How to know if a breast is empty?

[@llli*lukes.mom]

Hi,
I'm sure this question has been asked before but I can't find a thread in my search...so I'll ask here. How can you tell when a breast is "empty" and it's time to offer the other side? It seems I can always express additional milk when DD pulls off. When I was bf'ing DS, he pretty much always nursed from both sides. DS often takes only one side. She's now 5.5 weeks old. I don't feel like I have an oversupply issue. Her poops are loose and frothy, but still mustard yellow (not green). Ok, totally getting away from my original question so I'll stop. :-)
Thanks,
Krista

[@llli*esmomof3]

My lactation consultant says that "empty" is a misnomer. Your breast is never really completely empty. In my experience, you can usually tell when your breast softens especially in these early days. Also baby will slow down it's swallowing because the flow has slowed down. If baby unlatches itself and is content for a few minutes before wanting more from the other side, this is also a sign that baby has had it's fill of the first side.
That being said, my daughter (6 weeks) has mostly been content to nurse only on one side at a time as well. In fact, she will protest if I try to give her more from the other side! But if you are worried about her emptying one side in order to get the hindmilk, I would suggest burping her and then trying to nurse on the same side again.
I hope this helps!

[@llli*mommal]

There's no such thing as "empty". Just not as full. A good rule of thumb with a baby who is growing well and producing good diaper output is to allow the baby to finish the first breast at her own pace, then offer the second, and not stress if baby doesn't want it or takes only a few brief sucks.

[@llli*lukes.mom]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@llli*angie0712]

I'm not trying to steal your thread but I thought its a perfect place to add a question:

My daughter is really gassy. She will eat from one side and pull of (only because she needs to burp)she still wants to eat. Should I offer the same breast then? If she is sleepy or pulls off and is content I will try burping her. If she wakes up I will then offer the other one and sometimes she takes it sometimes she doesn't. If she doesn't take it I find she will be hungry sooner then 2 hours but she is hard to wake up ????

[@llli*mtmama]

breasts are never empty on s nursing mom. is the baby gaining well? if yes i would just keep up whatever has been working for you until now.

if you want to know when to offer the other side just look to your baby. whe she unlatches or seems to really slow down the sucking (maybe after about 10-20 min or so) i am not suggesting to time it, just to give you a reference.

how old is the baby? about 6 weeks? I would just sit in a cozy spot and nurse all day, switching the baby back and forth while the baby sleeps/nurses.

try to just keep and eye on the diapers. good luck.

[@llli*lllmeg]

I'm not trying to steal your thread but I thought its a perfect place to add a question:

My daughter is really gassy. She will eat from one side and pull of (only because she needs to burp)she still wants to eat. Should I offer the same breast then? If she is sleepy or pulls off and is content I will try burping her. If she wakes up I will then offer the other one and sometimes she takes it sometimes she doesn't. If she doesn't take it I find she will be hungry sooner then 2 hours but she is hard to wake up ????

You are doing exactly what you should be doing. let her take the same side or not, depending on how you feel-there is no right or wrong way, really. We all tend to overcomplicate this stuff way too much. I am not sure what you mean by

If she doesn't take it I find she will be hungry sooner then 2 hours but she is hard to wake up

How do you know baby is hungry if she does not wake up? Is she cueing in her sleep? If so, a baby can and will nurse in their sleep or when just waking, see the video here: www.biologicalnurturing.com

It is also perfectly normal for a newborn to be hungry for the next feeding well before 2 hours have gone by. As long as your baby nurses frequently enough overall (in the early months typically a MINIMUM of 8-12 times a 24 hour day) and is gaining appropriately, you do not need to worry about how spaced out or not spaced out the feedings are.

[@llli*angie0712]

I am not sure what you mean by "If she doesn't take it I find she will be hungry sooner then 2 hours but she is hard to wake up" How do you know baby is hungry if she does not wake up? Is she cueing in her sleep? If so, a baby can and will nurse in their sleep or when just waking.

I just mean when she is done with one breast and I burp her she will fall asleep and when I try to wake her to continue eating she wont. I don't wake her out of a sleep when we are not nursing.

It is also perfectly normal for a newborn to be hungry for the next feeding well before 2 hours have gone by. As long as your baby nurses frequently enough overall (in the early months typically a MINIMUM of 8-12 times a 24 hour day) and is gaining appropriately, you do not need to worry about how spaced out or not spaced out the feedings are.

I wasn't really worried about how spaced out the feedings were but the doctor said try to hold her off 2-3 hours because it seemed loike she was "snacking" She seemed to eat every hour and now we are going on about 2 - 2 1/2 hours between (it really depends) if she is showing signs of being hungry I feed her. I don't care if it's only been an hour. She just doesnt eat long. Sometimes only 5 min. on one side and shes content but hungry quick. I'm lucky if I get 10 min. and lucky to get both breast

[@llli*auderey]

snacking is a very healthy way for all humans to eat, and eating 5 mins every hour is perfectly normal and healthy for a little baby. your doctor doesn't sound very familiar with breastfeeding patterns.

[@llli*browncow]

DD has never taken more then 5-10 min to eat and alot of times will wait and want the other side within the hour I've never really thought to much about it I just feed her when she's hungry.