My 6 week old ds has just started going 10 pm to 4 or 5 am [dancing] between his nightime feedings. A couple days before this started I felt like I was having a harder time getting "full feeds" from him at night and this has continued. He generally will only nurse one side at his 4am or 5am feeding. If I let him nurse the first side as long as he want he will then have another 3 hour stretch. If I stop him to switch sides he will still not nurse the other side and then he's hungry in 1 1/2 hours. I try every thing to wake him up to get him to nurse both sides but he just won't. Should I then pump the other side? Is this going to hurt my milk supply? I am very cautious about my milk supply because I had to supplement DS#1 until 6 months due to serious bfing problems on his part.

IMO, I would freak out if my newborn started sleeping 6-7 hours without a feeding. From my understanding, milk is produced on a supply and demand basis, the less the baby nurses, the less milk your body will make.

For many women, having their babies sleep through the night actually works against their milk supply because the longer interval between feedings can start the baby on the path to weaning, due to less milk. I don't know all the specifics of your situation, but is it possible to wake your son up more often for a feeding?

I've read pros and cons of nursing on one versus both sides and I personally don't think that it matters much as long as they're eating well. If they're not hungry, they won't take the second side anyway. A baby who nurses only on one side will get more hindmilk whereas a baby who nurses on both sides gets more foremilk. Since my problem is a milk oversupply/overactive milk ejection reflex or a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance I've tended toward nursing on one side per feeding. I would encourage you to consult your local La Leche League leader for more definite answers. In general, though, if you're worried about your milk supply, nurse, nurse, nurse!

He is nursing every two hours during the day, so we fall well with in the 8 -12 feedings a day. His brother began sleeping through the night at 7 1/2 weeks but ate very often during the day as well and so my milk slowly increased once he latched at 7 1/2 weeks. He always nursed both sides so I am maybe just a little nervous about doing the one side aproach since I am not familiar with it. The lactation consultant I have worked with and I have a very poor relationship, due to her IMO incompentence in dealing with DS#1 nursing issues, I will have to see if I can find someone else.

Hope that all goes well for you Karla and you find someone that you feel comfortable with to help you. I tried one La Leche League group and didn't like them so I tried another and I have been very pleased with the lady who's in charge.