In one sitting? How long til you offer the other boob if you do?
I know in probably driving everyone nuts with all my questions in bfing, just feeling a little overwhelmed and have no idea what I'm doing.
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I let him finish one side and then offer the other. I don't aggressively push the second side though - sometimes he's just full! I alternate which side I start with, as I started to notice that I was getting engorged on just one side when I wasn't
Full disclaimer: I've only been at this for a little over 2 weeks, but I know he's gaining weight and seems happy, so I think I'm doing something right?
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DS used to almost always take both sides!
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@stargal: it depends. You should try to pretty much empty a breast before moving on. In the newborn days that can be hard in one sitting so one breast may be enough.
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This is what we are here for! Don't feel bad for asking, it is a good thing to get help. Since I fed twins, I always was "feeding on both sides"
But it is suggested to feed a singleton until they unlatch (you could burp if you choose but it isn't necessary with a breastfed baby) and then offer the other side. If baby falls asleep on the first side let them sleep and offer the other side first at your next feeding. Some Mom's wear a bracelet on the wrist they offer first so that they know which side is which. You would swich the wrist on the next feeding.
I am still going strong EBF twins at 26 months so feel free to wall me with any tips you may need.
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Most of the time, LO didn't take the 2nd breast until she was a few months old. The only exception was the fussy/cluster feeding period in the early evening when I would keep swapping sides because she was fussing on the 1st side so I assumed she couldn't get anything else out of it.
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I did in early days/weeks, but now just one side at a time. I'm awful at remembering what side I fed last though!!
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i usually did because olive could nurse for hours if i let her. it is important to empty one side though so they get that rich hindmilk and not just the foremilk.
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I always have, with the exception of motn feedings after she was a few months old, then I would just do the one side to get her back to sleep.
She is 13 months now so it's easy enough to tell when she is ready for the other side, but when he was little I just waited until she Unlatched, or it had been a long time on that side and I could feel that it was empty. She's never really been satisfied with just one side.
I used the similac app to keep track of when she nursed and which side we started with for almost her entire first year!
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I didn't because she was hard to unlatch and I still don't 14 months later. I did panic about it a lot, though, alternating between panicking that she wasn't getting enough hindmilk and panicking that you're supposed to switch (though I don't even remember now why you're supposed to). I think either way is totally fine - your supply adjusts accordingly. So my vote is do what makes sense for you and baby! I also read lots of ways to remember which side you did last, but I found the easiest way is to just give your boobs a squeeze and then offer the fullest one, which is apparent when you squeeze them.
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I've BF both of my babies and I almost always only offer one side. The exception was during a growth spurt in the first 3 months, then I would offer whatever they would take!
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I had low supply so when she was a newborn she was never "done." So I would switch sides after 20-30 minutes. As she got older I would switch sides frequently in a session because she would get frustrated when the flow of milk slowed after a letdown.
Now that she is 10 months we nurse for comfort & "snacks," so I still offer the second side but she usually just takes a sip & is over it. I guess I could probably not offer both but I feel like it's good for my supply to have stimulation on both breasts every time.
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In the early days I would feed one side then burp and change LO before offering her the other side. Once my supply was established I usually only offered one side because she was a happy chucker and two sides usually resulted in a power chuck!
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I have an over supply, so I only use one side per feeding.
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@stargal: Thank you for asking this! As a FTM i'm having the same issue...
LO always feeds off of both sides. My supply has never been that great so I assumed he needed all he could get. He doesn't detach himself ever- he falls into semi-consciousness and just chews away (ouch), so I pull him off when I can feel that he's not actively sucking. Then I burp, switch to the other side and repeat. He does spit up after almost every feeding, but for some reason I was under the impression that BF was self limiting/baby led? In other words you can't "overfeed" a BF baby? I mean he takes the second boob every time.. Maybe I've been doing it wrong...
As someone who still has a ton of pain during BFing, the idea of giving one side a rest every other feed sounds incredible... *jealous*
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Aww hugs mama. Don't feel bad! I had so many questions the second time around as well! I did always offer both sides. It doesn't hurt to at least try and baby should decide if he wants more. You are doing GREAT!
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@thismustbetheplace: my lo was a major comfort sucker and she would "accidentally" over feed herself if I let her hang out on the boob after she'd finished actively eating. For us the spitting up was a combo of fast flow, a gulpy windy latch and her love of boobs
and I feel you on the pain but it will get better!
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Xander always took both sides. In the beginning, he was pretty sleepy, so after about 15 minutes on one side, I would switch him to the other. As he got older, it became easier because he'd pop off on his own after draining one side and then I knew to switch him.
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I let DD empty one side first. I would them offer the second but it wasn't until 3-4 months when she started taking both sides in one feeding.
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She was always a one side at a time eater. There were a few times, where she was going through growth spurts, where she would have both sides at once, but that was rare.
Now that she's a year, she'll have both sides at one feeding, because she only nurses a few times a day. -
I always fed from only one side at a time.
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I always did one side at a time. If she was restless or still hungry after that, I would offer the other but that rarely happens. She's 14 months and still just one side at a time.
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I always offer both sides. For some reason I could never feel whether the one side was drained but I would just switch when it had been awhile or if he seemed less interested. Then next feed I'd start with the boob I left off with, so I'd try to make sure he got the hind milk too. My son is 14 months and still nursing, so I feel like it must have worked. I allllllways questioned what I was doing though!!!
But it is suggested to feed a singleton until they unlatch (you could burp if you choose but it isn't necessary with a breastfed baby) and then offer the other side. If baby falls asleep on the first side let them sleep and offer the other side first at your next feeding. 
and I feel you on the pain but it will get better!
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