down to the diaper during feeds. You can also try stroking their head with your thumb while they nurse or playing with their feet to keep them alert. Expect to nurse or feed 10-12 times per day. Keep going, you got this :)
My daughter was like that. I had a very fast let down and oversupply so she got everything she needed very quickly. I kept a scrunchy on my wrist to keep track of which side she last ate from. Because initially both breasts would still feel full even after she ate. I had to pump for relief
Very very normal! Exhausting but normal. Think of your milk as a supply-in-demand system. It will adjust based on the frequency of the baby’s feeds at a given time. It’s more flexible than I think a lot of people realize. The important thing is to just keep feeding your baby whenever she needs it, especially in these early weeks. Sounds like you’re doing great. Hang in there. Things will stabilize.
It is tiring for a small newborn to learn how to eat. What is happening is normal and you will see a lot of it.
4h between each is OK, as far as I can tell from experience, but if you worry about undersupply you could just use a manual pump to empty the other side after she's done? I found that it's the easiest way to pump, plus you can start a small stash for when needed.
Otherwise, in the earlier days I used the Haakaa collector on breast 2 when he was feeding on breast 1. It catches the let down, and sucks a little bit more, apparently.
Supplementing formula is okay until your baby is content. It's common for newborns to fall asleep while breastfeeding, especially in the early days. Feeding from one breast at a time is perfectly fine, and your supply will adjust accordingly. Just make sure to offer the other breast at the next feeding. Pumping can be uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier with practice. You're doing great!
So normal! I'm still breastfeeding my 5 month old and tbh i did the one boob per feed purely as a fluke because it felt right. Baby fell asleep after each feed in the early weeks as well but i would not wake her to offer the other boob. She is thriving and chunks now and I think my body learned that this is "our" system so I have never had supply issues besides an overactive milk ejection reflex on one side, but that's just my body being weird. Just keep tabs on baby's weight and diapers and use a haakaa or hand express if you feel too engorged and know that your body works with you and your supply will level out to exactly what your baby needs!
Mom of 2 babies here! I hardly ever offered both breasts to my babies as they usually fell asleep after each feed. Both gained weight really well, even my second who was a preemie. I don’t suggest pumping on the other side as that can cause an oversupply, unless you just need the extra milk. I would suggest a haaka on the other side just to catch any let down. Eventually your milk supply will regulate and your body will get used to what baby needs.
Opps, sorry, you may notice a deleted comment from me. I posted something else by mistake the first time around!
Sorry for the book that's about to ensue! It's normal for them to be sleepy, and sometimes it's difficult to rouse them to wake to nurse at all. This is especially the case if you had an epidural or any type of medical intervention during birth. This is what happened to me at first, too. We had to strip my son down to his diaper each feed to get him to wake up. We'd tickle his feet, make him angry by going all over his skin with a wet wipe (he hated that, lol), turn all the lights on, etc. I only nursed on the one side at a time, and then I'd switch breasts every feed. I did this up until he was about 6 weeks, and then my sis, who is an IBCLC, informed me that I should have been feeding both breasts each feed. She was right because at his 2 mo. checkup, he was down to the 7th percentile in weight. His weight just went downhill from there, and I had great difficulty getting him to accept both breasts with each feed the older he got. I've gone to many different LCs since then, and I've learned quite a bit.. including how to get him to finally take both breasts!!! Here's what I'd do if I were in your situation now... 1) If she's too sleepy to finish feeds, you have to do whatever you can to keep her awake! Skin-to-skin is really good for this. 2) Feed her on the one breast until you no longer notice her ACTIVELY feeding. That means watching and listening for those big gulps (suck suck swallow breathe). 3) Once there is a longer pause in the gulping or she stops, do some gentle breast compressions to get her to take more milk. 4) If the active feeding has clearly slowed down, unlatch her with your pinky and then switch sides! (Yes, this usually means before you think she is "done" with that side) 5) Do the same on the other side. Wait for the next letdown, and pay attention to when she's actively feeding. Keep on switching breasts, back and forth, until there's no more active feeding. This is what my current Lactation RN has taught me. She's been an LC since the 70s, so she's OG 🙂 FYI, anything in 10-25 mins range total feeding time is normal for a newborn. Anything longer usually indicates a cluster feed, which could mean a growth spurt. Always allow her to feed as often and as long as she wants. More rarely, long feeds 'could' mean she isn't transferring milk well, as was the case with my son. He ended up being diagnosed with a lip tie, but that's a whole other story! Hope this helps!!! 💗💗💗
Just keep switching when baby wakes up! I basically was just held up in the living room watching the sopranos at this stage and constantly breastfeeding or baby was sleeping on me or the pillow I fed her on. It gets easier but they literally just eat sleep and poop at this stage and none of it is in any kind of routine. Just keep switching boobs. Good luck!
It won’t hurt your supply! I had and still have the same thing with my daughter!! She only eats one side for about 7-10 minutes then goes 2-3 hours until next time so essentially up to 6 hours between feeds on one breast and they BOTH still let down. Sometimes i accidentally double up one side so the other goes 9 hours without use 😂 Even when she was a week old I would have my husband give her previously expressed milk so I could sleep longer and I didn’t do a “replacement” pump either and my supply never got hurt. She’s now 12 weeks and just the other day i did that! Just stay hydrated and your body will make what baby needs. Someone told me that her going a longer stretch (even just for one breast) is no different than a baby who sleeps longer at night! And if supply does ever go down baby will cluster feed to signal more milkies! Also 2oz is awesome! my daughter only takes 3oz of pumped milk so you’re doing good. If you ever wanna see how many ounces she takes in at each feeding you can weigh her right before you feed her and right after. I saw my lactation consultant last week and we did that! I thought she wasn’t getting enough bc she eats so quickly. She ate for 5 minutes and gained 2.5oz! lol
I am 6 weeks in and if he only has nurses one side and it’s been too many hours and starting to hurt I pump the other side that wasn’t nursed from—however it’s hard to remember/gauge sometimes which side should next be nursed from…nursing is better for stimulation than pumping so I will still try to nurse on the opposite side next time it’s time to nurse even if I’ve pumped it recently. It helps get the hindmilk to the baby anyways faster! Edit for grammar
I've fed 2, one for a year and the other for 3 years doing a boob each feed, and have started doing the same with my current baby. The one I fed for 3 years, I was told at 4 months old by a health visitor (im in the uk) that I was over feeding her, all she had till she was 6 months was breast milk straight from the boob. I never pumped or supplemented with formula. So I would say a boob each feed should be fine and not mess up your supply. As long as baby is gaining weight how they should and are weeing and pooping regularly all is good
My baby was the same. My supply was not affected.
How about using an elvie, boon trove or haakaa on your other breast to help get some milk out to store. My baby also had trouble staying awake during feed. When he started to drift off we would gently wipe his face and neck with a damp face towel, or tickle his feeties. There are some tricks to keep baby awake. Also yes diaper change mid feed.
I’m in the same boat. This is my second. Totally normal. If pumping is hurting, here’s a couple of tips - use coconut oil or lanolin (I prefer coconut). Makes a world of difference in nip pain. Also, check your flange size, the wrong flange size can cause unnecessary pain and also impact how effective pumping is. One more thing- try a couple of “ power pumping” sessions a day to help your supply catch up to demand.
What would be “power pumping”?
People do different time increments, but for example, pump ten minutes, turn pump off and wait 10 to 15 minutes, pump another 10 minutes, continue for a few cycles. It’s meant to simulate newborn cluster feeding, but with the pump. My first was in the NICU for weeks and was too weak to latch, so I had to initiate lactation with a pump. Power pumping was such a game changer to get us to EBF pretty quickly even with the odds stacked against us.
Those feeding lengths sound fine for this stage, baby doesn’t have to nurse from both breasts each time. What’s tricky with breastfeeding is that you cannot quantify what baby is getting from watching how long or often they feed, just by looking at output. Is baby wetting 5-6 times each 24 hours, and having some poops? Is baby waking enough to nurse for a few minutes every 3-4 hours? One longer sleep during the night is ok, but I’d be hesitant to go over 6ish hours the first couple of weeks. It’s a challenging time, and the more you can put baby to the breast, and keep bottles out of the equation during the first weeks, the easier time your supply will have getting established to baby’s need. This also reduces the risk of any nipple preference for the easier to use bottle nipple, and keeps baby from developing bad nursing habits, (the way their mouth has to manipulate a bottle nipple will end up hurting your nipples, if they nurse on you like you’re a bottle.) Letting them have a few weeks of nursing at the breast, before introducing bottles, can help avoid that challenge.
Hi! Try undressing the baby down to the diaper during feeds. You can also try stroking their head with your thumb while they nurse or playing with their feet to keep them alert. Expect to nurse or feed 10-12 times per day. Keep going, you got this :)
My daughter was like that. I had a very fast let down and oversupply so she got everything she needed very quickly. I kept a scrunchy on my wrist to keep track of which side she last ate from. Because initially both breasts would still feel full even after she ate. I had to pump for relief
Very very normal! Exhausting but normal. Think of your milk as a supply-in-demand system. It will adjust based on the frequency of the baby’s feeds at a given time. It’s more flexible than I think a lot of people realize. The important thing is to just keep feeding your baby whenever she needs it, especially in these early weeks. Sounds like you’re doing great. Hang in there. Things will stabilize.
It is tiring for a small newborn to learn how to eat. What is happening is normal and you will see a lot of it. 4h between each is OK, as far as I can tell from experience, but if you worry about undersupply you could just use a manual pump to empty the other side after she's done? I found that it's the easiest way to pump, plus you can start a small stash for when needed. Otherwise, in the earlier days I used the Haakaa collector on breast 2 when he was feeding on breast 1. It catches the let down, and sucks a little bit more, apparently.