How do I know if breast has been drained?

[SR35]

Hi, my lo is a week old now and feeds about every 3 hours during the day and cluster feeds at night. I was told that when she feeds to let her drain one breast before switching to the next, but how do I know she has done this? She generally falls asleep during feeding so I might change her to wake her up but then should I put her back on the same one or offer the other one? I'm worried she might be missing the hind milk if I'm switching before it's fully drained but I don't know how to tell. Sometimes the other breast feels full and uncomfortable so it makes me want to give her that one as well but maybe I should be keeping her on one and expressing the other one afterwards?

Also during the night she just wants really small amounts every hour or so, so should I stick to the same breast then or alternate each time? By the morning they are both pretty sore!

Sorry for the essay but would be good if anyone can offer any advice.

Thanks

Sarah xx

 

[Pin badge]

Hi, I found this a problem in the early days too! We need petrol gauges! Lol

I eventually found I could tell by feel, just cup the breast and see if it feels empty when compared to the other one. (I know that can be hard in the early days when boobs are engorged.) Also when the other breast felt really full I'd swap over...if they become too full it can make it hard for baby to latch on and there seemed to be a lot of fore milk before let down so I worried she would fill up on that and be hungry sooner.

My daughter became a one breast baby quite quickly, so would drain it, fall asleep and refuse the other if I woke her, your daughter may do the same. At this stage their demand for feeds is what trains your body to supply the right amount of milk so it will settle down soon...promise!

With regards to night feeds it depends how long she's on for before falling asleep, if it's 2 minutes I'd probably stick to the same side, if more like 20 mins I'd swap.

Has your daughter been weighed since birth? This is usually a good indication of whether she's getting enough hind milk and if she's going 3 hours in between feeds she sounds quite satisfied/full.

Sounds like you're doing great.Xx

 

[SR35]

Thanks for your reply, yes she has been weighed and she only lost about 4% so that's good. During the night it probably is just a few minutes each time. The trouble is if I stick to one breast all night then in the morning the other one will be really full and painful. Although after a night of alternating they are then both really sore! I know they said the first two weeks are the worst and they weren't wrong! She has slept pretty much all day today in between some short feeds so think I'm in for a long night!

 

[Pin badge]

Ah bless you, are you using the lansinoh nipple cream? I found it a godsend for the first few weeks! Make sure she has a good latch too, I ended up with a milk bleb from a bad latch (DD is tongue tied) it was agony!

Her weight loss isn't too bad is it, I think DD lost 7% to start with. Sounds like she's getting plenty from you Maybe do a a couple of feeds on one side then switch to the other in the night so you don't end up really full. Do you try to wake her if she falls asleep during night feeds to see if she'll take a bit more from the same side?
I promise it gets easier, you're doing really well!xx

 

[SR35]

Yes I use the lansinoh after each feed, already nearly used up the first tube in one week! She also had a tongue tie but this was corrected a few days ago so hopefully means she is feeding better now. Yes I do try to wake her to have a bit more but she never does - until she's put back in bed of course! Last night was actually a bit better as she woke every 2 hours but had quite a bit and then went back to sleep relatively quickly. Hopefully it will stay that way! Thanks for your help, I don't think it would be so bad but I'm in a lot of pain with my stitches at the moment so sitting down to try and feed her is agony, which doesn't help! xx

 

[Fospetil]

Bless you sweety! Your doing so well! 4% is fab, mummies milk must be good stuff! Annabelle lost 10%! There's no correlation between baby sleep through the day and sleep through the night apart from that if they don't sleep much through the day they are worse at night! I keep Annabelle on one boob for all feed, I was swapping at first but her poops were coming out really foamy so she was getting too much foremilk! I don't know if my boobs drain but she normally dribbling abit of milk down the side of her mouth at end of a feed so I know there's still milk there! Also you could try express a little by hand and see if there's milk left? At the end of feed express a little into your nipple and rub in then walk about with your nips out for as long as possible! That helped my sore boobies xxx

 

[SR35]

Ah thanks Fospetil, she was weighed today and is now 6lb 8, she was 5lb 15 when she was born 10 days ago so that's encouraging. Oh that's interesting, I was thinking about trying to get her to be more awake during the day so she sleeps better at night but obviously that's not a good idea?!

 

[Pin badge]

Ah SR35 I could have written that post about stitches..They make everything feel worse, I couldn't stand the pain of shuffling down the bed to get to her! I'm glad things are improving for you, funny how we think waking 2 hours is a good thing after those rough early days!
BTW that's an amazing weight gain...you're definitely doing everything right! xx

 

[SR35]

Thanks Pin Badge, it does make me feel better knowing she has put on weight as most of the time I feel like I don't know what I'm doing! I know, I think if I didn't have that pain to cope with then everything would feel easier. How long did it take for yours to heal and stop hurting? My dh is so good with helping me with poppy plus doing everything round the house but he goes back to work next week and I'm so worried how I'm going to manage on my own. xx

 

[mum2b410]

Sounds like u r doing great hun- be proud! .....It's hard adjusting to doing it all on your own without OH but u will find your way! Give it a few weeks and you'll feel much more confident!
Stitches will feel better soon hun- I had episiotomy first time round and it was v sore for first few weeks and then got easier- r u taking anything? I found feme pads (cold packs to wear on your pants) v soothing! Try to do pelvic floor to to increase blood flow to the area to get things healing up! Xxx

 

[SR35]

Thanks mum2b, yes I'm taking diclofenac and paracetamol and having baths with lavender oil but still so sore! Will try some pelvic floors if I can manage it. Have haemorrhoids to contend with too, oh the glamour of giving birth!! It does feel really hard as my dh is really natural with her whereas I feel awkward when I'm holding her etc, I just don't feel confident. I keep getting upset and crying thinking about him going back to work. I'm sure I'm just tired and over emotional, hopefully when it comes to it I will realise I can cope. xx

 

[Pin badge]

I'm sending a big hug give yourself more credit, you've just done a wonderful thing, made and delivered a baby! It's exhausting and you're bound to feel a bit awkward but you'll soon find everything natural, your OH probably looks at you and thinks, 'wow she's so amazing with her!'

Stitches felt better after about 3 weeks, I had one last day of niggling pain which I assumed was the stitches dissolving and then felt tonnes better. My MW advised laying with no underwear on a towel for 30 mins each day to allow them to really dry out and heal, seemed to help me.

You'll be fine when your OH goes back to work, honestly I really enjoyed getting into a little routine without mine. (Awful as that sounds!) Try to get out every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes, some days it would take us 4 hours to actually make it out of the door but now it's a breeze!

Xx

 

[SR35]

Aw thank you, he does always tell me I'm doing really well, I just always think he's just saying that! Need to have more confidence in myself I guess. And I know I can do the basic things she needs, feeding, changing, etc so hopefully everything else will come in time. I expect the worry of him going back is worse than it will be when it actually happens. I'm sure it will be good for me really,just seems a bit daunting at the moment. I've never really had to take care of a baby before and there's so much I don't know, so I like having that support there. I am feeling more positive today though, think it's because I had a bit of sleep overnight! She woke at 3 until 4.15am and then again at 6.30am which is brilliant compared to the night before when she was pretty much awake all night. Wish I knew how to keep it that way!

Thanks again, it's so nice to be able to come on here for advice and support from people who understand what it's like xx

 

[Pin badge]

Everything all fall in to place I'm sure!

I remember feeling like I was going from nappy change to feed and back again on a loop until a friend came round at 5 weeks and DD was smiling for him...until this point I was convinced smiles were just wind! Turns out she was actually rather fun once I'd got the basics covered lol! Now I sing, talk, play and make silly faces all day long and when she rewards me with a smile or giggle I know I'm doing something right

Oh and when you work out how to get those long stretches of sleep consistent let me know!xx

 

[CamFi]

I used to swap after ten minutes, since baby's had the bulk of the milk by then, and let her drink for as long as she wanted from the second side, and alternate which side I started from at each feed. This helped increase feeding intervals from one hour to 2-3 hours as otherwise she'd just fall asleep on first side then be hungry again really quickly.

 

[Fospetil]

No, Annabelle sleeps a lot through the day and now sleeps through the night, she is still EBF! You'll find that your bubs will get really if they don't sleep through the day! And remember they do all their developing in their sleep xx