Qustestion for breastfeeding mother's?

Question

Im a first time mom of a 5 week old little girl and I'm currently and have been breastfeeding since the day she was born. I'm planning on breastfeeding for about 6 months. My qeuestion is how long does it normally take a baby to empty a breast? How will I know she emptied it? My baby only nurses from one breast during a feeding instead of two, is this normal? What do I do about the breast that she doesnt nurse from during that feeding cause it ends up getting engorged and painful? Will it effect my milk supply cause she doesnt nurse from both during a feeding?

Answer 1

My two-month old daughter typically nurses from one side at a time only, for about 10-15 minutes each time.  She eats on average every 1.5 hours, so I have no trouble with pain or engorgement, and since she eats often enough, I don't have to pump.  You didn't say how often your daughter eats, but if she's eating about every two hours, you're probably okay not pumping the side she doesn't eat from.  Basically, if you stay hydrated and eat a balanced diet, and your daughter's eating frequently, you shouldn't have to pump that much.  However, if the pain is intense for you, then pump more.

You'll know your daughter is getting enough to eat if she has a few wet diapers a day, and also your breast will feel flabbier after she's done.  Don't worry about whether your breast "empties" or not.  We are designed to keep producing milk as long as our children want to eat.  When your daughter is finished, she will come off the breast herself.

Also, just as an FYI for you, it was when my daughter was about a month old that I started to notice that she would eat from one side and then stop and be fussy.  However, she'd still be showing the signs of hunger.  So what I have had to do sometimes is burp her for a while and soothe her while she works out the gas issues, and then she goes back on the other side after she's had a good p**p.  :)

Answer 2

My first baby only fed off one breast per feeding, he was nursed for 11 months with no problem. My second baby fed from both b*****s at each feeding, about ten minutes on each side sometimes longer. Again had no problems, nursed her for 12 months. Just keep track of which side you fed from last so you remember which side to start on. Good luck. P.s. I never used a pump to empty the breast that was not fed from.

Answer 3

I breastfed my son for 6 months and I had the same problem. What I had to do was get a breast pump and just pump the other breast if he hadn't emptied both. Trust me, sometimes you have more milk built up than they actually will drink. So try to do about 10 minutes on one side then switch to the other. Then pump one or both when the baby is done feeding to empty them.

Answer 4

I have breastfed 3 kids for over one year each and am on baby #4.  With the first two, I did 10 minutes on one breast, and then 10+ minutes on the second.  I was really fussy about time.  With #3, I was way more relaxed and nursed on both sides, but didn't time.  With #4, I am feeding on one side only until he doesn't want anymore.  When he gets fussy, I feed him on the other side until he doesn't want anymore.  I couldn't even tell you how often or how long.  He is gaining weight and has plenty of wet diapers, which is really all you need to be concerned about.  If you do 20 minutes on one side, he's probably getting plenty if he's not fussy afterwards.  If you want to decrease engorgement on the other breast, I'd switch to doing 10 mintues one side and then whatever the baby wants on the other side.   You're doing fine.  Keep going!

Answer 5

your breast will never fully empty, your breast should be kind of like a balloon fill up and then when your baby nurses it should empty some and get soft. Its normal that your baby nurses on one breast at each feeding, I myself am exclusively breastfeeding and doing the same with my son. The other breast while doing this you can express or pump for comfort. your milk supply will not be effected. Trust me! lol

Answer 6

My boy feeds on one at a feeding and is 11 weeks old, I just feed him on the next one at the next feeding. I too am planning on breastfeeding for about 6 months. If it gets sore you could express a little until your comfortable.