How often should I alternate breasts?
How often should I alternate breasts?
It is important to alternate breasts more for your sake than for your child. Changing between breasts while you nurse will maintain the milk supply in both and prevent one or the other from becoming painfully filled with milk.
As for how much time should you spend nursing before you alternate to the other breast, that is dependent on how frequently your child like to nurse as well as how long they nurse and how much they consume at a setting.
If you find yourself having trouble recalling which breast you last used to nurse you may try techniques like changing sides during the middle of a feeding session or you may place a small pin or ribbon over one breast to indicate which one to start with the next time your little one is hungry. Some people also keep a little notebook to copy down feeding times amounts and of course which breast was used and when.
There is a bit of a conflict between experts on whether it is better to alternate breasts in the middle of a session or only alternate breasts for each session. Keeping on the same breast will allow your child to consume more of the hind-milk, which has a higher fattier content.
Most importantly pay attention to how your baby is eating and work with them to find the methods that seem to work best. As long as your little one continues to stay in good health and is growing well then you are probably doing just fine!
