This is a very delayed response!  I'm sorry it took me so long.  I'd like to answer Susan's question about how baby-led/laid back worked with my twins to regulate supply.  

She asked:

"So interesting, Kirsten.  I want to clarify one thing -- are you saying that with your youngest twins, sometimes they would choose to stay on one side for 7+ hours but other times would switch more frequently?  If so, how differently would they nurse on different days?  Would it sometimes be quite different -- say, hourly one day vs big block another, or was it a more gradual flow back & forth in routine?  Your story reminds me too of an early word for a lot of nurslings "side, side" -- some kiddos say "side" to switch or bob/wiggle the idea, some moms report "side" becomes the nursing word."

I totally forgot my kids would say "side" -- to switch, so sweet.  It was a pretty gradual flow back and forth.  It's a bit hard for me to remember and with 3 other kids I didn't pay that much attention, but it took the pressure off me deciding who needed to nurse where, when.  My memory is that often both babies would choose the same side one after the other for 5-7 hours on average and then switch sides and do the same thing, sometimes it was 4 hours, sometimes 7, sometimes 3, but the average was 5-7.  I remember being so astonished and initially worried that 2 babies would go that long on one side before switching, but I held out and it worked.  There would be "frequency" days and/or growth spurts where they would switch back and forth more often.

Sometimes I would want to nurse them together, so I would "make" one nurse on the side he didn't want.  That's always when the arm would come across the face.  It was a fascinating experiment and I've seen it many times since.  Let a baby choose which side, and then place them on the other side, suddenly we need to work pretty hard to keep their arms out of the way.  Go back to the other side, no arms in the face. It was pretty funny when I would put two babies on my chest and have them both bob over to the same breast.

The difference in terms of their behaviour, bowel movements and my supply was pretty remarkable.  Often they would want the same "side" on my husband, a friend or my mom.  Almost all the time they chose which side to nurse on when I was fully clothed. 

I hope this answers your question Susan!  I'll try to keep better tabs when I post next time! 
All the best,
Kirsten
LLLL, IBCLC
Edmonton, AB
Canada 

 

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